Qualcomm Incorporated, on Tuesday announced that its subsidiary, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., is extending its flagship QCA401x connectivity solutions with a new product. The new QCA4012 chip brings dual band Wi-Fi, enhanced security, low power, and a small size at a price point that best supports the development of connected devices. Qualcomm Technologies also announced the expansion of the QCA401x software ecosystem to include support for HomeKit, Google Weave and AllJoyn, as well as new cloud providers.
 
Premier Wi-Fi Connectivity Solution for the IoT
 
The introduction of the QCA4012 brings dual-band Wi-Fi connectivity to complement the existing QCA4010 single-band solution, making the new chip well-suited for applications in interference-sensitive environments. It also offers increased computing performance, memory and advanced features while minimizing size, cost and power consumption. The QCA4012 integrates low-power Wi-Fi and a fully featured micro-control unit (MCU) in a single-chip solution that combines design flexibility and rich development capabilities with a comprehensive set of hardware interfaces. Detailed features include:
 
• Dual Band capable of supporting both 2.4GHz and 5GHz for more robust Wi-Fi connections, with antenna diversity for extended range coverage.

• Full MCU capability with 1.5MB on-chip RAM for future upgradability of features and bug fixes, which is critical for applications with long life cycles.

• Enhanced security with secure boot, over-the-air (OTA) secure software update, anti-rollback, one-time-programmable (OTP) memory and on-chip crypto engine for application-level security.

• Rich interfaces including UART, HS-UART, I2C, I2S, up to 42 GPIOs, PWMs, ADCs, SPI/SDIO to directly interconnect to sensors, actuators, display, lighting and audio components.

• Low power Wi-Fi to support energy efficient applications.

• Pin-compatible part to support I-temp.
 
Software Ecosystem Support for Wi-Fi Solutions.
 
The QCA401x solutions now also feature pre-integrated software support for Apple’s HomeKit and Google’s Weave in addition to the AllSeen Alliance’s AllJoyn software framework. This is designed to help address fragmentation in the IoT, by allowing products to connect across different brands and communication platforms. QCA401x helps achieve interoperability between products in the home, making them easier and more secure to use, key benefits to driving wide adoption of smart devices.
 
In addition, Qualcomm Technologies is providing developers with technical tools and community enablement to help them develop new and innovative solutions for the IoT and accelerate commercialization. Based on the QCA401x software development kit, cloud service providers such as Ayla, Exosite and IOTA Labs have developed solutions that include cloud agents, API interfaces and other tools to support integration with IoT clouds.
 
Furthermore, Silex and various other ODMs are working on hardware platforms based on QCA4012.  Silex, Lite-on, WNC and WISOL also continue to work with the single-band QCA4010 introduced last year.
 
“Ayla's IoT agent support of the QCA401x means that anyone creating connected products using the Qualcomm Technologies IoT processor can connect directly to the Ayla IoT cloud. This collaboration between Qualcomm Technologies and Ayla further simplifies and reduces costs while accelerating time to market for manufacturers creating connected things, including smaller-scale IoT products, such as wearables,” said Bill Podrasky, vice president of business development, Ayla Networks.
 
“We are pleased to join forces with Qualcomm Technologies as a IoT cloud partner at Computex 2016 for the QCA401x product family. Exosite’s reliable, secure and scalable IoT platform and business transformation services help companies add connectivity to new and legacy products and bring them to market quickly,” said Hans Rempel, chief executive officer, Exosite.
 
“IOTA Labs has developed cutting edge IoT solutions integrating Qualcomm Technologies’ latest products with the IOTA Labs platform. IOTA Labs's leading edge IoT platform and experience acts as an accelerator for clients to transform their offerings into leading smarter products and services with a lower cost of ownership,” said Amit Singh, director and co-founder, IOTA Labs.
 
“Silex is very excited about launching the SX-ULPGN, a QCA401x based cost-effective, ultra-low power MCU + Wi-Fi pre-certified (FCC/IC/CE) module ideal for IoT/IoE applications. Using SX-ULPGN’s hostless mode, device manufacturers can develop complete IoT/IoE solutions with Wi-Fi connectivity without an external MCU at a cost effective price point. Using our UART AT command option, they can quickly add a serial-to-Wi-Fi converter for existing MCU based designs without porting any host driver,” said Keith Sugawara, vice president of business development, Silex America.