Aiming to take much of the technical complexity out of setting up and configuring wireless sensor networks, start-up technology vendor Synapse Inc. today released a series of wireless control networking products based on the company's proprietary Synapse Network Appliance Protocol (SNAP).
The new products include SNAP Portal software that manufacturers can use to configure and change the behavior of wireless end devices via a series of English scripts rather than complex computer coding using languages such as C++.
That kind of ease-of-use improvement should significantly increase the number of manufacturers using wireless sensor networks to gain greater insights into everything from production processes to the performance of products operating in the field, said Synapse CEO Wade Patterson in an interview with Managing Automation.
"Up until now, wireless sensor networks have been so hard to use, people would read about it, find out they have to become a C++ programmer, and give up," Patterson said.
In addition to the Portal configuration software, Synapse is offering end devices and RF engines, which are low-power radio frequency transmitter and receiver modules that can be used to link Synapse end devices or other devices into the Synapse wireless network from distances as great as three miles.
SNAP is an alternative to the ZigBee wireless networking protocol, which is currently gaining momentum among manufacturers. Though the SNAP protocol is proprietary at the application layer, SNAP uses ZigBee's standard 802.15.4 physical layer. Synapse plans to support the ZigBee protocol on a version of its product to be released in the third quarter of this year, Patterson said.
The new Synapse product is available now only in a Network Evaluation Kit. The kit, designed to let manufacturers and other potential users test and gain experience with the wireless sensor networking technology, includes three end devices and an entry-level version of the Portal — called Portal Lite — which supports scripting and event display.
Synapse plans to release more robust bundles of its technology beginning next month. They will include silver, gold, and platinum versions of the Portal product. The silver version, due May 18, supports up to 12 end devices, plus features such as event logging and pre-written scripting macros. The platinum version, due in the fourth quarter of this year, supports up to 65,000 end devices, an application programming interface, and a Web-interface that will allow the wireless network to be controlled from anywhere on the Internet.
The Evaluation Kit lists for $249. Synapse has not yet released pricing for the other versions of the product.
Synapse expects three different types of applications to emerge for the SNAP products, Patterson said. Manufacturers will connect sensors to the wireless network and use them to monitor temperature and other conditions affecting production line equipment. Also, manufacturers and service providers will license the SNAP protocol and products in order to embed them into their products so that they can monitor and control devices such as networked thermostats or appliances. Others will use Synapse's RF modules to tie into small existing networks using serial interfaces, Patterson predicted.
One customer already embedding the Synapse SNAP technologies into its products is XCI Corp., a Dallas-based maker of networked sensors and thermostats. So far, Patterson said, no companies are using Synapse's technologies to monitor production environments, although some are evaluating doing so.
A 15-person company based on Huntsville, AL, Synapse was launched last fall after acquiring the assets of a 4-year-old wireless sensor vendor named Synapse. The company retained the name.