NORTHBROOK, Illinois--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UL (Underwriters Laboratories), a global safety science leader, announced today that it successfully completed the first Thread testing for NXP® Semiconductors N.V. Thread is a wireless networking protocol for the Internet of Things (IoT) industry. UL is the only approved test lab validating interoperability and conformance for Thread-enabled products.
Adoption for IoT devices from wearables to connected home automation systems is picking up. Manufacturers have to innovate and respond quickly to gain market advantage. When designing new IoT devices, manufacturers need to ensure their product can communicate with other IoT devices seamlessly. A key consideration for manufacturers to adopt Thread as the IoT protocol is that this technology is low power and can connect up to 250 IoT devices in a secure network.
UL started working closely with the Thread Group in 2015 to develop the Thread Certification Program. The first Thread-certified Kinetis KW41Z wireless MCU by NXP is a critical component for IoT solutions. This small but powerful microprocessor enables connectivity and control. Manufacturers can now speed up product development by incorporating the Thread-certified Kinetis KW41Z MCU into many IoT applications such as home control, fitness monitoring, asset monitoring and metering.
“The Thread certification of NXP’s Kinetis KW41Z MCU demonstrates UL’s commitment in driving IoT growth and consumer technology innovation,” noted Chris Guy, General Manager EMEA LA UL Consumer Technology Division. UL is currently the only source for both ZigBee and Thread testing. Apart from these two, UL provides certification test programs for wireless protocols like Bluetooth SIG, OCF, NFC, Wi-Fi Alliance, WBA, and ZigBee
“The Kinetis KW41Z is the industry’s first multi-protocol wireless microcontroller solution. Working with UL for the Thread certification reinforces our claims that the Kinetis KW41Z can support Thread and therefore is a viable solution for IoT product developers,” said Emmanuel Sambuis, Vice President of Microcontrollers and Connectivity at NXP Semiconductors.
About UL
UL fosters safe living and working conditions for people everywhere through the application of science to solve safety, security and sustainability challenges. The UL Mark engenders trust enabling the safe adoption of innovative new products and technologies. Everyone at UL shares a passion to make the world a safer place. We test, inspect, audit, certify, validate, verify, advise and train and we support these efforts with software solutions for safety and sustainability. To learn more about us, visit europe-ul.com.
