Market research firm ABI Research forecasts over 100 million WiFi-enabled notebook computers will ship this year and over 240 million WiFi-enabled consumer electronics devices will ship in 2011. With the rapid proliferation of WiFi enabled platforms, from PCs and game consoles to smart phones, there’s a tremendous benefit to enabling wireless peripheral connectivity over WiFi without adding complexity and cost to the platform. Fabless semiconductor start-up Ozmo Devices, based in Palo Alto, Calif., has come up with a simple solution. The company has developed an unprecedented WiFi personal area network (WiFi PAN) technology to bring native low-power peripheral connectivity to WiFi platforms. It extends the WiFi functionality already existing on many platforms to include connectivity with low-power wireless peripherals such as mice and headsets, stated the developer. Unlike legacy WPAN technologies, Ozmo Devices’ innovative approach does not require an additional radio inside the platform or a dongle to communicate with the peripheral.

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Instead, the Ozmo solution includes a software driver that delivers native low-power peripheral connectivity to the platform and a highly integrated, ultra-low-power IC (see block diagram) in the wireless peripheral that seamlessly communicates with the platform. This unique two-part approach delivers unprecedented performance and cost advantages for system developers while at the same time solving integration and interoperability problems associated with traditional approaches, stated Roel Peeters, Ozmo’s vice president of marketing and business development.

This low-power WiFi PAN solution is slated for integration in high-volume WiFi-enabled platforms, and major peripheral manufacturers are actively sampling the IC. And Belkin is one of them. According to Brian VanHarlingen, senior technologist at Belkin, Ozmo Devices is enabling a new generation of wireless peripherals that can deliver unrivaled performance and convenience. “Belkin is committed to adopting new technologies that improve the consumer experience,” he commented.

“By leveraging the WiFi chip that’s already in so many mobile platforms, we’re able to natively deliver wireless peripheral connectivity. Our unique low power WiFi PAN technology eliminates the interoperability and performanceissues that have hindered broad adoption of traditional WPAN approaches. With our low-power WiFi PAN solution, users will enjoy the convenience of wireless operation without constantly worrying about performance, security, and battery life”, stated Dave Timm, Ozmo’s CEO.

The IC, labeled OZMO1000, is implemented in 130 nm CMOS process and requires 1.8 V to 3.6 V. Using either 2.4 or 5 GHz radio, it establishes a 9 Mbps link to any client running the its WiFi driver software. Housed in a 48-pad 6 x 6 mm QFN package, the SoC chip is sampling now with production in fall. The company is also readying a reference design kit which should be available in a few months, according to the manufacturer.

www.ozmodevices.com