The ZigBee Alliance, an association of companies working together to enable wirelessly networked monitoring and control products based on an open global standard, reported in February that it had achieved its 2003 objectives and is on course to meet its 2004 objectives. The ZigBee Alliance has grown to more than 62 member companies spanning semiconductor manufacturers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), embedded software providers and service providers. The ZigBee Alliance also reported significant advancement of the ZigBee specification with successful interoperability testing by member companies. This progress will allow ZigBee to deliver a robust specification in 2004, which will enable developers to design interoperable, reliable and secure products targeted at the building automation, industrial control, residential-lite commercial control, and consumer electronic markets.

The ZigBee Alliance entered 2004 with strong momentum from last year, highlighted by the more than 350 attendees at the group's open house in San Jose, Calif., during the fourth quarter of 2003. At that event, multiple vendors, including Chipcon, CompXs, Ember, Figure 8 Wireless, Helicomm, Motorola, Sensicast and ZMD, showcased products exceeding the performance estimates and firmly laying the foundation for ZigBee-enabled applications. Member companies are already moving to sample ZigBee-ready silicon, and OEM member companies are developing prototype products based on that silicon. According to West Technology Research Solutions (WTRS), by 2008, there could be more than 300 million ZigBee chipsets shipped annually in the home automation segment alone.

By the end of 2004, the ZigBee Alliance expects to deliver the networking protocol specification and application profiles, built on the IEEE 802.15.4 standard, to enable broad-based deployment of wireless networks. To ensure interoperability within these wireless networks, ZigBee recently held its first internal interoperability-testing event. Several member companies participated in the interoperability testing, which was conducted on two levels: The first was designed to test the 802.15.4 RFfunctionality, specifically with the Physical Layer (PHY) and Media Access Control (MAC), and the second was designed to test ZigBee network functionality. Test participants were pleased with the level of success realized, especially given this was the first such testing event. Because the ZigBee Alliance has defined multivendor interoperability as a key objective to achieving reliability and ease-of-use for installers and consumers, this test event represents successful completion of a significant milestone toward that end.

“The interoperability testing exceeded our expectations and sets a solid foundation for ZigBee as we work to deliver the ratified specification,” said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance.

“This is an opportune time for leading companies who want to have input on developing the ZigBee specification and create ZigBee products to join the ZigBee Alliance at the ground floor,” said Heile. “Member companies are in a unique position to influence the direction of the technology.” For more information on the ZigBee Alliance, visit www.zigbee.org/join/.