Accent S.p.A. (Accent), an Italy-based fabless system-on-chip (SoC) provider, will supply a newly developed integrated circuit (IC) to Itron, Inc. (Itron) for its OpenWay CENTRON smart meter product line. The new design will integrate the new ARM processor technology, a complete ZigBee wireless solution (RF, baseband and protocol stack), as well as an LCD driver and on-chip embedded flash memory to deliver performance, highly reduced bill of material and lowest system cost.
Processing capability combined with broad range analogue, digital and RF hardware peripherals will enable a single processor core solution for communication, control as well as user application software, thus eliminating the need for multiple processors while significantly reducing power consumption. In order to meet the processing demands of the utility advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) industry, the product offering will utilize the Cortex-M3 CPU from ARM.
The new device integrates a complete ZigBee PRO solution, including an IEEE 802.15.4 RF transceiver, PHY, MAC and communication stack including Smart Energy profile focused on AMI applications. ZigBee PRO provides utility companies a global, open standard for implementing secure, easy-to-use home area networks while also enabling consumers to choose interoperable products for precise management of energy consumption. The IC will also incorporate embedded flash memory to provide a single chip solution with unprecedented integration. Working from Itron’s product and system requirements, Accent has completed the design of the IC and will provide all necessary software up to the customer’s application layer. Silicon will be available during the fourth quarter of 2009; Itron plans to start mass deployment of Accent’s IC from 2010.
“While looking to increase performance capabilities for our next generation products, we started by considering a number of standard solutions from different silicon providers,” said Simon Pontin, vice president of AMI development. “Accent has offered a unique system level solution allowing us to integrate 4 ICs into a single SoC, enabling a higher level of integration, while increasing system performance. Accent has undisputed capabilities and track record to offer complete single chip solutions on a complex technology mix including RFCMOS, mixed-signal and embedded processing while enabling a very short time to market. By relying on Accent to produce our IC, Itron can continue to focus on its core competency of delivering advanced meter and utility software solutions to the energy and water industries.”
“We are pleased to be working with a global leader such as Itron on a crucial component of their OpenWay CENTRON product lines” said Federico Arcelli, chief executive officer of Accent. “This strategic engagement further demonstrates Accent’s value proposition in delivering highly optimized solutions that can meet the needs of system equipment manufacturers and OEMs.”
Itron is a US-based technology provider to the energy and water industries.