Later this year, suppliers will start to release
products based on a wireless standard called Zigbee that enable
sensor networks to trigger a response to changing
circumstances.
Zigbee is a set of networking, security and application software
standards that sits atop the 802.15.4 low-data wireless standard
approved by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers.
Unlike other wireless standards such as 802.11 or 802.16, Zigbee
and 802.15.4 are designed to carry limited amounts of data at a
maximum rate of 250Kbps, said Bob Heile, chairman of the Zigbee
Alliance.
Zigbee will allow users to construct mesh networks that can send
data back to a central repository, respond to changes in their
environment and monitor themselves for failures or redundancies,
said Jon Adams, director of radio technology and strategy at
Freescale Semiconductor
Backers of the technology take great pains to avoid overselling
Zigbee, but many think the technology can find a home as a
replacement for wiring that connects electrical system controllers
or passive asset management tags.
The Zigbee Alliance plans to certify products with a Zigbee logo
to ensure that products from different suppliers are interoperable
and easy to manage, Heile said.
Other popular wireless standards are overkill for the types of
applications envisioned by Zigbee supporters. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
use far more power than a Zigbee radio would consume, Heile
said. Radios built with the standard should be able to operate on
household batteries for years, he said.
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips are also much too expensive to justify
setting up the large networks that would allow some of these
applications to work, said Jack Gold, an industry analyst with Meta
Group.
Semiconductor makers, such as Freescale, will have to produce
chips that cost less than $1 to convince companies that there is a
need for this type of information.
After addressing the cost issues, Zigbee products should be an
easy sell to any factory or distribution outlet that wants to
assimilate as much information as possible, said Glen Allmendinger,
president of Harbor Research.
Most businesses develop operations or capacity plans using
historical data that only presents users with a sense of what has
happened in the past, Allmendinger said. Sensor networks would
allow them to gather data as it happens, and therefore predict
where problems might occur, he said.
Some companies are experimenting with passive RFID tags that do
little more than store a unique identification number. Zigbee
radios hold some promise as active RFID tags that can sense more
complicated information and distribute it, said Ian McPherson,
president of the Wireless Data Research Group.
"[Zigbee products] are not meant to replace passive RFID, but
they can change the economics of active RFID by using more sensors
and less gateways," McPherson said.
But even passive RFID tags are too expensive for most companies
to consider implementing, although costs are expected to come down
over the next few years.
Despite Zigbee's promise, the technology will face hurdles as
users try to scale their networks to massive sizes, McPherson
said.
Mesh networks are an emerging technology that users are still
evaluating and troubleshooting. The technology will probably be
used on less-important applications until users get comfortable
with it, he said.
Freescale will introduce Zigbee-based products later this
year.
Tom Krazit writes for IDG News Service