18 November 2008

Laird Unveils 802.11 Wireless Module With ARM9 Processor

Laird Technologies, Inc. has unveiled an 802.11 wireless module aimed at streaming video and high data rate applications which incorporates an ARM9 applications processor.

Laird Technologies' WLM400 802.11b/g Wireless LAN module brings increased performance to embedded designers wanting to take advantage of the high data rates available from Wi-Fi networks, the company explained. It utilizes a powerful ARM9 application processor to provide a streaming channel that can deliver in excess of 15Mbps real data throughput with a 54Mbps 802.11g link with minimal power consumption.

"Embedded 802.11 modules with integrated drivers and stacks have long been lacking in terms of data throughput," said Nick Hunn, Advanced Technology Director of Laird Technologies. "This new module delivers outstanding performance of wireless networking to applications that do not have the host processing capacity to perform the heavyweight driver and TCP/IP activity for themselves. It is ideal for many industries that want to move from a wired to wireless connection, but have previously been unable to support the additional processing load."

Key features of the WLM400 include actual streaming data rates in excess of 15Mbps, full embedded TCP/IP stack, support for 802.11b/g specification, and low power operation. Additionally, the modules supports antenna diversity, excellent range, an ARM9 application processor, UART control port, as well as SPI, I2C, GPIO, and ADC ports.