MediaTek announces IoT SoC’s targeted at India’s smart home market

MediaTek India, a fabless semiconductor design company, announced the availability of two new System on Chips (SoCs) specifically targeted towards the emerging connected home market in the country. The MT7687 and MT7697 chipsets feature a range of innovative architecture designs and function, and will be made available across Internet of Things (IoT) devices. End products on these SoCs are likely to be available in India by Q4 2016. These SoCs are expected to be used for home gateway solutions and smart electronics like smart washing machine, refrigerators, air-conditioners and other home appliances. The key advantages of these chipsets are low power efficiency and slim packaging which provides size as well as cost advantage.

This series of chipsets shall help create a universal “eco-sphere” of seamlessly connecting a smartphone device to a diverse set of smart home features and functions. These may include home appliances, home automation, smart gadgets, IoT bridges and cloud connectivity.

“At MediaTek, our focus lies in developing cutting edge technologies which will impact the way customers use their devices. The MT7687 and MT7697 will each bring new features to home automation and IoT market in India that will further support the Smart City initiative by the Government,” said Mr. Kuldeep Malik, Country Head - Corporate Sales International, MediaTek India. “With solutions that power innovation and drive productivity, MediaTek is extending its leadership in the IoT segment to help India customers capitalize on the next technological shift.”

The specifications for the SoCs are given below:

· MT7687

The MT7687 is a Wi-Fi SoC that allows home appliances and smart devices to connect to and be controlled through a home network. Enabling a diverse range of IoT applications, the MT7687 provides advanced security, integrated memory, and an enhanced user programmable microcontroller. The MT7687 provides lower power consumption to ensure maximum performance with a minimal impact on device power. The MT7687 has the ability to transmit at a maximum power output of 21dBm, a level that exceeds comparable SoCs in the market for enhanced WiFi coverage for smart homes. In addition, security is achieved through AES and 3DES/SHA2 protocols as security engines.

· MT7697

Additionally, the MT7697 is a special series of chips to integrate the IoT at homes. The chip delivers low energy Bluetooth and dual-band Wi-Fi to integrate various devices across your living space. The MT7697 supports Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and provides the highest integration among comparable SoCs, combining and optimizing DB Wi-Fi, BLE, CM4 and RAM. It embeds a power amplifier with TX Power up to 10 decibel-milliwatts (dBm). On iOS devices specifically, the MT7697’s BLE supports up to 160 bytes of maximum transmission units (ATT_MTU).

Keeping in mind the aim to expand their global footprint, MediaTek is launching these products to ride on the growing technological momentum in the market. MediaTek’s core lies in designing leading display technologies, regardless of device. With a deep legacy embedded in multimedia technology – and reputation as an industry leader across phones, DVD and audio -- the brand is taking that expertise and applying it to forward-looking formats like IoT, wearables and more.