Technological Applications of ZigBee
As a low-rate, short-range wireless communication technology, ZigBee has its own characteristics, so there are applications tailored for it, although in some applications it may overlap with other technologies.Some of the possible applications of ZigBee, include smart home, industrial control, automatic meter reading, medical monitoring, sensor networking applications and telecom applications.
Smart home
There may be many electrical and electronic devices in the home, such as lights, TVs, refrigerators, washing machines, computers, air conditioners, etc., and there may also be devices such as smoke sensors, alarms, and cameras, etc. In the past, we may have been able to achieve point-to-point control at best, but with ZigBee technology, all these electrical and electronic devices can be linked together to form A network can even be connected to the Internet through a gateway, so that users can easily monitor their homes from anywhere and save the trouble of wiring up their homes.
Industrial Control
Factory environments have a large number of sensors and controllers that can be monitored and controlled using ZigBee technology to enhance operations and reduce costs.
Automated Meter Reading
Meter reading may be a familiar thing, such as gas, electricity, water, etc., every month or every quarter may need to count the readings, reported to the gas, electricity, or water supply company, and then based on the readings to charge. Nowadays, in most places, meter reading is still done manually, knocking on doors door to door, which is very inconvenient. ZigBee can be used in this field, using sensors to convert meter readings into digital signals, and send the readings directly to the gas or water company through the ZigBee network. Using ZigBee for meter reading can also bring other benefits, such as the gas or utility company can send some information directly to the user, or it can be combined with energy saving to automatically reduce the rate of energy use when it is found to be too fast.
Medical monitoring
Electronic medical monitoring is a recent research hotspot. Many sensors are installed on the human body, such as measuring pulse and blood pressure to monitor health conditions, and some monitors and alarms are placed in the environment around the human body, such as in the ward environment, so that the human body can be monitored at any time, and in case of a problem, it can be responded to in a timely manner, such as to notify the hospital staff on duty. These sensors, monitors and alarms can be used to form a monitoring network through ZigBee technology. Because of the wireless technology, there is no need for wired connections between sensors, and the person being monitored can move around more freely, which is very convenient.
Sensor network applications
Sensor networks are also a recent research hotspot, like cargo tracking, building monitoring, environmental protection and other aspects of the good prospects for application. Sensor networks require nodes to be low-cost, low-power, and capable of automatic networking, easy maintenance, and high reliability. zigBee's advantages in networking and low power consumption make it a good technology choice for sensor network applications.
Telecom Applications
In early 2006, Telecom Italia announced that it had developed a SIM card with integrated ZigBee technology, named "ZSIM" [5]. In fact, this SIM card is just a means of integrating ZigBee into telecom terminals. The ZigBee Alliance also issued a press release in April 2007, stating that members of the Alliance are developing telecom-related applications [6]. If ZigBee technology can really be carried out in the field of telecommunication, then in the future, users can utilize their cell phones to make mobile payments and get some information of interest in hot spots, such as news and discounts, and users can also be informed of their location through positioning services. Although the current GPS positioning service has done a good job, but it is difficult to support indoor positioning, and ZigBee's positioning function just to make up for this defect.