Demonstrating the effectiveness of ultra-low power control and RF technology for asset management, a company called InnerWireless is using Texas Instruments’ MSP430 microcontroller-based wireless chipsets for realtime location systems (RTLS). Based on 802.15.4 RF transmissions and Zigbee protocols, the InnerWireless Vision Platform operates within building networks of hospitals, hotels, factories and other targeted industries to achieve a combination of RTLS affordability and ease of use. This enables health care providers such as hospitals to immediately identify the room in which equipment can be found, reducing both search and response times for greater patient safety.
InnerWireless 802.15.4 systems comprise three networked components: beacons, tags and master radios. Rooms equipped with battery-operated beacons the size of a smoke detector broadcast unique identification signals that are received by tags. The tags, sized to attach unobtrusively to objects and collect location information from the beacons, periodically transmit this information to the master radio; realtime results are displayed through Web-based applications for personnel.
The TI chipset used in all of these components combines an MSP430F155 MCU with a CC2420 802.15.4 transceiver to handle all the processing and communication needed for wireless RTLS tracking. The MCU features a stand-by power consumption of 0,8 μA and wakes up in less than one microsecond to an active mode of 250 μA. The CC2420 transceiver provides a single-chip 802.15.4 solution, supporting quick design for this low-bandwidth standard. The MCU and transceiver combination saves costs and space while allowing InnerWireless beacons and tags to operate reliably for up to seven years without a battery change or recharge.
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