ZIGBEE TECHNOLOGY
V.APARNA
ABSTRACT
"It's an interesting paradox: open standards versus high security"
For the last few years, there was a great
expansion of remote control devices
witnessed in the day-to-day life. To
interact with all these remotely
controlled devices, there is a need to put
them under a single standardized control
interface that can interconnect into a
network, specifically a Wireless Personal
Area Network (WPAN). One of the most
promising such protocols is ZigBee.
ZigBee is a technological standard,
based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard,
which was created specifically for
control and sensor networks. This
standard was created by an organization
known as the ZigBee Alliance, which is
composed of a large number of
companies and industry leaders striving
to enable such control devices based on
said standard.
INTRODUCTION
At present, to control different devices
working with remotes there is need of
separate remote control for each unit.
Some modern IR remotes enable you to
control multiple devices by "learning"
transmitting codes. But because the
range for IR control is limited by line of
sight, they're used predominantly for
home entertainment control. A WPAN
can solve both problems because it
doesn't need line-of-sight
communication and because a single
B.Tech 3rd year (ECE – 1)
remote (or other type of control unit) can
command many devices. In the last few
years, new wireless local area networks
(WLANs) such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
became available. Wireless cameras for
remote monitoring are an example of
how to employ those technologies in
home automation and control areas. But
the problem is that those technologies
don't satisfy the requirements for a
WPAN. If we take a look at the type of
data that circulates within a network of
sensors and actuators, we may find that
most of it is small packets that control
devices or obtain their status. For many
applications, such as wireless smoke and
CO2 detectors or wireless home security,
the device mostly stays in deep-sleep
mode and only sends a short burst of
information if a trigger event occurs.
The main requirements for devices in
such types of networks are
• extreme low power consumption
• the ability to sleep for a long
time
• simplicity
• low cost
These requirements are mostly fulfilled
by this Zigbee technology
ZIGBEE TECHNOLOGY
ZigBee is a low-cost, low-power,
wireless mesh networking standard. The
low cost allows the technology to be
widely deployed in wireless control and
monitoring applications, the low power
usage allows longer life with smaller
batteries, and the mesh networking
provides high reliability and larger
range.
It is designed for wireless controls and
sensors. It could be built into just about
anything you have around your home or
office, including lights, Switches, doors
and appliances. These devices can then
interact without wires and all can be
controlled from a remote control or even
mobile phone. It was created to satisfy
the market's need for a cost-effective,
standards-based wireless network that
supports low data rates, low power
consumption, security, and reliability
designed specifically to replace the
proliferation of individual remote
controls.
NEED
There are various standards like
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi that address mid to
high data rates for voice, PC LANs,
video, etc. However, up till now there
hasn't been a wireless network standard
that meets the unique needs of sensors
and control devices. Sensors and
controls don't need high bandwidth but
they do need low latency and very low
energy consumption for long battery
lives and for large device arrays.
Although ZigBee's underlying radio-
communication technology isn't
revolutionary, it goes well beyond
single-purpose wireless devices such as
garage door openers. It allows wireless
two-way communications between lights
and switches, thermostats and furnaces,
hotel-room air-conditioners and the front
desk. It travels across greater distances
and handles many sensors that can be
linked to perform different tasks.
TECHNOLOGY for WPAN’s
ZigBee-compliant products operate in
unlicensed bands worldwide, including
global standard i.e. 2.4GHz, American
and European standards. Raw data
throughput rates of 250Kbps can be
achieved at 2.4GHz (16 channels),
40Kbps at 915MHz (10 channels), and
20Kbps at 868MHz (1 channel). The
transmission distance is expected to
range from 10 to 75m, depending on
power output and environmental
characteristics. Like Wi-Fi, it uses
direct-sequence spread spectrum in the
2.4GHz band, with offset- quadrature
phase-shift keying modulation. Channel
width is 2MHz with 5MHz channel
spacing. The 868 and 900MHz bands
also use direct-sequence spread spectrum
but with binary-phase-shift keying
modulation.
ZigBee is broadly categorized as a low
rate WPAN, and its closest technology is
Bluetooth. These are two different
technologies with very different areas of
application and different means of
designing for those applications. While
Zigbee is focused on control and
automation, Bluetooth is focused on
connectivity between laptops, PDA’s
replacing general cable. ZigBee uses low
data rate, low power consumption, and
works with small packet devices; in
contrast, Bluetooth uses a higher data
rate, higher power consumption, and
works with large packet devices. ZigBee
networks can support a larger number of
devices and a longer range between
devices than that of Bluetooth. In timing
critical applications, ZigBee is designed
to respond quickly, while Bluetooth
takes much longer and could be
detrimental to the application.
Zigbee works well because it aims
low. Controls and sensors don't need to
send and receive much data so it has
been designed to transmit a bit slowly. It
has a data rate of 250kbps, pitiful
compared with Wi-Fi, which is hitting
throughput of 20Mbps or more. But
because ZigBee transmits slowly, it
doesn't need much power, so batteries
will last up to 10 years. Because it
consumes very little power, a sensor and
transmitter that reports whether a door is
open or closed, for example, can run for
up to five years on a single double-A
battery. Also, operators are much
happier about adding ZigBee to their
phones than faster technologies such as
Wi-Fi; therefore, the phone will be able
to act as a remote control for all the
ZigBee devices it encounters.
ARCHITECTURE
Though WPAN implies a reach of only a
few meters, 30 feet in the case of
ZigBee, the network will have several
layers, so designed as to enable
intrapersonal communication within the
network or to a network of higher level
and ultimately an uplink to the Web. The
ZigBee Standard has evolved with
standardized sets of solutions, called
‘layers'. These layers facilitate the
features that make ZigBee very
attractive: low cost, easy
implementation, reliable data transfer,
short-range operations, very low power
consumption and adequate security
features. The first two layers are defined
by IEEE 802.15.4 and higher layers by
Zigbee alliance.
Physical (PHY) layer
The PHY physical layer accommodates
high levels of integration by using direct
sequence to permit simplicity in the
analog circuitry and enable cheaper
implementations.
Media access control (MAC)
layer
The MAC media access control layer
permits use of several topologies without
introducing complexity and is meant to
work with large numbers of devices.
Network layer and Application
Support Layer
The NWK layer associates or dissociates
devices using the network coordinator,
implements security, and routes frames
to their intended destination. In addition,
the NWK layer of the network
coordinator is responsible for starting a
new network and assigning an address to
newly associated devices. The NWK
layer supports multiple network
topologies including star, cluster tree,
and mesh.
The APS sub-layer's responsibilities
include maintenance of tables that
enable matching between two devices
and communication among them, and
also discovery, the aspect that identifies
other devices that operate in the
operating space of any device.
TRAFFIC TYPES
ZigBee addresses three typical traffic
types i.e.
• Data is periodic. The application
dictates the rate, the sensor
activates, checks for data and
deactivates.
• Data is intermittent. The
application, or other stimulus,
determines the rate, as in the case
of say smoke detectors. The
Device needs to connect to the
network only when
•
communication is necessitated.
This type enables optimum
saving on energy.
• Data is repetitive, and the rate is
fixed a priori. Depending on
allotted time slots, called GTS
(guaranteed time slot), devices
operate for fixed duration.
FRAME STRUCTURE
The main frames in Zigbee protocol are
 Data frame for all data transfers.
 Acknowledgement frame for
successful frame receipt
confirmations.
 MAC command frame.
 Beacon frame for transmission of
beacons.
The data frame provides a payload of up
to 104 bytes. The frame is numbered to
ensure that all packets are tracked. This
frame structure improves reliability in
difficult conditions. A frame-check
sequence ensures that packets are
received without error. After receiving a
data packet, the receiver performs a 16-
bit cyclic redundancy check (CRC) to
verify that the packet was not corrupted
in transmission.
With a good Cyclic Redundancy Check,
the receiver can automatically transmit
an acknowledgement packet (depending
on application and network needs),
allowing the transmitting station to know
that the data were received in an
acceptable form. If the CRC indicates
the packet was corrupt, the packet is
dropped and no acknowledgement is
transmitted.
When a developer configures the
network to expect acknowledgement, the
transmitting station will retransmit the
original packet a specified number of
times to ensure successful packet
delivery. If the path between the
transmitter and receiver has become less
reliable or a network failure has
occurred, ZigBee provides the network
with self-healing capabilities when
alternate paths (if physically available)
can be established autonomously.
Another important structure for 802.15.4
is the acknowledgment (ACK) frame. It
provides feedback from the receiver to
the sender confirming that the packet
was received without error. The device
takes advantage of specified "quiet time"
between frames to send a short packet
immediately after the data-packet
transmission.
A MAC command frame provides the
mechanism for remote control and
configuration of client nodes. A
centralized network manager uses MAC
to configure individual clients command
frames no matter how large the network.
Finally, the beacon frame wakes up
client devices, which listen for their
address and go back to sleep if they don't
receive it. Beacons are important for
mesh and cluster-tree networks to keep
all the nodes synchronized without
requiring those nodes to consume
precious battery energy by listening for
long periods of time. Security and data
integrity are key benefits of the ZigBee
technology.
POWERSAVING
Ultra-low power consumption is how
ZigBee technology promotes a long
lifetime for devices without using
rechargeable batteries. ZigBee networks
are designed to conserve the power of
the slave nodes. For most of the time, a
slave device is in deep-sleep mode and
wakes up only for a fraction of a second
to confirm its presence in the network.
For example, the transition from sleep
mode to data transition is around 15 ms
and new slave enumeration typically
takes just 30 ms.
SECURITY
ZigBee leverages the security model of
the IEEE 802.15.4 MAC sub layer which
specifies four security services:
✔ Access control the device
maintains a list of trusted devices
within the network.
✔ Data encryption, which uses
symmetric key 128-bit advanced
encryption standard.
✔ Frame integrity to protect data
from being modified by parties
without cryptographic keys.
✔ sequential freshness to reject data
frames that have been replayed
 -the network controller compares
the freshness value with the last
known value from the device and
rejects it if the freshness value
has not been updated to a new
value.
So Zigbee is a wireless control that
simply works.
CHALLENGES
➢ System is little complex to
handle specially for those who
are not comfortable with
computers.
➢ A bit expensive and rapidly
changing.
➢ Possibility of network being
hacked and cause security issues.
➢ Intrudes in one’s privacy.
➢ Too much technology makes
lazy.
APPLICATIONS
 Commercial systems: Vending
machines, fleet management.
 Enterprise systems: Health care
and patient monitoring,
environmental monitoring and
hazards detection.
 Industrial systems: Remote-
controlled machines such as in
tracking wind turbines.
 Military and government
systems: Asset tracking,
personnel monitoring and
surveillance.
 Transportation systems: Audio
control and automation, security
and access control.
 Consumer products: Cellular
handsets, computer peripherals,
remote controls and other
portable devices.
 Climate control: customize the
temperatures of ac machines or
thermostats as differently needed.
 Home automation: turn on or off
ovens, air conditioners, geysers,
lights without any hassles only
when needed. Also sprinkle
water to plants in garden
monitoring moisture content in
soil.
 Private Security: this also acts
like a private security to monitor
kids or aged even from office and
alert in case of medical
emergencies.
CONCLUSION
ZigBee and the underlying IEEE
802.15.4 (which provides network,
security and profile specifications)
communications technology could form
the basis of future wireless sensors,
offering data reliability, long battery life,
lower system costs and good range
through flexible networking. These also
allows smart home concept prevail all
over the world and provide convenience.
Anything in the home that uses
electricity can be put on the home
network and at your command using a
mobile or a remote using this
technology.
BIBILOGRAPHY
www.ask.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.palowireless.com/zigbee
www.howstuffworks.com