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 Wireless Sensor Networking Anywhere
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—June 2, 2003—Millennial Net, Inc., the leading developer of self-organizing wireless sensor networks, today 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.
“Our customers look to us for superior technology, and our i-Bean 5000 delivers,” said Tod Riedel, president and co-founder of Millennial Net. “By reducing the size of our i-Bean by more than 50 percent and more than doubling its battery life, we have opened more application opportunities for our sensor OEMs and systems integrators at a lower total cost of ownership.”
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.
Millennial Net will be demonstrating its i-Bean technology at Sensors Expo & Conference, June 2 - 5, 2003, in Rosemont, IL (Chicago). Millennial Net can be located at the show at booth #914.
About Millennial Net
Millennial Net, Inc. produces hardware and software to build reliable, low-power wireless sensor networks. Millennial Net’s tiny, micro-power network elements are used in industrial automation, building automation, supply chain management, automatic meter reading, security and other low-power, low data-rate applications. Millennial Net is the leader in ultra-small, ultra-low power wireless computing devices in self-organizing networks for the consumer, industrial, medical and military markets. For more information, visit www.millennial.net.