Introduction to wireless ZigBee technology

Wireless networks are a huge family. Various wireless technologies have different application aspects. Since its development, wireless networks are also different. In addition to Bluetooth, the short-distance wireless Branch also has a wireless ZigBee technology.

Wireless ZigBee technology is a new wireless network technology with low complexity, low power consumption, low data rate, and low cost. It is a technical proposal between wireless tag technology and Bluetooth technology. It is mainly used for short-range wireless connections. Based on the 802.15.4 standard, it can communicate with each other between thousands of small sensors. These sensors only need a small amount of energy, and transmit data from one sensor to another through radio waves through relays, so their communication efficiency is very high.

The wireless ZigBee technology alliance has standardized its network layer protocols and APIs. The full protocol is used to connect 4 K bytes to a device's basic node or 32 K bytes as the Hub or router's coordinator at a time. Each Coordinator can connect up to 255 nodes, while several Coordinator can form a network, there is no limit on the number of Route transmission. The wireless ZigBee technology alliance has also developed a security layer to ensure that such portable devices do not accidentally leak their identifiers, and such remote transmission using the network will not be obtained by other nodes. The complete ZigBee protocol suite consists of high-level application specifications, application convergence layer, network layer, data link layer, and physical layer.

The main advantages of wireless ZigBee technology are as follows:

I. Low data transmission rate: only 10 K Bytes/second to K Bytes/second, focusing on low transmission applications;

Ii. Low Power Consumption: in Low Power Consumption standby mode, two ordinary battery 5 can be used for 6 months to 2 years, eliminating the trouble of charging or frequently changing the battery. This is also the unique advantage that ZigBee fans have always been proud;

Iii. Low Cost: The ZigBee data transmission rate is low and the Protocol is simple, which greatly reduces the cost. And no patent fee;

4. Large network capacity: Each ZigBee network can support up to 255 devices;

5. short latency: Generally, the latency ranges from 15 ms to 30 ms;

6. Security: ZigBee provides data integrity check and authentication, and uses AES-128 encryption algorithm;

7. Small effective scope: Effective coverage range: 10 ~ 75 meters, depending on the actual transmit power and various application modes, it can basically cover ordinary home or office environments;

8. Flexible operating frequency: the operating frequency ranges from 2.4 GHz to MHz in Europe and MHz in the United States.

Wireless ZigBee technology is better than Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. The Bluetooth technology is basically designed as a substitute for wired networks. It is often used for networking mobile phones and nearby headphones or PDAs. It can work for a few weeks without charging, but it cannot work for a few months, not to mention a few years. Generally, Bluetooth devices need manual configuration and maintenance of network connections; it can be used to effectively process 8 devices with one master device and 7 slave devices). If more devices are used, the communication rate decreases significantly. 802.11, also known as Wi-Fi, has similar problems. Although it is a good solution to connect Laptops and Desktops to a wired network, it consumes a lot of power.

Generally, as the communication distance increases, the complexity, power consumption, and system cost of devices are increasing. Compared with various existing wireless communication technologies, the wireless ZigBee technology will be the lowest power consumption and cost technology. Because the starting point of ZigBee is to develop a low-cost wireless network that is easy to deploy, and its low power consumption will keep the product's battery for six months to several years. At the same time, due to the low data rate and small communication range of the wireless ZigBee technology, it is also determined that the wireless ZigBee technology is suitable for businesses with low data traffic.

In short, the emergence of wireless ZigBee technology makes up for the vacancy in the low-cost, low-power and low-speed wireless communication market. The key to success lies in the rich and convenient application, rather than the technology itself. With the announcement of the formal version of this Agreement, more attention and R & D efforts will be directed to application design and implementation, interconnection testing and marketing. It not only opens the door to a large number of new applications, but also adds new value to many existing applications. Due to ZigBee's various simple devices, the network can be connected. as a global standard, ZigBee creates conditions for ubiquitous networks in the future.