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Echelon Expands its IzoT Platform for the IIoT to Enable Multiprotocol Wired and Wireless Building Automation Systems
[January 26, 2015]

Echelon Expands its IzoT Platform for the IIoT to Enable Multiprotocol Wired and Wireless Building Automation Systems


(AHR 2015)- Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON), a leading independent control networking company for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), has expanded its multiprotocol IzoT™ platform for the IIoT to include new Wi-Fi control modules and integrated support for BACnet/MS-TP. Echelon is demonstrating a converged building control and lighting control network supporting both wired and wireless devices that use LonTalk/FT, LonTalk/IP, BACnet/IP and BACnet/MS-TP protocols in booth #3434 at the AHR 2015 show.

Under the hood of Echelon's AHR demo of the IzoT platform for the IIoT market, which can control bot ...

Under the hood of Echelon's AHR demo of the IzoT platform for the IIoT market, which can control both building automation and lighting, over wired or wireless connections, and using multiple network protocols. (Photo: Business Wire)

Combined with Internet Protocol (IP) technologies, the IzoT platform supports the integration of formerly disparate building and lighting control systems while reducing development, startup, commissioning and operating time and costs. In fact, it is the only platform with a rich set of profiles to speed and simplify the development of building controls for both wired and wireless devices.

The IzoT platform includes a complete development environment, commissioning tools, protocol stacks, routers, chips and modules for engineers creating control devices and applications for the IIoT. Echelon has enhanced its IzoT FT 6000 chips and FT 6000 evaluation and development kit (EVK) to support BACnet/MS-TP in addition to the other BACnet and LonTalk protocol support.

"Echelon has executed on the promise of the IzoT product roadmap we laid out last year, delivering the first and only open, multiprotocol and comprehensive wired and wireless development platform for the IIoT," said Ron Sege, chairman and CEO of Echelon. "Echelon is driving the evolution of control networking to support multiple legacy protocols while also helping traditional operational technology (OT) systems to move into the IP-enabled world of information technology (IT) and the IoT."

By providing a common platform for developing multiprotocol, peer-to-peer, wired-and-wireless control products, Echelon's IzoT platform can:

  • Enable developers to build responsive, reliable and scalable control devices that are IP-enabled.
  • Reduce installation, maintenance and operating costs for building owners.
  • Lower R&D costs for OEMs.
  • Help OEMs to expand their addressable markets using fewer product SKUs (stock keeping units).
  • Allow control networking to be applied to new assets that previously either did not use control networking or used proprietary control technologies.

IzoT Products Bridge Legacy and New Technologies

The Echelon IzoT platform enables the billion or moe existing industrial OT devices to operate in modern IT environments. Echelon's IzoT platform products include:



  • IzoT FT 6000 chips. The IzoT FT 6050 System-on-Chip (SoC) is a single-chip solution for reliable, scalable and cost-effective controls-using flexible free topology (FT) twisted-pair wired connectivity-for creating communities of devices in the IIoT. New for 2015, the FT 6000 adds support for BACnet MS-TP in addition to BACnet/IP-FT LonTalk/IP and classic LonTalk/FT, all in a single chip. This multiprotocol capability is built into the IzoT chips, thus relieving developers of the low-level details of the LonTalk and BACnet protocols and allowing them to focus on their value-added application development.
  • IzoT CPM 4200 Wi-Fi modules. The IzoT CPM 4200 Wi-Fi module is a compact stamp module that can be embedded into any device requiring a wireless Wi-Fi-based controller or interface. The IzoT CPM 4200 Wi-Fi module enables existing LonWorks customers to seamlessly expand their wired networks with wireless devices, while at the same time enabling new customers to create state-of-the art wireless IIoT systems that leverage the rich set of IzoT profiles and types for IIoT applications. Building automation OEMs can use the same profiles and data types as existing FT twisted-pair products to achieve fast time to market.
  • IzoT U60 FT network interface module. The IzoT U60 FT network interface module is a board-level module that can be easily integrated into any controller or device. The U60 reduces development and maintenance costs for next-generation building controllers that must interface with a variety of building control networks, including BACnet/IP, BACnet/MS-TP, LonTalk/IP and classic LonTalk.
  • IzoT router. This next-generation area controller and router bridges between LonTalk/IP and BACnet/IP on Ethernet and classic LonTalk, LonTalk/IP and BACnet/IP on Free Topology (FT) twisted-pair physical media. When used with Wi-Fi access points, it supports multiple wired and wireless media. Its built-in IzoT server stack discovers, monitors and controls IzoT devices and provides an easy-to-use RESTful application programming interface (API) that makes it simple to develop custom web pages to monitor and control IzoT devices.
  • IzoT U60 FT DIN module. The U60 FT DIN module provides support for an additional FT channel to the IzoT router. Up to seven U60 FT DIN modules can be added to an IzoT router, providing support for up to eight FT channels for a single IzoT router.
  • IzoT CPM 4200 Wi-Fi EVK. This kit provides developers with the tools to evaluate the IzoT platform wireless solution, as well as the tools to create, test and deploy devices and control applications for the IIoT. The CPM 4200 Wi-Fi EVK packages the essential elements of the IzoT platform wireless solution into an aggressively priced and easy-to-use kit. Developers can use the CPM 4200 Wi-Fi EVK to create wireless devices using the LonTalk/IP protocol.
  • FT 6000 EVK. This complete development environment provides developers with the tools to evaluate the IzoT platform wired solution, as well as to create, test and deploy devices and control applications for the IIoT. The FT 6000 EVK packages the essential elements of the IzoT platform wired solution into an aggressively priced and easy-to-use kit. Developers can use the FT 6000 EVK to create wired devices using the ISO/IEC (News - Alert) 14908-compatible LonTalk/FT protocol as well as the LonTalk/IP-FT, BACnet/IP-FT and BACnet/MS-TP protocols.

About Echelon Corporation

Echelon Corporation (NASDAQ:ELON), a pioneer in developing open-standard control networking platforms, delivers all the elements necessary to design, install, monitor and control industrial-strength 'communities of devices' within the lighting, building automation, 'maker' and other markets worldwide. Echelon develops and sells complete systems and subsystems for target applications, plus system-on-chips (SoCs), embedded software, and commissioning and management tools for OEMs. With more than 100 million Echelon-powered devices installed worldwide, the company helps its customers easily and safely migrate existing control systems to the most modern platforms, while bringing new devices and applications into an ever-growing global Industrial Internet. Echelon helps its customers reduce operational costs, enhance satisfaction and safety, grow revenues and perform better in both established and emerging markets. More information about Echelon can be found at www.echelon.com.


Echelon and the Echelon logo are registered trademarks of Echelon Corporation registered in the United States and other countries. Other product or service names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

This press release may contain statements relating to future plans, events or performance. Such statements may involve risks and uncertainties; the risk that Echelon's product and service offerings by themselves or combined with other applications or offerings do not perform as designed or do not offer the expected benefits and savings; and other risks identified in Echelon's SEC (News - Alert) filings. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. Echelon undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.


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