ZigBee adds to wireless mesh networking growth in industries

Staff -- Control Engineering, 8/1/2005

Natick, MA—Wireless mesh networking is expected to make inroads into industrial monitoring and control applications, but not only because of the ZigBee standard, according to a new study, "North American Market for RF/Microwave Wireless Monitoring and Control Products in Discrete and Process Manufacturing," by Venture Development Corp. (VDC). The report projects that shipments of wireless products using mesh networking will grow at a 60.2% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) to $25.1 million in 2007 from $6.1 million in 2004.

Based on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, ZigBee-enabled products used in industrial monitoring and control applications accounted for only $0.5 million in 2004 but are expected to account for about $7 million in 2007, according to VDC. Though ZigBee-ready products were available in 2004, the standard is still very new. The study adds that IEEE 802.15.4 was ratified in August 2003, while the ZigBee specification was finalized in December 2004, and the first official ZigBee-compliant products were shipped in April 2005. In addition, of the $6.1 million in wireless products shipped in 2004, 91.8% were proprietary, while 8.2% were ZigBee. However, of the $25.1 million in wireless products that VDC projects will be shipped in 2007, 72.1% are expected to be proprietary, while 27.9% are expected to be ZigBee.