Comparative Analysis of ZigBee and Other Short-Range Wireless Communication Technologies

In recent years, various wireless communication technologies have developed rapidly, greatly improving people's work efficiency and quality of life. Currently, the more mature wireless communication technologies are ZigBee, Bluetooth, infrared (IrDA) and wireless LAN 802.11 (Wi-Fi). At the same time, there are some short-range wireless technology standards with development potential, including: UltraWideBand, NFC, WiMedia, GPS, DECT, wireless 139 and dedicated wireless systems.

IrDA Technology

IrDA is a technology that uses infrared rays for point-to-point communication. It is the first technology to realize wireless personal area networks (PANs). Currently, its software and hardware technologies are very mature and are widely used in small mobile devices such as PDAs and mobile phones. Initially, wireless devices using the IrDA standard could only transmit data at a rate of 115.2kb/s within a range of 1m, but soon developed to 4Mb/s and 16Mb/s.

The main advantage of IrDA is that it does not require the right to use the frequency, so the cost of infrared communication is low. It also has the characteristics of small size, low function, convenient connection, and simple and easy to use required for mobile communication. In addition, the infrared emission angle is small, and the transmission security is high.

The disadvantage of IrDA is that it is a line-of-sight transmission. The two communicating devices must be aligned and cannot be blocked by other objects. Therefore, this technology can only be used to connect two devices. Bluetooth does not have this limitation and is not blocked by walls. The current research direction of IrDA is how to solve the line-of-sight problem and improve the data transmission rate.

Bluetooth technology

Bluetooth technology was born in 1994, when Ericsson decided to develop a low-power, low-cost wireless interface to establish communication between mobile phones and their accessories. It can communicate or operate with each other within a short range. Its transmission frequency band is the 2.4GHz ISM band commonly used by the public worldwide, providing a transmission rate of 1Mbps and a transmission distance of 10m. This technology has also been supported by industry giants in the PC industry. In 1998, the Bluetooth technology protocol was agreed upon by five companies including Ericsson, IBM, Intel, NOKIA, and Toshiba. The standard version of the Bluetooth protocol is 802.15.1, which is developed by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG). The original standard of 802.15.1 was implemented based on 1.1, which is built into many current Bluetooth devices. The new version 802.15.1a is based on the equivalent Bluetooth 1.2 standard, has certain QoS characteristics, and fully maintains post-compatibility.

However, the biggest obstacle Bluetooth technology faces is the limited transmission range, which is generally effective within 10 meters. The weak anti-interference ability and information security issues are also the main factors restricting its further development and large-scale application. Therefore, industry experts believe that the market prospects of Bluetooth depend on whether Bluetooth can effectively solve the above-mentioned problems.

Wi-Fi Technology

Wi-Fi is a technology that can wirelessly connect personal computers, handheld devices (such as PDAs, mobile phones) and other terminals. Wi-Fi is a brand of wireless network communication technology, owned by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The purpose is to improve the interoperability between wireless network products based on the IEEE 802.11 standard. Nowadays, most people confuse Wi-Fi with IEEE 802.11. Some even equate Wi-Fi with wireless Internet.

Wi-Fi also operates at 2.4GHz, sharing the same frequency band with cordless phones, Bluetooth, and many other wireless devices that do not require a frequency license. With the release of new versions of the Wi-Fi protocol, such as 802.11a and 802.11g, Wi-Fi will be used more and more widely. The faster 802.11g uses the same orthogonal frequency division multiplexing modulation technology as 802.11b. It operates in the 2.4GHz frequency band with a rate of 54Mb/s. Based on the recent development trend of international consumer electronics products, 802.11g will likely be selected as a product standard by most wireless network product manufacturers.

Wi-Fi is an Internet technology that helps users access email, the Web, and streaming media. It provides users with wireless broadband Internet access. At the same time, it is also a fast and convenient way to access the Internet at home, in the office, or on the go. Places that can access Wi-Fi networks are called hotspots. Wi-Fi hotspots are created by installing an access point on an Internet connection. This access point transmits wireless signals over a short distance - generally covering 300 feet. Wi-Fi is a wireless extension of Ethernet. In theory, as long as the user is within a certain area around an access point, they can access the Web at a speed of up to about 54Mb/s. But in reality, if multiple users access through a point at the same time, the bandwidth is shared by multiple users, and the Wi-Fi connection speed will generally be only a few hundred kb/s. The signal is not blocked by walls, but the effective transmission distance in a building is less than that outdoors. The most promising applications of WLAN in the future will be mainly in SOHO, home wireless networks, and buildings or places where it is inconvenient to install cables.

ZigBee Technology

ZigBee technology is a short-distance, low-complexity, low-power, low-rate, low-cost two-way wireless communication technology. It is mainly used for data transmission between various electronic devices with short distances, low power consumption and low transmission rates, as well as typical applications with periodic data, intermittent data and low response time data transmission. The name ZigBee comes from the communication method used by bee colonies for survival and development. Bees share information such as the location, distance and direction of newly discovered food sources by dancing in a ZigZag shape.

Compared with IrDA, ZigBee has a large network capacity. Each ZigBee network can support up to 255 devices, which means that each ZigBee device can connect to another 254 devices. Small effective range. The effective coverage range is between 10 and 75 meters, depending on the actual transmission power and various application modes, and can basically cover ordinary home or office environments. Flexible working frequency band. The frequency bands used are 2.4GHz, 868MHz (Europe) and 915MHz (USA), all of which are license-free bands. According to the current vision of the ZigBee Alliance, ZigBee's target market mainly includes PC peripherals (mouse, keyboard, game joystick), consumer electronic equipment (remote control devices on TV, VCR, CD, VCD, DVD and other devices), home intelligent control (lighting, gas metering control and alarm, etc.), toys (electronic pets), medical care (monitors and sensors), industrial control (monitors, sensors and automatic control equipment) and other very broad fields.

Compared with Bluetooth, ZigBee is simpler, slower, and has lower power and cost. Its basic rate is 250kb/s. When it is reduced to 28kb/s, the transmission range can be expanded to 134m and higher reliability can be achieved. In addition, it can be networked with 254 nodes. It can support games, consumer electronics, instruments and home automation applications better than Bluetooth. People expect to expand the application of ZigBee in industrial monitoring, sensor networks, home monitoring, security systems and toys.

Compared with Wi-Fi, ZigBee has great advantages in low power consumption and low cost. In low-power standby mode, two ordinary No. 5 dry batteries can be used for more than 6 months. This is also the unique advantage that ZigBee supporters have always been proud of. Because ZigBee has a low data transmission rate and a simple protocol, it greatly reduces costs.