Mesh networking start-up Ember has acquired technology and personnel for ZigBee short range, low power networks from the UK’s Cambridge Consultants. The company, which has pioneered ZigBee-based mesh, will sample a single-chip device for the personal area standard within 18 months, by which time it expects the technology to be running on an UltraWideBand physical layer. Ember’s purchase brings it the CCL team and its ground breaking single chip architecture for the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, also called ZigBee, which focuses low power, low data rate communications for industrial applications, sensors, interactive toys, smart badges, remote controls, and home automation. It runs at10-250Kbps over 30 to 75 meters in the unlicensed 2.4GHz band. This market is expected to explode in 2-3…