Rabbit, a Digi International brand, today introduced the BL4S100 and BL4S200, single board computers (SBCs) that feature either Wi-Fi or ZigBee(R) connectivity, a microprocessor, memory and abundant I/O that allow easy deployment of wireless nodes for industrial, commercial and medical applications. This unique combination of control, I/O and connectivity makes it easy for engineers to add wireless connectivity and control to devices like vision systems, wireless industrial control systems, printing systems, automatic meter reading devices, industrial ventilation systems and HVAC systems. They also allow design engineers to easily gather and control data from ZigBee nodes and uplink the data to a server via Ethernet providing an easy to deploy ZigBee-to-Ethernet gateway.


"With Rabbit SBCs, embedded developers start with a virtually complete piece of hardware and only have to add software and an enclosure to create a product," said Larry Kraft, senior vice president of global sales and marketing, Digi International. "Now embedded developers have the fastest, easiest path to a wireless control product or wireless gateway. They can literally get to market in a few months."


The BL4S100 series offers both ZigBee and Ethernet connectivity and provides embedded design engineers a simple and straightforward approach for machine control and data acquisition without the burden of cables and wiring harnesses. It allows design engineers to deploy ZigBee nodes at various control points and connect those nodes wirelessly to the BL4S100 board. The BL4S100 SBC can then gather and collate the data from the ZigBee nodes and uplink it to a server via Ethernet. For example, hospitals can use the BL4S100 to link instruments via ZigBee to a server to maintain patient data easily and efficiently. It can also be used in a similar network configuration to control temperature and lighting in a building.


The high-performance BL4S200 series delivers higher clock speeds and twice the I/O as the BL4S100 series and offers a choice of Wi-Fi or ZigBee connectivity. It is ideal for applications that require significant digital and analog I/O such as data logging, instrument reading, and controlling motors, relays and solenoids. For example, companies can deploy ZigBee peer- to-peer networks using the BL4S200 series to control and monitor production processes then uplink data to a central command system.


Based on the Rabbit(R) 4000 microprocessor, the BL4S100 series features analog inputs, general purpose I/O, serial ports, and ZigBee and 10 Base-T Ethernet connectivity to provide design resources for commercial and industrial applications. Digi's XBee ZB RF modules are also compatible with other manufacturers' ZigBee PRO compliant devices providing outstanding node choice flexibility. Based on the Rabbit 4000 and Rabbit 5000 microprocessors, the BL4S200 series features Wi-Fi, ZigBee and Ethernet networking options. It also includes a broad range of configurable I/O resources, I/O expansion using Rabbit's RIO chip, and multi-channel analog inputs and outputs.