Product category: Communications ICs (Wired)
News Release from: DCT Digital Communication Technologies | Subject: GSM/GPRS/Ethernet router
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 23 April 2002

Lightfoot turns to
wireless M2M solution

DCT has developed a small footprint GSM/GPRS/Ethernet router based on its 32bit Lightfoot microprocessor, for the rapidly expanding wireless M2M communication market

DCT has developed a small footprint GSM/GPRS/Ethernet router based on its 32bit Lightfoot microprocessor, for the rapidly expanding wireless M2M (machine-to-machine) communication market. The company has teamed up with ByBox, a specialist in unattended delivery solutions, to provide wireless locker management services - routed via the Lightfoot microprocessor and a GSM module from Sony Ericsson - to Royal Mail and Parcel Force.

Nick Randell, software engineering director at DCT, said, "This is a significant breakthrough in wireless M2M communication.

Java is increasingly becoming a requirement to enable wired and wireless network connectivity in embedded systems and we are excited at the prospect of playing a key role in its mass deployment".

The router for ByBox uses Lightfoot's excellent code density to fit the complete application into just 26Kbyte of program memory, 6Kbyte of data memory and 8Kbyte of runtime data memory.

The Lightfoot CPU, peripherals and boot program reside in a single Xilinx Spartan-II FPGA, making the solution ideal for FPGA-based SoC applications.

DCT's software engineering team developed a complete TCP/IP stack, running over Ethernet and PPP (point-to-point protocol), a modem control library and a real time operating system.

Randell adds, "The code density offered by Lightfoot effectively signals the end of 8 and 16bit microcontrollers and their 'ancient' coding constraints".

ByBox specialises in electronic locker technology, allowing logistics companies to deliver parcels to its customers using banks of lockers at convenient public locations.

ByBox technology then enables the logistics company's customers to securely collect, or return, parcels at their own convenience from these locker systems.

With the Lightfoot-based router and Sony Ericsson radio module, ByBox can now control and manage the locker systems over wireless communications networks such as GSM or GPRS.

The software can dial in or out from the bank of lockers to the server to confirm locker status and control operations of the locker.

Stuart Miller, chief executive officer of ByBox, said, "This is a significant step in improving our product offering.

Wireless M2M technology allows us to break free from the limitations of only being able to manage systems over the fixed line telecomms networks".

Commenting on the choice of Lightfoot, Miller added, "It was the best solution we could find on the market for the price, without the memory or footprint overheads.

The system connects to the GSM/GPRS network, and the solution was delivered and running within four weeks of us specifying our needs".

Nick Randell added, "This is a really exciting application of Lightfoot, and we are already getting interest from several companies for wireless M2M applications, where 'intelligent' communications between machines is required, and where decisions need to be made based on machine status and actions.

Java is ideally suited to such requirements".

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