Samsung Electro-Mechanics gets Zigbee RF4CE stamp

Samsung Electro-Mechanics has received the Zigbee RF4CE certification. The Zigbee RF4CE—Radio Frequency For Consumer Electronics—is the standard made by the Zigbee Alliance in March 2009 to meet rapidly growing needs in the bi-directional communication and remote control fields of electronic devices including HDTVs, air-conditioners, STBs and audio systems.

Zigbee IC companies are required to be certified with standard communication protocol to sell products in the home appliance market. The certification of Samsung Electro-Mechanics is the first in Korea as well as in the world except for the golden device (standard device chosen by the Association).

The certification recognizes the technology of Samsung Electro-Mechanics and enables the company to enter the home appliance remote control market with high quality and compatibility assurance.

It is anticipated that remote controllers for home appliances such as TVs will be the first to adapt RF4CE standard. The Zigbee RF4CE standard remote controller, which will replace IR remote controller, does not need a designated point, and can operate devices freely from long distances regardless of obstacles. In terms of battery life, it lasts four times longer than IR remote controls. It is also capable of bi-directional communication, making it compatible with data broadcasting services like IPTV. It is suitable for machine-to-machine communications such as TV-STBs and TV-home theaters.

Kim, Hak-Sun, VP of the UC business team of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, said that "The ubiquitous sensor network is a new and growing field all over the world, which allows Samsung Electro-Mechanics to preoccupy the market and technology. With this certification, Samsung Electro-Mechanics will secure technological superiority in the 0.5 billion unit RF remote control market. By preparing for Zigbee SoC and a variety of protocol stacks ahead of time, we are now fully prepared to satisfy customers' needs."

Samsung Electro-Mechanics forecasts that this certification will serve as a momentum for growing into a green supplier of Zigbee, which is a key part of home wireless networks and smart grid businesses.