Intelligent Ver 2.0 Bluetooth Module for wireless integrators: Ezurio

Ezurio Ltd, recently announced the availability of Intelligent Bluetooth Serial Modules, supporting the features of the new Bluetooth Version 2.0 specification. Ezurio’s latest Intelligent Bluetooth Serial Module is based on Cambridge Silicon Radio’s BC04 Bluetooth chipset and provides support for the features of Bluetooth Version 2.0. These include lower power consumption, higher data rates over the air, better rejection of interference and coexistence with Wi-Fi networks by implementing Adaptive Frequency Hopping (AFH), and improved voice quality from enhanced Synchronous Connections (eSCO).

The Ezurio’s Intelligent Bluetooth Modules provide complete Bluetooth solutions, allowing customers to treat the wireless portion of their design as a drop in solution. The Module contains a full Bluetooth protocol stack within firmware, in addition to which Ezurio has implemented a comprehensive application interface layer inside the virtual machine of the BC04 chipset. This abstracts the complexity of Bluetooth to a set of simple AT commands, similar to a PSTN modem. Coupled with a standard UART (RS-232) interface, design integration is reduced from months to a matter of hours.

The Intelligent Bluetooth Module is shipped as a Class 1 radio, with an optimised RF front end, providing ranges in excess of 250 metres outdoors, compared to less than 100 metres of competing products. This makes it particularly attractive for equipment designers. The Module incorporates a high gain, ceramic patch antenna which is largely immune to RF detuning, allowing system designers extra flexibility in designing the Module into their packaging.

The Modules are fully Bluetooth approved as end products, saving time and money for integrators. They are also lead-free and comply with the RoHS (Restrictions of Hazardous Substances) directive for Electrical and Electronic Equipment.

To help integrate the module, a low cost development kit is available for designer who wants to integrate Bluetooth into their products. The new Intelligent Serial Module is designed as a pin-for-pin, drop-in replacement for Ezurio’s current range of Blue tooth Modules, providing a simple upgrade route to existing users. “In the embedded arena, product lifetimes are significantly longer than in the consumer market” commented Chris Shannon - CEO of Ezurio Ltd. “Manufacturers are only going to adopt wireless technology if they know that they will have a stable platform across the years, insulated from the frenetic development trends of the PC and mobile phone market. Ezurio is committed to providing that guarantee of stability and backward compatibility that this market demands.”

“Product designers across a wide variety of industry sectors are coming to the conclusion that Bluetooth is now a mature wireless technology and want to use it to cut the cables in their equipment. However, they realise that that integration normally needs specialist skills that they do not possess. We have opened up the market for integrated Bluetooth by taking that complexity away” said Nick Hunn, CTO of Ezurio Ltd”. We are confirming their trust in Bluetooth and ourselves by providing an upgrade path that lets designers choose Bluetooth as their wireless connection, secure in the knowledge that they can take advantage of new features as Bluetooth evolves.”

For further information or photography, please contact:

Nick Hunn, Ezurio Ltd