At ISC West 2014 in Las Vegas, GEO Semiconductor, a specialist in camera and video technology, and GainSpan Corporation, a provider of low-power Wi-Fi SoCs, introduced the companies' Mobileyes 4 Low Power (ME4LP) platform, comprising a fully integrated, battery-operated reference design for full HD doorbell cameras for security applications.
According to the companies, the extremely low power Full HD ME4LP is a complete hardware and software platform for emerging Internet of Things (IoT) video applications. The reference design is intended to accelerate time-to-market for customers seeking to add high-quality IP video streaming capabilities to products. In addition to doorbell cameras, other targeted applications may include battery powered Wi-Fi IP cameras, cloud cameras, automotive / backup cameras and toy cameras.
The ME4LP features the GainSpan GS2000 SoC, and the GEO Semiconductor MAX64380 H.264 encoder SoC. The companies say the new design leverages the key advantages of GS2000: high data rates supported in 802.11b/g/n SoC, multi-mode connectivity, extremely low standby current and low power operation. Meanwhile, the GEO MAX64380 chip features high dynamic range ISP and full HD (1920 x1080p) resolution, two-way audio communication and echo cancellation.
“According to market research firm IHS, the global video surveillance market is forecasted to reach more than $20 billion by 2017. We are seeing an emerging trend in Wi-Fi and battery operated cameras in the surveillance market,” asserts Bernard Aboussouan, vice president of marketing, GainSpan. “Our collaboration with GEO brings together the lowest power Wi-Fi solution and industry-leading low power video encoder SoC to enable customers to quickly develop battery-operated cameras with Full HD video in reduced time.”
The ME4LP includes embedded software compatible with iOS and Android mobile applications for smartphones and tablets. The GainSpan embedded software running on the Wi-Fi module offers complete Wi-Fi functionality and networking stack and services. It also supports a complete suite of security protocols, including WPA/WPA2-enterprise and personal security modes, legacy WEP encryption and upper layer security protocols such as TLS/SSL and HTTPs.
The new reference design will be fully supported by Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) in China, Taiwan and India.
“GEO Semiconductor is pleased to partner with GainSpan to provide products and solutions targeting the emerging markets, where low power and battery operated features are a requirement," comments said Ronald Allard, vice president of sales at GEO Semiconductor Inc. "We look forward to providing jointly developed solutions to the emerging IoT marketplace.”