ZigBee Is Changing the Rules for Home Automation
ZigBee is a wireless connection technology that is up and coming for use with PCs, vehicles, and in home automation. This networking standard lets numerous low-power devices communicate via an unused part of the radio spectrum. In comparison to the two major wireless networking technologies out there now (Wi-Fi and
Bluetooth), ZigBee will have much longer battery life (2-3 years on inexpensive batteries versus the few hours that is the current standard), though it is projected to be used more with sensors, meter readings, and automation than for cell phones, headsets, or PC networking. According to "Wireless's New Hookup," an article in the February 24, 2005 edition of the Wall Street Journal, Zigbee "holds huge promise in such areas as energy conservation, home automation and agriculture."
This wireless technology should make home automation simpler to set up and more efficient than other wireless systems in the marketplace now. Some of its uses will be:
window and door sensors (if someone opens the door in your home when you're away, the system will alert you via your cell phone), automated interior and exterior lights, curtains that open and close by themselves (for temperature control/energy conservation), keyless entry (just say no to lost keys), and much more. The technology will also be useful with home security systems and smoke detectors (for instance, if one smoke detector
senses smoke, but all the smoke detectors in the house are networked with ZigBee, all the alarms
will go off so everyone is certain to hear it).
The consumer will be able to manage ZigBee networks without installing complicated control systems. Software that installs on home PCs will be available along with simple remote controls.
One of the other reasons ZigBee is starting to get attention is that it will make home automation cheaper and more practical not only in new homes (where it's relatively easy to install wires
and cabling as the houses are being built), but in older homes as well (where tearing open the walls to install wiring is a the intrusive and expensive ordeal).
Look for ZigBee in home automation and home security systems soon. Late in 2004, "more than 100 companies including Honeywell International Inc., Philips Electronics NV, Samsung ElectronicsCo. and Motorola Inc., agreed to make new devices that can communicate using the technology. Already, it's catching on big time."
Source: "Wireless's New Hookup," by William M. Bulkeley, in the February 24, 2005 edition of the Wall Street Journal
More resources for information: ZigBee
Ushers in Age of Connected Devices, Bluetooth
and ZigBee: Their Similarities and Differences, and ZigBee
Paves the Way for Low Cost Networks