During an interview with EE Times, NXP’s CEO demonstrated that lights – both compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) and LED bulbs – are dimmed or brightened, turned on or off – remotely via smartphone, tablet, PC or TV.

Underlying technology for NXP’s vision of the “Internet of things” includes low power RF and mesh network solutions originally developed by Jennic, a startup NXP bought last July. In wirelessly controlling CFL and LED light bulbs, NXP is using 802.15.4 short-range wireless for communication, the same 2.4 GHz frequency in which ZigBee operates. However, NXP is ditching ZigBees protocols altogether. Instead, it is embracing IP-based protocol stacks – 6lowpan (Ipv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks).