ZigBee and IEEE 802.15.4 Articles

Interesting articles on ZigBee, IEEE 802.15.4 and related technologies.

ZigBee Alliance	Emerging Standards: Where does ZigBee fit (PPT, 10/04) The Wireless Market, What is the ZigBee Alliance? Why do we need ZigBee technology? Applications, Who is supporting the ZigBee Alliance? Protocol Stack Features... ZigBee and Bluetooth: Competitive or Complementary? (9/02, PDF) Air interface, Power Considerations, Timing Considerations, Initial Enumeration, Cost Standpoint, Solution Prices, ... Emerging Wireless Standards: Understanding the Role of IEEE 802.15.4 & ZigBee in AMR & Submetering (2003, PPT) AMR & Submetering Today, Wireless Standards Landscape, IEEE 802.15.4 Key Features, ZigBee Key Features, Implications & Opportunities. Catch the Buzz on ZigBee (1/04, PDF) What is the ZigBee Alliance? The ZigBee Alliance Solution, How is ZigBee related to IEEE 802.15.4? Why do we need ZigBee technology? History Who is supporting the ZigBee Alliance now? The Wireless Market, Wireless Network Evolution, Frequencies and Data Rates, ... Designing with 802.15.4 and ZigBee (3/04, PPT) IEEE 802.15.4 Basics, PHY Performance, IEEE 802.15.4 MAC Overview, Data Frame format, Acknowledgement Frame Format, MAC Command Frame format, Beacon Frame format, ZigBee is Mesh Networking, Motorola 802.15.4 / ZigBee solution, System Simplicity and Flexibility, 15.4/ZigBee and Bluetooth, Home/Light Commercial Spaces, Industrial/Commercial Spaces, ... ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works (4/04, PDF) Introduction, IEEE 802.15.4, ZigBee, Comparisons, Applications, ZigBee Alliance, Summary.
CommsDesign	ZigBee will require patience (12/04) For the backers of ZigBee technology, this is a week to celebrate. After years of talk and work, the ZigBee Alliance has completed its specification, a move that will allow developers to take the word "pre" off their ZigBee chips and systems. Developers and ZigBee backers, however, shouldn't celebrate too long. While today marks a big step for the ZigBee community, it's also the first step in the long ZigBee adoption process - a process filled with technical and business challenges and a process requiring extreme patience by ZigBee backers and developers.
Design News	Move Over, Bluetooth; ZigBee is here (3/04) New wireless standard could be lower-cost alternative for wireless sensing and control. Bluetooth wireless technology has received a lot of attention for wireless connectivity. Now it's ZigBee's turn. ZigBee™ is the name of an alliance of companies formed around IEEE's 802.15.4 specification for low data rates in the Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) radio bands. The ZigBee protocol promises to provide longer battery life and to be a lower-cost alternative to Bluetooth for wireless sensing and control applications.
EE Times	Wireless markets thrive (5/04) A little over five years ago five companies introduced a new concept: a standards-based wireless technology for replacing wires everywhere. Ericsson, IBM, Intel, Nokia and Toshiba announced Bluetooth. Now, after five years of fits and starts Bluetooth suppliers have shipped more than 50 million single- and multichip Bluetooth solutions, and Agere Systems, Microsoft and Motorola have joined the five founding companies in the Promoter Group. Other technologies have emerged to take on new tasks prompted by the concept of wireless connectivity. ZigBee is targeting opportunities in industry and home automation; WiMedia, high-bandwidth applications such as USB and Firewire (IEEE 1394) with ultrawideband, known as UWB. Finally, Philips and Sony have announced an RFID-like technology called near-field communications (NFC) that is intended to facilitate secure connections between devices (possibly using one of the other wireless connectivity standards).
Extension Media	Using the PIC18F Microcontroller in ZigBee applications (4/05) The ZigBee wireless protocol is a robust, new network protocol standardizing wireless RF communications in license-free radio bands. Unlike many of the other protocols, ZigBee is primarily designed for low-speed sensor and control devices with low cost and low power in mind. Eight-bit microcontrollers are ideally suited to implement ZigBee-based applications, due to their simplicity and low-power features. The PIC18LF4620 8-bit microcontroller is an ideal choice to implement the ZigBee wireless protocol. With 64 Kbytes of self-programmable Enhanced Flash memory, nanoWatt Technology which provides up to seven low power modes to reduce power consumption, and an SPI interface, the PIC18LF4620 from Microchip is well capable of handling the ZigBee software stack.
TheFeature	ZigBee Spins The Carousel of Progress Forward (2/04) ZigBee, which operates at 2.4-GHz, is two-way so it'll be able to log your house's electric, water, gas usage, and send it to your computer for analysis. (That way, you'll have documented evidence next time you yell at your kids for leaving the lights on.) Because ZigBee has a range of only about 30 feet, and sends data in infrequent bursts, batteries could last for a couple of years without having to replace them. Light switch and thermostat manufacturers have joined the ZigBee alliance, along with the usual suspects, such as Philips, Motorola, Intel, and Hewlett-Packard.
Home Toys	Why is ZigBee needed? (10/03) There are a multitude of standards like Bluetooth and WiFi 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... The ZigBee Alliance is not pushing a technology; rather it is providing a standardized base set of solutions for sensor and control systems...
IEEE	IEEE 802.15 Working Group for WPANs The IEEE 802.15 Working Group develops Personal Area Network consensus standards for short distance wireless networks; a.k.a. WPANs™. Wireless USB for HomeRF-Lite (PPT) 'RF-Lite' - a Solution for Low Data Rate Applications.