Ellisys Enables UL for Latest-Generation Bluetooth® Compliance Testing

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ellisys, a leading worldwide provider of test and analysis solutions for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi^®, Universal Serial Bus (USB), and other wired and wireless communications technologies, and UL, a leading global safety science company, today jointly announced the availability of the Ellisys Bluetooth Qualifier (EBQ™) compliance tester system at UL facilities. The EBQ system is a comprehensive compliance, validation, and development platform for Bluetooth technology, targeting the behaviors of lower communications layers, and supporting both radio types - BR/EDR, or classic Bluetooth, and the newer standard, Bluetooth low energy (LE). To promote product interoperability and to maintain the brand strength, Bluetooth developers must have their products qualified under processes and guidelines established by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) (www.bluetooth.com).  The EBQ is recognized by the Bluetooth SIG as a validated test system for these purposes.

“With nearly a thousand qualification tests so far and growing, including the latest Bluetooth 5.1 tests, the EBQ system is the end-product of an intense engineering effort driven by the current and future needs of Bluetooth developers and test labs,” said Mario Pasquali, Ellisys president and CEO.  “The system is built for reconfigurability - as Bluetooth technology evolves, our customers will benefit from immediate updates that support the latest specifications, even prior to public release.  As with our industry-leading Bluetooth protocol analyzers, we found it important to design and build the EBQ from scratch, freeing the product from manufacturer-specific dependencies and limitations.  The result is a product that is laser-focused on test and qualification, and able to quickly meet the challenge of accommodating changes in how Bluetooth operates and evolves.  We are excited to have UL onboard and providing a much-needed service to Bluetooth developers that are creating the latest in Bluetooth products.”

“Our arrangement with Ellisys further expands UL’s technical capabilities and allows us to offer complete testing to the latest Bluetooth specification,” said Paul Blackett, Operations Manager at UL’s Silicon Valley facility in Fremont, California. “We were proud to be the first Bluetooth Qualification Test Facility under the new Bluetooth SIG requirements. Our IOT group offers a wide range of services from certification for Bluetooth, Zigbee and Thread to usability, interoperability and audio performance testing, so the addition of the EBQ system supports our customers in bringing innovative products to market.”

“Global product interoperability is a cornerstone of Bluetooth technology, and the Bluetooth product qualification process is central to ensuring interoperability and our technology’s continued success,” said Marriot Winquist, Vice President of Member Development and Services at the Bluetooth SIG. “It’s great to see our member companies bring tools that further strengthen the Bluetooth qualification process and, as a result, more innovative and highly interoperable Bluetooth products from all our members to market.”

Versatility of Design Delivers Broad Use Cases
The EBQ provides a variety of specialized hardware and software features focused on test and qualification of Bluetooth link layer, baseband, link manager protocol (LMP), and host controller interface (HCI) protocol, including a proprietary reprogrammable digital radio, an autonomous embedded operating system, detailed compliance reports, an integrated analyzer capture interface, automation facility, and a validation framework. The EBQ can be operated manually, or it can also be fully automated to be run automatically by Continuous Integration (CI) servers, running a small selection of tests against every code change during the day, and running a full qualification every night.  This multi-featured approach addresses a broad range of requirements from Bluetooth radio, controller, and stack developers, as well as qualified test labs such as UL.  The EBQ provides an industry-standard qualification approach that delivers consistent, reliable test results, and automated documentation of test runs.

Availability, Product Photos, and Information
The EBQ is available with a short lead time to Bluetooth SIG-recognized test labs, known as Bluetooth Qualification Test Facilities (BQTF) and Bluetooth Recognized Test Facilities (BRTF), and to Bluetooth SIG member companies involved with radio controller silicon or IP development.  For more information, visit www.ellisys.com/ebq or contact Ellisys at sales@ellisys.com.

A high-resolution photo can be downloaded from: https://www.ellisys.com/products/bq1/images/bq1_unit.png
Additional information can be found at: https://www.ellisys.com/products/bq1

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. UL tests, inspects, audits, certifies, validates, verifies, advises and trains, and the company supports these efforts with software solutions for safety and sustainability. To learn more, visit UL.com.

About Ellisys
Ellisys is a leading worldwide supplier of advanced protocol test solutions for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi^®, USB 2.0, SuperSpeed USB 3.1, USB Power Delivery, USB Type-C™, DisplayPort™, and Thunderbolt™.  More information is available on www.ellisys.com.

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Ellisys, the Ellisys logo, Better Analysis, Bluetooth Explorer, Bluetooth Tracker, Bluetooth Vanguard, and Type-C Tracker are trademarks of Ellisys, and may be registered in some jurisdictions. The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by the Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Ellisys is under license. Wi-Fi® and the Wi-Fi Alliance logo are trademarks of Wi-Fi Alliance. USB Type-C™ and USB-C™ are trademarks of USB Implementers Forum. DisplayPort and the DisplayPort logo are trademarks owned by the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA®) in the United States and other countries. Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and trade names are those of their respective owners.