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ZigBee: IEEE 802.15.4

Javier Gracia Castro - 202509

scar Prez Domnguez - 192499

Institute of Production Engineering

Zigbee to be determined

25.04.07

ZigBee: Overview

Wireless protocol based on standard 802.15.4

Intended for WPAN (Wireless Personal Area Network)
Large support by the Industry: Honeywell, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola,
Philips, Samsung, etc.. (over 150 partners)
Small form factor, low power consumption and short distances
Similar range of applications than Bluetooth:
PDA, cellphones, embedded devices, etc..
but it is different...

Institute of Production Engineering

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25.04.07

ZigBee vs. Bluetooth

Specification
Bluetooth: 1.0 (May 1998), 2.1 draft (February 2007 )
ZigBee: 1.0 (December 2004), 1.1 draft (February 2007)
Standard
Bluetooth: 1.1 based on IEEE 802.15.1 (March 2002) (WPAN)
ZigBee: 1.0 based on IEEE 802.15.4 (May 2003) (WPAN)
Modulation technique
Bluetooth: Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS)
ZigBee: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Operating frequency bands
Bluetooth: 2.4 Ghz (license-free ISM band)
ZigBee: 2.4 Ghz, 915 MHz and 868 MHz (license-free ISM band)
Maximum network speed:
Bluetooth: 1 Mbit/s
ZigBee: 250 kbit/s

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25.04.07

ZigBee vs. Bluetooth

Network range:
Bluetooth: 1 or up to 100m, depending on radio class
ZigBee: Up to 75m
Typical network join time
Bluetooth: 3 seconds
ZigBee: 30 milliseconds
Protocol stack size
Bluetooth: 250 kbyte
ZigBee: 4-32 kbyte
Battery

Bluetooth: Intended for frequent recharging

ZigBee: Not rechargeable (one reason batteries will last for up to 10 years)

Price per chip

Bluetooth: $30 ( March 2001 ) - $2 ( February 2007 )
ZigBee: $5 ( May 2005 ) - $1 ( February 2007 )

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ZigBee: Standard IEEE 802.15.4 (1/2)

The IEEE 802.15 TG4 was chartered to investigate a low data rate
solution with multi-month to multi-year battery life and very low
complexity.
(Low complexity = Cheap price)

The original task group 4 has now been shifted to the task group 4b
The current IEEE 802.15 task group 4b has as goals to enhance and
clarify he IEEE 802.15.4-2003 standard by:

Resolving ambiguities
Reducing unnecessary complexity
Increasing flexibility in security key usage
Considerations for newly available frequency allocations, and others.

IEEE 802.15.4-2006 is the current version of the standard

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ZigBee: Standard IEEE 802.15.4 (2/2)

FEATURES
Data rates of 250 kbps, 40 kbps, and 20 kbps.
Two addressing modes:
16-bit short
64-bit IEEE addressing.

Support for critical latency devices, such as joysticks.

CSMA-CA channel access.
Automatic network establishment by the coordinator.
Fully handshaked protocol for transfer reliability.
Power management to ensure low power consumption.
Channels:
16 channels in the 2.4GHz ISM band.
10 channels in the 915MHz band.
1 channel in the 868MHz band.

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ZigBee: How it works (1/4)

ZigBee allows to automatically construct a self-organizing low-speed ad-hoc network

of nodes.
There are 3 different types of ZigBee device:
ZigBee coordinator(ZC):

1 ZigBee coordinator per network

It is the root of the network tree and might bridge to other networks.
Sets up the sensible parameters for establishing a network
It stores information about the network, e.g. radio-channel, repository for security keys, etc

ZigBee Router (ZR):

It acts as an intermediate router, passing data from other devices.
Main purpose is to extends the range of the network by acting as relays
ZR can act also as ZED.

ZigBee End Device (ZED):

Institute of Production Engineering

Very basic device. It requires very limited resources

Cheaper than ZR and ZC.
Basic functionality: To talk to its parent node (either the coordinator or a router)
It cannot relay data from other devices.

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ZigBee: How it works (2/4)

Current ZigBee profiles support beacon and non-beacon enabled networks.

Beacon enabled network
1) ZR transmit periodic beacons to confirm their presence to other network nodes.
Beacon intervals may range from 15,36 ms up to 251,7 s.

2) A client registers with the coordinator and looks for messages.

Messages are processed and when no messages are pending, the client returns to sleep,
awaking on a schedule specified by the coordinator.

3) Once the client communications are completed, the coordinator returns to sleep.
Low duty cycle operation with long beacon intervals requires precise timing which
can be expensive
Nodes only need to be active while a beacon is being transmitted.
Nodes may sleep between beacons, thus lowering their duty cycle and extending
their battery life.

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25.04.07

ZigBee: How it works (3/4)

Non-beacon enabled network

1) Remote units/clients wake up on a regular, yet random, basis to announce their
continued presence in the network.
2) When an event occurs, the sensor wakes up instantly and transmits the alert
3) The network coordinator, powered from the main source, has its receiver on all the
time and can therefore wait to hear from each of these stations.

A CSMA/CA channel access mechanism is used.

ZR have their receivers continuously active More power supply is needed
This configuration allows heterogeneous networks in which some devices receive
continuously, while others only transmit when an external stimulus is detected
Non-beacon mode is typically used in configurations where client units sleep most
of the time. (e.g. security systems)
Power consumption is asymmetrical: Some devices are always active, while
others remain asleep most of the time.

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25.04.07

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ZigBee: Stack architecture

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ZigBee: Modulation technique (DSSS)

ZigBee uses Offset quadrature phase-shift keying (OQPSK) and

DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum) for modulating radio-signals
in physical layer.
Spread Spectrum consists of spreading the original bandwidth of the
signal into a much wider frequency range.
This is a not very efficient approach for using frequency spectrum, but it
offers interesting advantages. For example, these signals can coexist
with narrow band signals and they appear as noise for other receivers.

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ZigBee: Modulation technique (DSSS)

How is signal bandwidth spread in DSSS?

Original signal is multiplied by a noise signal generated by a
pseudorandom sequence that oscillates between +1 and -1 with a chip
time (Tc) much less than the bit time of the signal (Tb).
These PN sequences are not completely random (deterministic). The
longer the period is, the more similar is the resulting signal to white noise.

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ZigBee: Modulation technique (DSSS)

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ZigBee: Frame structure

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ZigBee: Operating frequency bands

Which frequency bands does ZigBee operate in?

ZigBee operates in three different industrial, scientific and medical (ISM,
unlicensed) radio bands: 868 MHz (EU and Japan), 915 MHz (ISM, US)
and 2.4 GHz (worldwide). The 2,4 GHz ISM band is the most popular.
Band 1: 868-870 MHz (only one channel)
Band 2: 902-928 MHz (channels 1 to 10)
Band 3: 2.4-2.4835 GHz (channels 11 to 26)
In every radio band we have a number of available channels. For
example, in the 2.4 GHz band there are 16 different channels, and each
channel is 5 MHz long. The center frequency these channels can be
calculated as: Fc = (2400 + 5*k) MHz, where k = 1, 2, ... 16.
ZigBee uses CSMA-CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access) for accessing to
the media.

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25.04.07

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ZigBee: Transmission speed

Which data rates are supported in ZigBee?

There are three supported data rates: 20 Kbps, 40 Kbps and 250 Kbps.
These data rates are related to the frequency band adopted for the
transmission. These given values are maximum data rates.
If we compare ZigBee data rates with data rates of other technologies
we can think that it isnt a competitive technology. However ZigBee was
designed for low data traffic applications and for long battery life
devices.

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ZigBee: Range

The transmission distance is expected to be in the range from 10 to 75m.

Coverage range depends on some factors:
Data rate. Generally speaking, we achieve smaller ranges with high data
rates.
Power output. It is the parameter that influences the most in the
coverage range. In ZigBee, it is limited to 0 dBm (0 mW). Current
consume in these devices is very slow: 35 mA TX and 2 A standby.
Environment characteristics. The presence of obstacules, metallic
elemnts, etc can provoke scattering, multipath or fading in transmitted
signals.

Institute of Production Engineering

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25.04.07

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References

Performance Analysis of IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee for Large-Scale Wireless

Sensor Network Applications
Mikko Kohvakka, Mauri Kuorilehto, Marko Hnnikinen and Timo D. Hmlinen
http://www.wikipedia.com
http://www.embedded.com/
http://www.edn.com/
http://www.techworld.com/
Physical Layer Design for a Spread Spectrum
Guoliang Li, Virginia Polytechnic Institute

Institute of Production Engineering

Name/Subject of the presentation to be changed on the master page

25.04.07