ABI Research, a global technology intelligence firm, forecasts that annual shipments of the ESL market will grow from approximately 185 million units in 2022 to approximately 560 million units by 2027. Accordingly, it is expected that electronic shelf labels (ESLs) supporting Bluetooth will occupy a greater share across the market.

Software IP company Ceva announced on the 14th that SKAIChips, a fabless company specializing in low-power wireless technology, has applied Ceva’s RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.4 IP in the development of Electronic Shelf Label (ESL) ICs.

Founded in 2019, SkyChips provides intelligent ICs for the 4th industrial revolution, also known as Industry 4.0.

With a diverse range of expertise in RF, power, analog and AI, we are leveraging Ceva’s IP portfolio to enable data connectivity, sensing and inference in devices, creating synergies in the development of ESL ICs.

SkyChips is leveraging Ceva’s Bluetooth SIG certified Bluetooth 5.4 IP to develop cost-effective, feature-rich ESL ICs with minimal power and accelerated time to market.

Additionally, Ceva and SkyChips are collaborating to develop channel sounding capabilities that will be introduced in the next-generation Bluetooth standard, enabling advanced positioning applications for automotive, industrial and broader IoT markets.

“SkyChips is committed to providing customers with powerful, intelligent ICs for innovative products in the industrial market,” said Kang-Yoon Lee, CEO of SkyChips. “By integrating Ceva’s Bluetooth 5.4 platform into SkyChips’ ESL chips, we can provide our customers with high value by ensuring the highest level of connectivity and functionality.”

Ceva's RivieraWaves Bluetooth 5.4 is the first to receive Bluetooth SIG certification. As an IP platform, it provides all the standard features including Periodic Advertising with Response (PAwR) and Encrypted Advertising Data (EAD) for entry into the ESL market.

Meanwhile, Smart Retail is increasing the adoption of ESL, which includes information such as pricing, benefits and promotions, inventory status, and product details. It is predicted that this adoption will accelerate significantly as standardized communication technologies at reasonable costs become available.