Introduction

ZigBee operates in the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio bands; 868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in the USA and 2.4 GHz in most jurisdictions worldwide. The technology is intended to be simpler and cheaper than other WPANs such as Bluetooth. The most capable ZigBee node type is said to require only about 10% of the software of a typical Bluetooth or Wireless Internet node, while the simplest nodes are about 2%. However, actual code sizes are much higher, more like 50% of Bluetooth code size. ZigBee chip vendors have announced 128-kilobyte devices. As of 2005, the estimated cost of the radio for a ZigBee node is about $1.10 to the manufacturer in very high volumes. Most ZigBee solutions require an additional micro controller driving the price further up at this time. In comparison, before Bluetooth was launched (1998) it had a projected price, in high volumes, of $4-$6. The price of consumer-grade Bluetooth chips are now under $3. ZigBee has started work on version 1.1. Version 1.1 is meant to take advantage of improvements in the 802.15.4b specification, most notably that of CCM* as an alternative to CCM (CTR + CBC-MAC) CCM mode. CCM* enjoys the same security proof as CCM and provides greater flexibility in the choice of Authentication and Encryption.

Uses

ZigBee protocols are intended for use in embedded applications requiring low data rates and low power consumption. ZigBee's current focus is to define a general-purpose, inexpensive, self-organizing, mesh network that can be used for industrial control, embedded sensing, medical data collection, smoke and intruder warning, building automation, home automation, etc. The resulting network will use very small amounts of power so individual devices might run for a year or two using the originally installed battery.

Device types

There are three different types of ZigBee device:

• ZigBee coordinator(ZC): The most capable device, the coordinator forms the root of the network tree and might bridge to other networks. There is exactly one ZigBee coordinator in each network. It is able to store information about the network, including acting as the repository for security keys.

• ZigBee Router (ZR): Routers can act as an intermediate router, passing data from other devices.

• ZigBee End Device (ZED): Contains just enough functionality to talk to its parent node (either the coordinator or a router); it cannot relay data from other devices. It requires the least amount of memory, and therefore can be less expensive to manufacture than a ZR or ZC.

Protocols

The protocols build on recent algorithmic research (Ad-hoc On-demand Distance Vector) to automatically construct a low-speed ad-hoc network of nodes. In most large network instances, the network will be a cluster of clusters. It can also form a mesh or a single cluster. The current profiles derived from the ZigBee protocols support beacon and non-beacon enabled networks. In non-beacon enabled networks (those whose beacon order is 15), an unslotted CSMA/CA channel access mechanism is used. In this type of network Zigbee Routers typically have their receivers continuously active, requiring a more robust power supply. However, this allows for heterogeneous networks in which some devices receive continuously, while others only transmit when an external stimulus is detected. The typical example of a heterogeneous network is a wireless light switch: the ZigBee node at the lamp may receive constantly, since it's connected to the mains supply, while a battery-powered light switch would remain asleep until the switch is thrown. The switch then wakes up, sends a command to the lamp, receives an acknowledgment, and returns to sleep. In such a network the lamp node will be at least a ZigBee Router, if not the ZigBee Coordinator; the switch node is typically an ZigBee End Device. In beacon enabled networks, the special network nodes called ZigBee Routers transmit periodic beacons to confirm their presence to other network nodes. Nodes may sleep between beacons, thus lowering their duty cycle and extending their battery life. Beacon intervals may range from 15.36 milliseconds to 15.36 ms * 214 = 251.65824 seconds at 250 kbit/s, from 24 milliseconds to 24 ms * 214 = 393.216 seconds at 40 kbit/s and from 48 milliseconds to 48 ms * 214 = 786.432 seconds at 20 kbit/s. However, low duty cycle operation with long beacon intervals requires precise timing which can conflict with the need for low product cost. In general, the ZigBee protocols minimize the time the radio is on so as to reduce power use. In beaconing networks, nodes only need to be active while a beacon is being transmitted. In non-beacon enabled networks, power consumption is decidedly asymmetrical: some devices are always active, while any others present spend most of their time sleeping.

ZigBee devices are required to conform to the IEEE 802.15.4-2003 Low-Rate Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) standard. The standard specifies its lower protocol layers—the physical layer (PHY), and the medium access control (MAC) portion of the data link layer (DLL). This standard specifies operation in the unlicensed 2.4 GHz, 915 MHz and 868 MHz ISM bands. In the 2.4 GHz band there are 16 ZigBee channels, with each channel requiring 3 MHz of bandwidth. The center frequency for each channel can be calculated as, FC = (2400 + 5*k) MHz, where k = 1, 2, ..., 16. The radios use direct-sequence spread spectrum coding, which is managed by the digital stream into the modulator. BPSK is used in the 868 and 915 MHz bands, and orthogonal QPSK that transmits two bits per symbol is used in the 2.4 GHz band. The raw, over-the-air data rate is 250 kbit/s per channel in the 2.4 GHz band, 40 kbit/s per channel in the 915 MHz band, and 20 kbit/s in the 868 MHz band. Transmission range is between 10 and 75 metres (33~246 feet), although it is heavily dependent on the particular environment. The maximum output power of the radios is generally 0 dBm (1 mW). The basic channel access mode specified by IEEE 802.15.4-2003 is "carrier sense, multiple access/collision avoidance" (CSMA/CA). That is, the nodes talk in the same way that people converse; they briefly check to see that no one is talking before they start. There are three notable exceptions to the use of CSMA. Beacons are sent on a fixed timing schedule, and do not use CSMA. Message acknowledgements also do not use CSMA. Finally, devices in Beacon Oriented networks that have low latency real-time requirements may also use Guaranteed Time Slots (GTS) which by definition do not use CSMA. Software and hardware The software is designed to be easy to develop on small, cheap microprocessors. The radio design used by ZigBee has been carefully optimized for low cost in large scale production. It has few analog stages and uses digital circuits wherever possible. Even though the radios themselves are cheap, the ZigBee Qualification Process involves a full validation of the requirements of the physical layer. This amount of concern about the Physical Layer has multiple benefits, since all radios derived from that semiconductor mask set would enjoy the same RF characteristics. On the other hand, an uncertifed physical layer that malfunctions could cripple the Battery lifespan of other devices on a Zigbee Network. Where other protocols can mask poor sensitivity or other esoteric problems in a fade compensation response, ZigBee radios have very tight engineering constraints: they are both power and bandwidth constrained. Thus, radios are tested to the ISO-17025 standard with guidance given by Clause 6 of the 802.15.4-2003 Standard. Most vendors plan to integrate the radio and microcontroller onto a single chip.