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ZigBee Wireless Standard Ratified

Posted by michael on from the do-you-zig? dept.

ductormalef writes "Today, the ZigBee Alliance announced the release (pdf) of version 1.0. ZigBee is a standard for low data-rate (250kbps max) wireless personal area networks (WPANs). It utilizes the IEEE 802.15.4 hardware and MAC layers which utilize frequency bands at 898MHz, 902-928MHz, and 2.4GHz. ZigBee supports mesh networking and claims to be 'wireless control that simply works.' They claim to be a solution to everything from wireless home automation to industrial control."

26 of 128 comments (clear)

  1. So... by Tuxedo+Jack · · Score: 4, Funny

    I guess you could say this is...

    ZIG-nigificant?

    Or that we should take off every Zig?

    Thank you, thank you, I'm here all week.

    --

    Striking fear in the authors of godawful fanfiction, I am here, appearing in darkness, Tuxedo Jack!
    1. Re:So... by Kenshin · · Score: 3, Funny

      Standard approved! Launch all ZigBee!

      --

      Does it make you happy you're so strange?

    2. Re:So... by kfg · · Score: 2, Funny

      Launch all ZigBee!

      As with all new "standards," however, just be careful not to get stung (as some have gotten bit by Bluetooth).

      KFG

  2. Industrial? by vasqzr · · Score: 5, Insightful



    ZigBee supports mesh networking and claims to be 'wireless control that simply works.' They claim to be a solution to everything from wireless home automation to industrial control.

    We'll see how this works. The last factory we worked in, we had to use fiber (10MB at that) because cables would have too much interference.

  3. Simply works? by BBrown · · Score: 5, Insightful

    "ZigBee: Wireless Control that Simply Works"

    From my days in compsci classes, anything that simply works usually isn't working at all.

  4. Guess we'll have to wait and see... by quamaretto · · Score: 2, Funny

    ...if this PANs out. ZING!

    No seriously, is that a PAN in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

    But really folks, I'm going to have to see if I can cook up a little network of my o-*head cut off by ninja*

    --
    *is run over by rotten tomatoes*
  5. Uh oh... by bomjolo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    A new door opens in the world of aerial communism...

  6. bluetooth called by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    it wants its idea back

    1. Re:bluetooth called by Excelsior · · Score: 5, Informative

      I know you are telling a joke, but I'm not sure whether it is more humorous or innacurate.

      I suggest reading a nice summary over at MIT Technology Review.

      But since you obviously don't read the articles, let me cover it for you:
      - Zigbee is power efficient. A ZigBee switch should be able to run off watch batteries for years. Bluetooth - HA!
      - Zigbee stack is a small 28k. Bluetooth's stack is 250k.
      - Zigbee networks can support up to 255 nodes, and can be switched to 16 bit addressing to support 65,000 nodes. Bluetooth can have 8 active nodes, 255 total.
      - Zigbee range is around 30 meters. Bluetooth is 10 meters.
      - Zigbee supports three network topologies (star, mesh, cluster tree). Bluetooth supports a dynamic piconet topology.
      - Zigbee enabled devices can be built cheaply. Bluetooth was *supposed* to be cheap. This is due to the short stack.

      And the list goes on. See the ZigBee FAQ.

      Zigbee is designed for a very specific application (switching, censors, controllers, etc.). And by this list, you can see that it was specifically designed to meet the needs of that application. Bluetooth does not and cannot support that application, just like Zigbee cannot support the application Bluetooth was designed for (cable replacement).

  7. $5 chips by March, says Mr Zigbee - Bob Heile by judgecorp · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Zigbee chips will be available for $5 in the first quarter of 2005, according to Bob Heile of the Zigbee Alliance. I had a long interview with him about Zigbee's prospects. He clearly enjoys his work.

    Zigbee will be big in phones, and he reckons it's on target for 5 million units by the end of 2005.

    Peter Judge. Techworld

    1. Re:$5 chips by March, says Mr Zigbee - Bob Heile by GlassHeart · · Score: 2, Insightful
      Zigbee will be big in phones, and he reckons it's on target for 5 million units by the end of 2005.

      Vendors shipped 165 million cell phones worldwide in the third quarter of 2004. In-start/MDR predicts 653 million units to be shipped this year. So, even by 2004 numbers, Zigbee will be in less than 1% of new cell phones shipped next year if they hit their target. Bluetooth, on the other hand, ships two million units per week in various devices. Perhaps it "will be big", but you need far stronger numbers to back up your prediction.

      Heile says it'll be "on target for 5 million units"? Your own article reports that he also said "analysts are predicting between 5 million and 50 million Zigbee devices in the first year", which means Zigbee might make the low end of predictions.

      Also, $5 per unit is a huge cost for cell phone vendors. Nokia, for instance, would have to pay over $1 billion a year (~200 million units, excluding engineering costs) to support this in all their phones. To put that number in perspective, that's about a good quarter's worth of net profit for Nokia.

      In other words, like any new technology, it will become much cheaper with wide adoption, but it will not be widely adopted unless it's cheap. Its future may be interesting, but is by no means assured. I simply don't see the evidence for your optimism.

  8. Reminds me of an old Dilbert strip by bennomatic · · Score: 2, Funny
    Dilbert's buying a computer, and the salesman shows him one, saying, "This is our easiest-to-use computer. It's only got one button. All you have to do is click it!"

    Dilbert: "But what does it do?"

    Salesman: "Woah there! You're beyond me. Here's the number for tech support!"

    (BTW, I don't have the strip handy, so the quotes may be approximate.)

    --
    The CB App. What's your 20?
    1. Re:Reminds me of an old Dilbert strip by kzinti · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm way off the original topic here, but your Dilbert reminded me of one of my favorites.

      Dilbert, examining two network cables as the pointy haired boss looks on: Here's you problem. The connection to the network is broken.

      Dilbert: Uh oh. It's a "token ring" LAN. That means the token fell out and it's in this room someplace.

      In the background, the PHB can be seen on the floor, peering beneath his desk, trying to find the token. In the foreground, Wally says to Dilbert: You are the wind beneath my wings.

      Dilbert: I'll wait a week, then tell him the token must be in the "ethernet".

  9. Re:bluetooth by harrkev · · Score: 2, Insightful
    Bluetooth is better -- it has a better name.

    Think about it. Blades became the rage a while ago. Blade = sharp. Bluetooth. Tooth=sharp. I always liked firewire just because of the name. IEEE1394 is just not the same.

    ZigBee. Well, I guess Bee=stinger=sharp, but that is stretching it. Especially with a nonsensical "Zig" thrown in.

    This might sound funny, but the name is the thing, especially in corporations.

    And we can replace your aging web servers with our new "FuzzyBunny" servers, with exclusive "Zibble-Snuggle" technology. Our "Snookie" processor runs circles around the competition.

    Yeah, right!
    --
    "-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
  10. price sensitive by LordMyren · · Score: 3, Interesting

    zigbee is aimed at very price sensitive markets, but has one currently fatal flaw:
    you have to purchase software stacks.

    most any hardware a developer buys is worthless without another huge investment in a software stack to run the standard.

    some people are just using a zigbee's basic transmit/recieve functionality withotu many of the integral spec features for this reason. its like buying an 802.11 chipset that doesnt work with anything else.

    the zigbee industry desperately needs to get together and release free software for a number of different micro-architectures.

    myren

    1. Re:price sensitive by ucdoughboy · · Score: 3, Informative

      Open Source Network stack built on zigbee radios already exits. Check out the tinyOs effort. Compare to Blue tooth, zig bee radios are much more power efficient.

  11. Re:Could this mark the end of blue tooth? by svnt · · Score: 2, Informative

    No. ZigBee is a very low-bandwidth, low-power *protocol*. Just as Bluetooth is a protocol with higher brandwidth and higher power demands. There are very few applications where you could justify using both of these protocols.

  12. queue slashdot cliche #3532: by Thud457 · · Score: 2, Funny

    BAN = B asement A rea N etwork

    --

    the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

  13. I saw this at a TI conference recently... by francisew · · Score: 2, Insightful

    All I could think is that I'm allergic to bee stings.

    It's essentially a wireless networking scheme that layers on top of an independant physical platform, yet costs significant dough to get certified for. Very clever scheme. Too bad they haven't included really interesting things in their design. All it lays out is the full node/slave node/coordinator node network. It really should have things like dynamic reconfiguration of the network structure. I think it's around 7500$ to become a 'zigbee partner' and then another indeterminate amount to become zigbee compliant/certified. That doesn't even include the royalties for using the stack commercially. The underlying hardware interface however... is very interesting.

    I'm also not sure I want my home devices on an unauthenticated wireless network.

    A spread-frequency digital communications system is really useful (802.15.4 standard). It also doesn't have the associated royaly issues.

    1. Re:I saw this at a TI conference recently... by rcw-home · · Score: 2, Informative
      I'm also not sure I want my home devices on an unauthenticated wireless network.

      Zigbee uses AES for authentication and encryption.

  14. BT ? by PureCreditor · · Score: 2, Insightful

    WPAN.....isn't this the job of Bluetooth ? Great, not only we have HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray, and PSP vs. DS, UMTS vs. WiMax, NOW we have to worry about Bluetooth versus ZigBee!!

    Thanks, but no thanks. I'll happily keep my BT appliances.

  15. Re:Standard?? Already?!! by judgecorp · · Score: 2, Informative

    Exactly. The IEEE publishes the standard. The Zigbee Alliance publishes a specification which makes sure that products that meet the standard work together (there's usually some grey areas in the standard).

    It's a standard, alright. Whether it gets into widespread use is another question (anyone remember OSI?) and that depends on having products quickly.

    But it seems like Zigbee is onto this one, with some pretty aggressive plans (interview with the Zigbee chair I mentioned earlier).

    Peter Judge
    Techworld

  16. Re:Could this mark the end of blue tooth? by judgecorp · · Score: 2, Informative

    Zigbee could care less about Bluetooth. It's after a much bigger area (sensors) that Bluetooth doesn't touch.

    If Bluetooth dies of its own accord, Zigbee could take up some of the slacek according to Bob Heile of the Alliance (did I mention my interview with him too many times already?)

    Peter Judge
    Techworld

  17. Re:Wireless Modules will Make it Easier by Russ+Nelson · · Score: 2, Interesting

    We're already making a "ZigBee" module, called the WISAN. $60 Q1, $30 Q100. Four-layer board, plugs into a two-layer board with your circuitry on it.
    -russ

    --
    Don't piss off The Angry Economist
  18. Motorola is pushing it big. by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My company met Moto reps, they tried pushing it for our new network, but its range is pitiful. Depending upon which spec you look at 15 - 30 meters. There are some testimonials I've heard about using them in industrial settings. One guy had a problem with his network every monday morning. Turned out every monday morning, a Semi pulled between his two buildings blocking the signal. The solution? Why add a couple dummy nodes on the roof to route trafic around the truck.

    --
    Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
  19. Re:Could this mark the end of blue tooth? by Antique+Geekmeister · · Score: 2, Interesting

    No, they're both dead at the hands of 802.11[fill in your favorite suffix]. Given that Zigbee and Bluetooth both have no security to speak of and never will, and the cost of 802.11[whatever] continues to drop, neither are worth investing or developing in.

    Lots of people will spend lots of money with very exciting business plans and do the development for the niche applications used by others, but none of the developers or patent owners will get back the money they wasted on it.