For all those who want to operate a wireless sensor network, now there is a capable gateway node in the PCI-104 format. LiPPERT's »Cool MoteMaster« board features an IEEE 802.15.4 transceiver as well as a traditional Ethernet port. Using an AMD Alchemy Au1550 processor, LiPPERT designed a module that has PCI extensibility using a standard PCI-104 connector and also a miniPCI slot, which can be used for standard Laptop WLAN cards. The 90 mm by 96 mm board runs the Linux operating system. (Kernel 2.6.13 from www.linux-mips.org) Consuming only 2.5 watts from a 5V supply, the computer features 500 MHz clock speed and 128 MB soldered RAM. Three serial ports, USB host and device ports, analog and digital I/O complete the system. The board can be powered using either Power over Ethernet (PoE), or a single 5V supply. The Cool MoteMaster is available in standard and extended temperature ranges and conforms to the RoHS directive.

The various communication interfaces and the large computing power make the Cool MoteMaster a versatile gateway between the different network technologies.

The distinctive features of the Cool MoteMaster are:

- Processor: AMD Alchemy™ Au1550, no heatsink necessary

- Memory: 128 MB soldered RAM

- Storage:

o 256 MB NAND Flash

o 16 MB NOR Flash

- Communication

o IEEE 802.15.4 compliant wireless transceiver.

o10/100 BaseT Ethernet

- Extensibility

o miniPCI slot

o PCI-104 standard connector

- Input/Output

o 2 x USB 1.1 host ports

o 1 x USB 1.1 slave port

o 3 x serial, RS232 levels

o 10 digital I/O signals, 3.3V

o LED's for power, watchdog, Ethernet and user-defined life signalization

- Power supply

o Power over Ethernet

o 5V from the PCI-104 connector