Is ZibBee Ready to Take the Helm?; Raymarine Develops Industry's First Wireless Boat Autopilot, Enabled by Ember's ZigBee-Ready Networking Technology

BOSTON & CAMBRIDGE, United Kingdom--Feb. 2, 20052, 2005--Owners of sports boats can now control their vessels wirelessly, even away from the helm, using a new Raymarine wireless autopilot system with built-in ZigBee(TM)-ready networking technology from Ember.

Raymarine, the world leader in marine electronics, debuted at the 2005 Miami International Boat Show last week the industry's first wirelessly controlled autopilot, the SmartPilot S1000. Designed for hydraulic powerboats up to 25 feet - such as sports fishing boats, ski boats and day boats - the Raymarine wireless autopilot system is a significant technological advance for boating control, safety and enjoyment. Embedded with Ember's ZigBee-ready wireless chips and networking software, the S1000 is easy to install with virtually no wiring, and will operate for years on AAA or rechargeable batteries. The wireless autopilot is also easy to learn and operate. From anywhere on the boat, users can select to steer a straight course, go direct to a waypoint, or choose one of the programmed fishing or trolling patterns, as well as monitor their marine electronics.

The S1000 utilizes Raymarine's SmartSteer programming which provides an intelligent rate of turn relative to boat speed, enabling an angler to confidently spend time away from the helm without worrying about sudden course changes. While trolling, the autopilot can follow a straighter course for better fuel economy and can execute controlled turns.

Raymarine partnered with Ember because it offered a leading edge 'real world' ZigBee platform, enabling Raymarine to rapidly develop a wireless solution. According to Kieran Breheny, director of engineering development at Raymarine, "Ember offered the speed and convenience of a full platform solution - radio chips, networking software and development environment - that enabled us to meet an aggressive product development cycle."

The Raymarine/Ember partnership is an example of the flexibility and broad market potential of ZigBee technology for monitoring and control, and sensory network applications. Ember-enabled systems are already being used in marine applications ranging from wireless sensor networks that sniff out radiation and bioterrorism materials aboard ocean cargo containers, to monitoring the freshness of fish en route to market. Ember's ZigBee-ready technology is also helping buildings consume less energy, enabling industries to improve their environmental impact, making our homes safer and more comfortable, and helping factories run with fewer breakdowns.

ZigBee is a recently ratified industry standard designed for low power, low cost, low data rate wireless mesh networks. It enables easy deployment of low-cost battery operated wireless networks much like the one the Raymarine S1000 currently employs. ZigBee is the only standards-based technology that addresses the unique needs of most remote monitoring and control and sensor network applications.

"With the ZigBee market set to explode, it's all about fast time-to-market," said Venkat Bahl, Ember's vice president of marketing. "The speed and ease by which Raymarine was able to innovate a breakthrough new marine electronics product in record time is evidence of the technology's huge mass market potential."

About Raymarine, Inc.

Raymarine, the world leader in marine electronics, develops and manufactures the most comprehensive range of electronic equipment for the recreational boating and light commercial marine markets. Designed for high performance and ease of use the award-winning products are available through a global network of dealers and distributors. The Raymarine product lines include radar, navigation aids, instruments, fishfinders, communications, software and systems. For more information about Raymarine call 1-800-539-5539 or visit www.raymarine.com.

About Ember Corporation

Ember Corporation develops wireless semiconductor solutions that help buildings consume less energy, manufacturing plants run with fewer breakdowns, and the country's borders and infrastructure remain safe and secure. Its vision is to help create an "Internet of things" by enabling the eight billion microcontrollers built into products each year to support low-cost, low-power networking applications in any industry. Headquartered in Boston with offices and distributors worldwide, the company was named one of Fortune Magazine's top "Cool Companies" and Red Herring's "Top 100 Innovators" for 2004. For more information, please visit www.ember.com.

ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works

The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance is a rapidly growing, non-profit industry consortium of leading semiconductor manufacturers, technology providers, OEMs, and end-users worldwide. Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at www.zigbee.org.