• Millennial Net Advances Wireless Sensor Networking with Launch of i-Bean 5000
  Ultra-Small, Ultra-Low Power Dime-Size Device with 10-Year Battery Life Enables
  
• Spring Sensor Expo & Conference Showcases Hottest New Products
  Millennial Net Wins Best of Sensor Expo Award
  
• Employee Networking After Hours

Millennial Net, Inc. recently announced the launch of the i-Bean™5000, the latest version of its ultra-small, ultra-low power wireless sensor networking device. The i-Bean 5000 provides the same reliable wireless networking capabilities as its predecessor, but with greater power efficiency and lower cost.

Leveraging a portfolio of radio technologies, including micro-power narrowband solutions as well as wireless personal area network (WPAN) components, i-Bean-enabled sensors form self-organizing wireless networks enabling the communication between sensors or other control devices without the need for human administration and with very low power consumption.

"The i-Bean 5000 represents the culmination of critical technology breakthroughs in form factor and battery power," said Dr. Sokwoo Rhee, chief technology officer and co-founder of Millennial Net. "Our calculations and tests indicate that the i-Bean 5000, using the same low-cost, coin-sized batteries powering handheld calculators, will last more than 10 years in normal sampling mode."

i-Beans allow OEMs and systems integrators to extend their product lines to offer tiny wireless sensors that can be placed in locations never before possible with existing technologies. i-Beans are the market leader in low-power, low-data rate devices and have immediate utility in hundreds of industrial, medical, consumer and military applications.

i-Beans are self-contained, miniature computers with a built-in power source, flash memory and peripheral devices, including a digital I/O interface, A/D converter and a radio frequency (RF) transceiver for two-way communication. The i-Bean 5000 also contains a serial interface enabling easy connection to existing sensors with RS-232 interfaces. i-Beans can transmit and receive data to a range of more than 30 meters. The radius of an i-Bean network can be extended to hundreds of meters by using wireless, battery-powered (or AC-powered) routers.

The i-Bean 5000 is available now in an Evaluation Kit for OEM prototyping. The kit includes five i-Bean 5000 transmitter/receivers, three i-Bean 5000 Routers and one i-Bean serial Gateway, along with accompanying software and documentation. The price for the i-Bean 5000 Evaluation Kit is $4,500.

This year's Sensor Expo, held at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL, drew over 150 exhibitors and over 4,000 attendees. Co-located with the International Robots and Vision Show, and the Industrial Fastener & Forming Conference, the Sensor Expo featured a full complement of educational seminars, workshops and product demonstrations and was the place for the latest in industrial sensors, wireless networking, MEMS, bio-sensors and intelligent systems.

Millennial Net's exhibition booth hosted a constant stream of visitors interested in ultra-small, ultra-low power, wireless sensor networking technologies. i-Beans were strategically placed throughout the exhibit space and adjoining booths to clearly demonstrate Millennial's robust, self-organizing protocol.

The highlight of the show was the announcement of the show's Best of Sensors Expo winners. Awards were determined by the editors of Sensors magazine and were handed out in three categories, Data Acquisition, Communications/Networking and Sensors. The editors recognized Millennial Net's i-Bean 5000, the latest version of our ultra-small, ultra-low power wireless sensor networking device, as one of the most exciting new products on display at Sensors Expo and awarded it top honors in the Communications and Networking category.

"The editors of Sensors chose Millennial Net's i-Bean 5000 for a Best of Sensors Expo award from a broad field of competitors because we feel the product will have a large and positive impact, enabling sensors to be placed where previously they could not," said Barbara Goode, editor-in-chief of Sensors magazine. "We particularly like the i-Bean 5000's tiny size, extraordinarily low power consumption, easy-to-use setup, and self-organizing protocol. We see a promising future for Millennial Net i-Beans."

Accepting the award on behalf of the entire Millennial Net team, Tod Riedel, president and co-founder of Millennial Net said, "We founded Millennial Net on the premise that an i-Bean-enabled world is a safer, more convenient, and more productive world. This recognition from Sensors magazine validates both the opportunities inherent in low-power, self-organizing wireless sensing applications and our approach to developing practical technology solutions to enable the deployment of wireless sensor networks today."

For complete details on the Sensors Expo and to order the conference proceeding, please see www.sensorsexpo.com.

Four Millennial Net employees braved the rain and unseasonably chilly weather to participate in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge on June 5th. Deva Seetharam, Christy Fujio, Sasha Javid, and Ningya Wang (pictured above) were among the 12,000 runners taking part in the 3.5-mile road race, beginning and ending at Boston Common. Team captain Sasha Javid remarked, "I look forward to running in the Chase Corporate Challenge all year round. I knew it would be a great opportunity for us to bond as co-workers and 'network' with others."