Gainspan WiFi chip powers phone based garden automation sys

Garden automation systems maker Solem has selected GS1011 Wi-Fi system-on-a-chip (SoC) to power its Wi-Fi Irrigation Controller and Wi-Fi Outdoor Lighting System.

Solem's systems allows users to directly access and control their watering and outdoor lighting needs from a smartphone or tablet of iOS or Android type.

The Wi-Fi Irrigation Controller features 2, 4 or 6 station configurations and is designed for residential or light commercial installations, including private gardens, public areas and sports fields. Each of the controller's 3 irrigation programs feature 8 start times per day and per program and may be set to use the water-budget feature that allows modulation of water from 0 to 200 percent. The rain sensor also adds the ability for automatic rain shutdowns of irrigation.

The Wi-Fi Outdoor Lighting Controller is designed for automatic management of outdoor lighting and fountains, but can also be used for indoor applications. With this programmable controller the user can set the lights/devices by timeslots from one minute to 24 hours with one minute steps, and can link individual lights to motion sensors and light sensors as required for added flexibility. Users can control lights and outdoor devices on a schedule or in shuffle mode as well as individually or in groups.

"For over 20 years, Solem's goal has been to push the envelope in terms of the consumer experience with garden automation systems. Still used around the world today, our first products were watering system programmers with a variety of innovative features (hybrid systems, fully electronic, autonomous, etc.). Our new Wi-Fi controllers continue this tradition of innovation. They add a new dimension that makes it much more convenient for customers to access and control their irrigation and lighting" said Bernard Bres, chairman and CEO, Solem. "By using GainSpan's SoC, we not only developed unique new products, but were able to leverage the extensive networking stack to develop our own code on the chip and design products that did not require any external microcontroller."

GainSpan has also announced that its low-power Wi-Fi technology is powering the DoorBot wireless videocamera doorbell. DoorBot allows you to see and talk with visitors through your smartphone or tablet from anywhere in the world. More than 10,000 DoorBot Wi-Fi doorbells have been sold since the product was introduced.

GainSpan's new GS2000 supports both Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) and ZigBee IP (802.15.4) offering multi Mbps throughput up to 40 Mbps throughput over an SDIO interface. The GS2000 also integrates networking stack that enables it to work with devices using low end MCUs or devices with no MCU at all (i.e. door locks, smartplugs, garage door openers).

GainSpan is showcasing all this at CES 2014.