Today we announced two new DSP vector processors to address precisely these challenges – the CEVA-XC5 and CEVA-XC8. Both are the newest members of the CEVA-XC architecture, which is a highly successful DSP with more than 30 licensees and tens of millions of devices already in the market. These two cores have been designed to deliver exemplary power efficiency for even the most cost-, power- and die-size-constrained devices, and support the full range of emerging cellular protocols, the suite of Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards and any other IoT-related communication standards.
The DSPs are capable of handling both the PHY and the MAC of any LTE low data rate standard in conjunction with any of the other standards mentioned, on the same processor with much reduced overhead. In addition, they provide the flexibility required in many end markets where the wireless standards are constantly evolving or are not yet ratified. The table below gives you a good indication of the differing needs and lifetime expectancies of devices that all fall under the umbrella of IoT. With the new CEVA-XC5 and CEVA-XC8 DSPs, all of these use cases can be met, efficiently and cost-effectively.
Dozens of Wireless Standards
With all the buzz surrounding the Internet of Things, there still remains significant issues as to how these billions of devices and systems will actually connect to each other and to the internet. Right now, there are dozens of wireless standards all vying to be a part of the solution, and it’s too early to tell who will survive and who will disappear. Thinking back to the beginnings of 4G, there were eventually two camps competing to become the de facto standard – LTE on one side and WiMax on the other. And in the early days of 4G, both standards were in fact deployed in the mass market, with Sprint being the most well-known network to invest billions of dollars in it’s WiMax network. Incidentally, Sprint is scheduled to shutter its WiMax network within the next three months, closing that chapter of wireless connectivity for them. Anyway, back to the subject of this blog!
In terms of M2M and IoT connectivity, the mobile operators are not sitting back and letting the standards using unlicensed spectrum that dominate connectivity in the more established IoT segments such as the smart home, the smart grid and industrial. The 3GPP standards organization has defined a series of low data rate standards, more commonly referred to as LTE for IoT. These standards, including LTE Cat-1, LTE Cat-0 and LTE Cat-M all utilize the existing LTE networks and enable much lower data rate, lower power communications than is possible using the existing 2G, 3G or LTE standards. With the introduction of these standards, comes the need for new processors to deliver the power efficiency required to ensure these devices can be in the field for years on a single battery. And to add to the complexity, many devices deploying low data rate LTE will also be required to support other wireless standards such as Lora, SigFox, Ingenu, Wi-Fi 802.11n, PLC, 802.15.4g, ZigBee/Thread, GNSS, LTE-OTDOA, NB-IoT or Wi-Fi 802.11ah.
Want to Hear More?
- Visit CEVA’s website
- Download XC presentation
- Register to upcoming live webinar: “ Low Power LTE for IoT: Ubiquitous Coverage with Extended Battery Life” being held on December 15th and how our new DSPs can help you achieve your design goals for your IoT/M2M processors.
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