Wireless USB Product Designs, Test Plans Announced

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Wireless USB devices are moving farther down the path to actually becoming products, with updated testing plans and product reference designs announced this week at the Intel Developer Forum.

A week after WiQuest said that it had tested its silicon against Windows Vista, Staccato Communications said it had submitted six potential products to the FCC for certification, and combined Bluetooth and WUSB technology into a single reference card. NEC also said that it had developed a wired USB-to-WUSB adapter.

Finally, the USB Implementor's Forum announced testing availability for Certified Wireless USB, which marks the final stage products face before they are certified and production-ready, the group said.

Wireless USB, an application-specific form of ultrawideband technology, is led by Intel and its partners, which are using it to replace wired USB connections. The technology can theoretically pass data at up to 480 Mbits/s data rates across distances of a few meters. The first products are expected in early 2007.

To date, however, the technology has been forced to go through lengthy interoperability testing, after the standard stalled in the IEEE working group assigned to the task.

Manufacturers who wish to go through the process and receive a Certified Wireless USB logo will need to go through a list of self-tests and checklists before going though the certification process, which will be initially administered by Intel at its Wireless USB Platform Integration Lab, and later at a series of workshops.

"Ensuring that products interoperate and are compliant with the specification is critical when introducing a new technology to the consumer," said Jeff Ravencraft, USB-IF's president and chairman, in a statement. "The USB-IF developed the Certified Wireless USB Compliance and Certification Program to provide the necessary testing tools for manufacturers to deliver high-quality interoperable products before the end of the year."

A significant portion of those early products will most likely be designed around a single supplier, given that most of the WUSB chipmakers are working toward a single integrated solution.

Staccato, which is one of a number of chipmakers developing device silicon, plans six reference designs which it will submit to the FCC. Device makers have said previously that they will concede the host WUSB market to Intel, which most likely will integrate the technology inside some of its future core logic devices.

Staccato's designs will include:

• SC3221R USB External Host Wire Adapter (HWA) Dongle - a small form factor HWA dongle, similar in size to a USB flash drive, that plugs into any external USB 2.0 port on a PC to enable Certified Wireless USB technology in the host.
  
• SC3222R HWA Mini Card - Targets a new generation of notebook PCs supporting internal PCI Express Mini Card slots as a build-to-order or configure-to-order option. The SC3222R implements an HWA through the USB interface.
  
• SC3223R USB Embedded Device Wire Adapter (DWA) Daughtercard - DWA reference design intended for integration in peripherals already supporting a wired USB 2.0 interface. By simply connecting a DWA to an existing USB device interface, any application can instantly enabled device functionality based on Certified Wireless USB.
  
• SC3224R Combo Bluetooth Mini Card - Combines both Bluetooth and Certified Wireless USB technology onto a single PCI Express Mini Card form factor design to provide a fully integrated wireless PAN solution for notebook PCs. The Bluetooth SIG had previously announced plans to combine Bluetooth and Wireless USB.
  
• SC3225R HWA Half Mini Card - A card that's half the size of a standard PCI Express Mini Card, allowing a bit more flexibility in designs.
  
• SC3226R SDIO Card - A reference design based on Certified Wireless USB in an SDIO Card form factor for embedded applications.
  

NEC also also announced the uPD720180 DWA chip, a fancy name for a component that will allow wired USB peripherals to connect to a UWB radio for Wireless USB functionality. The chip will also serve as a hub, allowing four wired USB devices to use the WUSB connection.

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