Comparison of main ZigBee chip vendor's ZigBee solution competitiveness

Comparison of main ZigBee chip vendor's ZigBee solution competitiveness

Comparison of main ZigBee chip vendor's ZigBee solution competitiveness
At present, there are major ZigBee chip vendors (2.4 GHz), including Ti/chipcon, Ember (ST), jennic (), Freescale, and microchip.
Currently, ZigBee technology provides three methods:
1) ZigBee RF + MCU, such as Ti CC2420 + MSP430, freesclae mc13xx + GT60, microchip mj2440 + pic mcu.
2) Single-Chip Integrated SOC, such as Ti cc2430/cc2431 (8051 kernel), Freescale mc1321x, and em250.
3) Single-chip embedded Zigbee protocol stack + plug-in chip jennic SOC + EEPROM, Ember 260 + MCU.
The four major companies are analyzed as follows:
A) microprocessor:
In addition to cc2430/cc2431, the other four companies use their own microprocessor. Only cc2430/cc2431 adopts a standard 8051 processor.

Score: cc2430/cc2431
Because: 8051 microprocessor was born for more than 30 years, it is currently the most popular in China. There are a wide range of courses and reference books in colleges and universities. The development software Keil and IAR are already familiar to everyone and can be used most easily.
Some may say that 8051 is "old" and cannot take up this responsibility. Some may also say that 8051 will generate digital noise and affect wireless communication... From the expert's perspective, there is no scientific basis for these arguments. With the development of chip technology, today's 8051 has been replaced, but it is only a small part of the On-Chip System (SOC), and in terms of low power consumption, high speed, low noise, etc, there is a qualitative leap. The 8051 kernel of cc2430/cc243 is specially designed to work perfectly with the GHz ZigBee wireless transceiver circuit, it will never have any impact on high-frequency wireless communication because of its 8051 kernel's high-speed operation.
The advantages of 8051 are as follows:
1. You do not need to re-learn the structure and Principles of the microprocessor, and you do not need to re-familiarize yourself with the compilation/debugging tools;
2. On-chip system I/O, timer, A/D, PWM, watchdog, and so on, do not need to re-learn;
3. If you do not have the basis of single-chip microcomputer, it is very easy to learn and consult with others;
From a technical perspective, the core of ZigBee technology is software. If the MCU is 8051, ZigBee is a pile of software composed of the C51 code. Whether it is wireless data transmission, routing algorithms, network topology .... It is a combination of various functions and code. Anyone familiar with C51 programming can easily get familiar with ZigBee code and combine their own application code with Zigbee.
This corresponds to the first time engineers in the wireless field, if you choose a processor that you are not familiar with, during development, both to face the complex ZigBee wireless communication protocol, UHF hardware environment, coupled with a completely unfamiliar command system and hardware platform, the development of ZigBee is undoubtedly "worse ".
B) Zigbee protocol stack
At present, Ti provides the cc2430/cc2431 zigbee2006 protocol stack. The original full set of protocol stacks is priced at 0.1 million RMB. Currently, free download is available, which is a huge shocking move. Although the open download protocol stack is a library file, it is full-featured, including the full-featured protocol stack of the mesh network topology, from 0.1 million to zero, leaving other competitors far behind.
If you need to conduct teaching research, wireless Dragon communications can provide a lite version of the protocol stack for all the source code.
The other situations are as follows:
Freescale bee kit automatically becomes invalid for 3 months (you need to purchase a genuine version of 1200 USD to use ).
Emberr ZigBee 2006 price: USD 10,000.
Microchip is free source code, but only supports PIC and mj2440 chips.
Score: cc2430 wins.
Final cost of C ZigBee Chip
Among all the solutions, cc2430 and cc2431 are the only one with full integration of flash memory + MCU + ZigBee RF and a true single-chip solution.
Jennic's "single-chip microcomputer" only has Rom (read-only memory). The chip does not store the user program, and the system must add an EEPROM. All your programs must be stored in the external EEPROM. If you use such a wireless monolithic, the biggest problem is that you cannot encrypt your own code, anyone can easily obtain the code that you have worked hard to develop from the external EEPROM.
The Freescale single chip is packaged using two silicon wafers and SIP technology. In the case of mass production, it cannot compete with the single chip solution.
In the final cost competition of chips, winning cc2430 is inevitable, because only cc2430 can truly fight for one chip! The chip price must be the lowest!
D. Ease of development tools and low cost of development tools (including software development)
The original development tool cc2430zdk of cc2430 was quoted as $10,000, which has been reduced to $2000. However, China's wireless dragon communication technology company has released a full set of cc2430/cc2431 development tools (including USB simulators, lite version Zigbee protocol stacks, compatible with zigbee2006, two ZigBee Wireless modules, and a full set of development software) c51RF-3-CS was reduced to less than 2000 Yuan (1888 yuan ).
Compared with other solutions, cc2430/cc2431 provides easy-to-use performance in the Development System. The free 2006 protocol stack includes the new ZigBee pro Instruction Set and other new advanced functions.
Chengdu wireless dragon Communication Technology Co., Ltd. is the first pioneer in the development of ZigBee technology in China. Two years ago, it and chipcon jointly launched the first cc2430/cc2431 Development System in China. At present, there are a large number of domestic and foreign customers, and equipped with relevant laboratories of key universities such as Tsinghua University, Zhejiang University, and Chengdu University of electronic science and technology.
After years of hard work and innovation, Chengdu wireless dragon Communication Technology Co., Ltd. not only launched a variety of advanced ZigBee teaching platforms and development tools, but also cooperated with Beijing airlines and published a series of wireless single chip microcomputer technology books, among them, the third "ZigBee wireless network entry and practice" is the first practical ZigBee teaching material in China. It includes cc2430 Chinese detailed introduction, ZigBee technology introduction, C51RF-3 development tools, etc. For the entry of complex ZigBee technology, set up an ideal bridge.
This evaluation is still the winner of cc2430.

Conclusion:
To sum up, general-purpose MCU is used, and full-featured protocol stacks are fully open for free, with low-price Single Chip, low-cost high-performance development systems, various learning materials and training. In the future, who will win in ZigBee, you can determine who will laugh at the end.

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