Bluetooth mesh technology for smart home products

It has been announced that Xiaomi (01810.HK) has launched new smart home products using Bluetooth mesh networking technology from Silicon Labs (NASDAQ: SLAB). The new products from Mi Ecosystem partners include smart LED light bulbs, candle bulbs, downlights and spotlights. The voice-assistant XiaoAi smart alarm clock serves as a gateway to control smart Bluetooth mesh lights through voice commands.

“Silicon Labs is a valued technology partner providing best-in-class wireless hardware and software, development tools and local engineering support for Mi Ecosystem partners in the China market,” said Yanlu Zhang, RD Director of Xiaomi IoT platform. “Silicon Labs’ Wireless Gecko platform provides the connectivity options, design flexibility, ease of use and security features our ecosystem partners need to simplify smart product design and accelerate time.”

The new Xiaomi smart home products use EFR32BG Wireless Gecko system-on-chip (SoC) devices running Silicon Labs’ Bluetooth mesh protocol stack. Wireless Gecko SoCs offer an optimal combination of features and capabilities including high transmit power and a +125°C temperature rating for Xiaomi’s application requirements.

Matt Johnson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of IoT products at Silicon Labs, explained: “We are seeing increasing deployment of Bluetooth mesh in China’s fast-growing smart home market, and Xiaomi is poised to ship mesh-enabled smart home products at scale, driving further adoption of this versatile, ubiquitous wireless technology. We look forward to collaborating with Xiaomi and Mi Ecosystem developers on future products leveraging our Wireless Gecko hardware and software platform.”

Silicon Labs is a leader in Bluetooth innovation, delivering ultra-small Bluetooth SiP modules, multiprotocol SoCs supporting Bluetooth commissioning, and software tools and stacks to simplify Bluetooth development. Silicon Labs is also the leading supplier of silicon and software for mesh networking applications. The company has shipped more than 150 million mesh networking SoCs and modules and has more than 15 years of experience in developing standards-based mesh networking solutions for customers worldwide.