NXP Semiconductors has announced the launch of its new best-in-class, low power and long range JN5169 wireless microcontroller and accompanying smart home and smart lighting solutions, featuring certified ZigBee LightLink, Home Automation, GreenPower software stacks and, the first in the market, a NFC-commissioning option that allows users to connect systems intuitively with just one tap. An on-chip +10dBm power amplifier within JN5169 doubles the connectivity range of NXP’s existing smart home products.

The solution features the ability to connect with 250 nodes allowing for it to be deployed in a wide range of uses in homes and industrial environments. ZigBee 3.0 and Thread ready, JN5169 also features a new toolchain for software development allows up to 15% code size reductions and features extensive debugging capabilities. Intuitive one-touch commissioning using NFC connectivity ensures that the devices can be easily yet securely paired without sending network details ‘over-the-air’, thus strongly reducing the threat of hacking.

NXP Semiconductors logo.

To support JN5169, NXP is launching three new design references for white, tunable white and RGB(W) color lamps, which reduce the total build cost of smart lighting solutions up to 25%. With 512kB embedded flash memory, there is enough memory available on the product to enable Over-The-Air software upgrades, meaning that expensive external flash memory is no longer required, leading to additional cost savings. The lamp reference designs are complemented by wireless switches, remotes, wall panels, sensors, smart plugs and gateways as well as control by cloud services from NXP and its eco-system partners.

“Home automation is one of the leading sectors of the IoT market. As these devices come ever more prominently into the mainstream, our customers need lower cost, easier to use, more robust and more secure solutions,” said Jacob van der Pol, business development manager RF Connectivity Solutions, NXP.

“What we have announced in response to this, is an all-encompassing solution for the smart lighting and home automation market, which will outstrip other competitors in convenience, reliability and cost. JN5169 demonstrates that we are not only at the forefront of the smart lighting and home automation industry, but also the leading innovators.”

Other key features of JN5169 include:

• 14mA receive current allowing to reduce the standby power of bulbs down to an ultralow 100mW
• Only 20mA transmit current at +10dBm which is at least 40% lower than other products in the market thus maximizing battery life of wireless nodes
• The use of low cost 85°C crystals for smart bulbs instead of more expensive 125°C specified crystals enabled by innovative circuit and software techniques

The new JN5169 product is already being adopted by leading players in the smart lighting market, including TCP Inc. and Leedarson.

David Geraci, product manager connected lighting at TCP, Aurora, USA said: ‘’NXP is our long term valued partner for connected lighting products. With NXP’s new JN5169 wireless microcontroller based reference designs, TCP will be able to improve both the performance and ease of use of our connected lighting products and thus maintain our leadership in the US connected lighting market’’.

Joe Zhou, strategic marketing manager at Leedarson, Xiamen, China said: “Leedarson has been developing smart bulbs starting from NXP reference designs since 2011. The unique features of the new NXP JN5169 ZigBee chip allow Leedarson to improve range and efficiency and lower standby power consumption of our smart lighting product portfolio and thus to offer a more attractive and green solution to our customers’’