Zigbee aims for homes

The low-power wireless technology Zigbee, widely used to harvest data from mesh networks of sensors, is to get an upgrade.

A new specification will provide support for larger networks and "frequency agility" – the ability to reduce interference by avoiding spectrum already in use nearby, says the governing Zigbee Alliance.

Zigbee uses the same unlicensed 2.4GHz spectrum as Wifi, Bluetooth and microwave ovens. The latest Bluetooth chips support a ultra-low power (ULP) mode, formerly called Wibree, that is superficially similar to Zigbee and can run for years from one cell.

But Bluetooth is basically a peer-to-peer technology and the ULP mode is designed for two devices to exchange small chunks of data – a PDA alerting a smart watch that it has received an email, for instance.

Zigbee data is designed to hop from node to node in a network. The technology is also used in home-automation systems.

Other features of the new spec, dubbed Zigbee Pro, include the ability to split large messages up into chunks, automated address management and group addressing. A full list can be found here

The ZigBee Alliance says the features will help the develop of deployment of energy management systems and advance meter-reading systems.