Wireless technology is already an integral part of our lives. Bluetooth provides connectivity in a short range of devices, WiFi is used for local area networks and WiMAX provides wide area networking and metropolitan area networking. In the midst of all these wireless technologies, there has been a new development in the field of wireless networking and that is ZigBee.
ZigBee was developed for addressing the market demand for a standards based, cost-effective solution for wireless networking which supports low consumption of power low data rates, reliability and security. ZigBee is the only technology based on standards, which address the special needs of most of the remote monitoring and sensory and control network applications. If you want a solution for remote control and wireless monitoring, then ZigBee is the best answer to you. ZidBee nodes may be used for tying an entire office, home or factory together for security, control, safety and convenience. Nodes can be incorporated in a huge number of controls and sensors which are built into big infrastructures for industrial automation, home automation, medical equipment, remote metering, automotives, asset tracking systems, patient monitoring, temperature control systems, lighting and security systems.
ZigBee devices
Basically, there are three kinds of ZigBee devices:
• ZigBee Network Coordinator
• ZigBee Router
• ZigBee End Devices
The ZigBee Network Coordinator is a smart node which automatically starts the forming of the network. The Router is another smart node which is used for linking together and providing multi-hoping for the messages. It is associated with other end devices and routers. The ZigBee End Devices is the place where the rubber hits the actuators, road sensors, monitors, dimmers, switches and other controllers.
The improvement, implementation and progress of ZigBee technology into all the aspects of life is a path-breaking transformation in the world of wireless circuits. Gradually, it has started creeping into our offices and homes and is now ready to assume large numbers in the forthcoming years. In the future years, an increased number of people are sure to opt for this technology.
There are increasing trends of automating a home and studies have predicted that the market of home automation will see a huge rise in the coming years. Although the devices are ZigBee are not used widely at present, it has been expected that most of the electronic devices of future years will have ZigBee chips in them so that they can be connected to each other without any cables or wires.
Unlike Bluetooth and other wireless USB devices, the ZigBee devices form a grid network or mesh between the nodes. This allows the short range of the node to get expanded and get multiplied, covering much larger area. It is amazing to know that a single network of ZigBee is able to contain over 65,000 nodes or active devices. Each of these devices can operate for several years on an AA cell and thus, they consume much less power as compared to other networking devices. Thus, ZigBee provides low cost, smart, low maintenance, low power monitoring and the control systems.