RF4CE chips erobrer fjernbetjeningen
IMS Research forventer, at ZigBee RF4CE vil blive brugt i stort omfang til implementering af næste generation af RF-baserede fjernbetjeninger (in english).
The ZigBee RF4CE specification offers an immediate, low-cost, easy-to-implement solution for control of products and opportunity for a variety of standards including ZigBee Remote Control and ZigBee Input Device. The ZigBee RF4CE specification is designed to control a wide range of products including home entertainment devices, garage door openers, keyless entry systems and many more.
A recent report from IMS Research (‘The World Market for Low-Power Wireless – 2011 Edition’) forecasts that over 250 million RF4CE ICs (first launched in 2009) will be shipped in 2015. This growth will be driven by a strong transition in remote controls from infra-red (IR) to radio-frequency (RF), which can operate outside the line of sight and can offer bi-directional communication. There is also strong industry support for RF4CE in future remote-control products.
By 2015, annual shipments of RF4CE are forecast to be higher than those of other low-power wireless technologies using the IEEE 802.15.4 physical layer.
- Use of other low-power wireless technologies that use IEEE 802.15.4 – such as ZigBee, WirelessHART, ISA100 and proprietary solutions - are all set to grow in the coming years, says Lisa Arrowsmith, Senior Market Analyst at IMS Research.
- However, in 2015, over half of all IEEE 802.15.4 ICs being shipped are forecast to use RF4CE. Yet RF4CE is not a direct competitor to most of these other technologies, aside from a relatively low number of IEEE 802.15.4 ICs used with proprietary software for consumer electronics controls.
- The other low-power technologies based on IEEE 802.15.4 are active in very different areas: for example, WirelessHART and ISA100 are both aimed at industrial environments (process industries, in particular); and ZigBee is being adopted in smart metering gateways, associated ‘HAN’ devices, and other residential and commercial automation products, she says.
The RF4CE Consortium was founded by major consumer electronics companies, including: Panasonic Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., and Sony Corporation (before being absorbed into the ZigBee Alliance in early 2009). Since the specification was completed, additional consumer electronics providers, such as Vestel, SMK, and Toshiba, have announced the use of RF4CE in certain product ranges.
There is a notable trend towards the use of RF technologies instead of IR in some consumer devices; however, that is not to say that there will be smooth sailing for RF4CE, with other competing RF technologies such as Bluetooth low energy weighing in. However, the early activities of RF4CE, combined with significant industry enthusiasm for the technology, means that IMS Research forecasts annual RF4CE IC shipments to increase to over a quarter of a billion units in 2015.
