Case study template

Customer: A global consumer electronics leader

Industry: Wireless communication and IoT
Use case: Low power wireless modules

The customer needed a new generation of wireless modules for smart meters and other IoT devices. They wanted much lower power, higher performance and the flexibility to update products as networks evolve.

By using the Ceva BX DSP as the processing core, the customer reports about three times lower active power, faster development and a platform that can support future network upgrades without major hardware changes.

Target markets and applications

  • Wireless Communication
  • Internet of Things (IoT)
  • Price‑sensitive embedded device markets
  • Long‑lifecycle industrial and utility markets

 

Business challenge

The customer operates in very competitive markets where device makers expect long battery life, reliable connectivity and attractive price points.

For the next generation wireless platform, the customer set four main goals:

  1. Extend battery life to around 10 to 15 years for devices such as smart meters.
  2. Support advanced connectivity features with higher processing loads.
  3. Keep the platform programmable to adapt to future network changes.
  4. Protect overall product cost in price sensitive markets.

In short, the customer needed higher performance and more flexibility while reducing active power and keeping a tight bill of materials.

Why choose Ceva

The customer selected the Ceva BX DSP as the main processing engine for the new wireless platform.

Key reasons included:

  • Power efficient DSP tuned for wireless and IoT workloads.
  • Mature development environment, including tools, models and emulation.
  • Proven deployment across many high volume devices.

This choice allowed the customer to focus engineering effort on product features and customer value instead of building and maintaining a custom DSP architecture.

Implementation Highlights

  • PHY development: Most of the physical layer was developed offline using Ceva’s tools and emulation environments.
  • Competitive product design: Leveraging Ceva’s DSP enabled the customer to maintain market competitiveness while reducing R&D investments.

Results

  • Achieved ~3x reduction in active power consumption compared to the previous generation.
  • Delivered a highly efficient, bandwidth-optimized solution for IoT and wireless connectivity.
  • Accelerated development cycles through robust toolchains and integration support.

 

Key Takeaways

The collaboration between the customer and Ceva demonstrates how leveraging specialized DSP technology can:

  • Enhance power efficiency and performance.
  • Simplify integration and development.
  • Enable competitive, next-generation wireless solutions.

VP Engineering

“We needed to cut power and still support advanced features across a long product life. The Ceva BX DSP gave us the performance and flexibility we wanted while helping us shorten development and reduce risk.”