Wireless milestone: First ZigBee products certified

By Control Engineering Staff November 21, 2006

Munich, Germany and San Ramon, CA —The first group of ZigBee certified wireless network products is now available, the ZigBee Alliance announced last week. Member companies earning certification status include MaxStream , NEC Engineering , S3C , and Software Technologies Group . Certification ensures a product will perform in ZigBee networks as promised; the group developed the testing process to prove “the robustness of ZigBee products at testing facilities with known ZigBee network implementations.”

ZigBee certified products are designed on one of the Alliance’s more than 30 approved ZigBee compliant platforms and have passed stringent independent lab tests conducted by National Technical Systems (NTS) and TÜV Rheinland Group . Certified products display the ZigBee logo and, says the Alliance, and “signifies to users that they can safely purchase Zigbee products and be assured of networking performance.”

“ZigBee certified products answer a global need for a variety of commercial and industrial sensor and control networks based on a recognized wireless networking standard,” said Bob Heile, ZigBee Alliance chairman. Heile said he expects the availability of many more certified products in 2007 to meet a variety of needs, calling ZigBee “the only wireless technology in the market today designed with the lowest power consumption rates and highest security, convenience, and reliability.”

ZigBee Alliance companies work together to enable reliable, cost effective, low-power wirelessly networked monitoring and control products based on an open global standard, the group says. Two test programs are available to manufacturers, OEMs, and developers: ZigBee compliant platform program is for chip suppliers or platforms intended for use as end-product building blocks; and ZigBee certified program applies to modules and end-products built on a ZigBee compliant platform.

Certified products are:

Maxstream-XBee simplifies adding ZigBee technology into existing electronic products and systems. XBee is tailored to applications requiring robust, reliable wireless communications in harsh environments.

NEC Engineering-ZB24FM-Z family of embedded modules provides monitoring of and communication with any person voluntarily carrying the device as they enter or exit a defined location. The system is intended for safety communications and allows accurate headcounts and improves emergency response planning.

S3C-XM2400 is a ZigBee-based differential pressure sensor for pressure, temperature, flow, and humidity measurement. Device interfaces with the company’s proprietary gateway package, SensGate, allowing seamless integration with open database connectivity compliant database management systems. XM2400 reportedly can turn a sensor into a wireless node using its built-in analog, digital, or serial interfaces.

Software Technologies Group-sensor network infrastructure products enable rapid development of ZigBee-based sensor network products for a variety of applications. Line, which includes central gateways, routers, and sensor interfaces, allows users to install sensors and other control mechanisms wirelessly and connect to a remote master control area.

Click here to read “Measure More…Without Wires” from Control Engineering .

Also read, ” ZigBee to improve wireless mesh networks in 2007 .”

—Control Engineering Daily News Desk Jeanine Katzel , senior editor


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