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It is truly an exciting time at the ZigBee Alliance, and this is the perfect opportunity to update you on a few of our activities. As you may have noticed, the ZigBee marketplace is growing everyday as our Alliance brings companies with common goals together. As a non-profit association of like-minded companies, everyone is working together to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on the open global standard everyone knows as ZigBee.
| ZigBee Alliance | www.zigbee.org | Copyright 2007 |
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Welcome to the premier issue of ZigBee Today, the newsletter that lets you know what's going on with ZigBee It is truly an exciting time at the ZigBee Alliance, and this is the perfect opportunity to update you on a few of our activities. As you may have noticed, the ZigBee marketplace is growing everyday as our Alliance brings companies with common goals together. As a non-profit association of like-minded companies, everyone is working together to enable reliable, cost-effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on the open global standard everyone knows as ZigBee. Our members are providing consumers and professionals with the ultimate in flexibility, mobility, and ease of use by building wireless intelligence and capabilities into a myriad of common appliances and devices. Everyday, ZigBee technology is embedded into more and more products and applications designed for use in residential, commercial, industrial and government markets worldwide. In fact, our members have shipped more than 15,000 development and evaluation kits to product developers worldwide. For the first time in history, companies in any country around the world have a standard platform providing them with a global wireless language that connects dramatically different devices. From air conditioners to lights, from audio/visual equipment to utility meters, only ZigBee truly connects all of the devices into a single network and delivers on the promise of home and commercial building automation. ZigBee supports networks of many sizes - from two to thousands of devices - all on a single wireless network. This reliability and unprecedented diversity enables ZigBee products for large commercial implementations .Members have introduced products for commercial HVAC systems as well as commercial lighting controls and more are on the way. ZigBee is a key enabler of energy management applications for the utility industry and enables programs such as load control and time of use pricing by providing the critical link between electric utility grids and device networks in both residential and commercial buildings. With more industries like telecom and healthcare perfect for ZigBee, the best way to be part of building these solutions and many more is to join the ZigBee Alliance. Sincerely, Brent Hodges Vice President Marketing and Business Development ZigBee Alliance (www.zigbee.org) Wireless Control That Simply Works |
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Welcome New Members New membership during the first quarter of 2007 has been quite positive, with a total of 20 new companies representing a wide range of interests globally. This is a testament to positive traction ZigBee solutions are receiving in the marketplace. The ZigBee Alliance is pleased to welcome the following new members: Participants: Alertme.com Computime International Limited DataPath, Inc. Distribution Control Systems, Inc. San Diego Gas & Electric, a Sempra Energy Utility Telefonica I+D Telenor R & I Trilliant Networks, Inc. Adopters: Comverge, Inc. i-conserve, LLC MG Systems & Software, LLC Millennium Electronics, PTY Ltd. Newport Electronics Niigata Seimitsu Co., Ltd. OPNET Technologies, Inc. OPTO 22 Sensorlogic, Inc. SMS Tecnologia Eletronica, Ltd. Synapse Tantalus Systems Corporation |
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Member Spotlight: Cellnet and ZigBee Advanced Metering for the Intelligent Electric Grid In 2000, Californians found out the hard way what it was like to face rolling blackouts every day. In the wake of the 1996 deregulation of its utilities market, California's residents and commercial sectors endured the reality of a long, hot summer as rolling blackouts plagued the state. While not only a nuisance and an inconvenience, the blackouts temporarily slowed one of the world's largest economies and had strong political repercussions. Many individuals may think rolling blackouts are a thing of the past, but they actually give us an ominous indicator of our future if global energy efficiency programs are not implemented soon. Blackout and brownout problems have occurred in other U.S. states and countries and could continue as energy demand increases and energy generation fails to keep up. According to a recent report from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. "electricity demand in the U.S. is expected to grow by 141,000 megawatts in the next decade while only 57,000 megawatts of new resources have been identified, leaving a shortfall of 84,000 megawatts, an amount equivalent to 160 large power plants." With legislative and regulatory requirements in several states (e.g., California and Colorado) and countries stipulating greenhouse gas emission reductions - a requirement that does not embrace construction of new power plants - the industry faces a possible impasse. Many energy experts see the value of turning to technology to fill the gap using ZigBee wireless products and services offered by companies like Cellnet, which provides the utility industry with a data communications network and enables the reality of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). AMI has emerged as one of the key technologies expected by many industry experts to transform the utility market. According to the U.S. Department of Energy's Grid 2030 vision report, AMI serves as an enabler for the intelligent grid and acts as the driving force behind how utilities collect and analyze data in the future. AMI is a system that measures, collects and analyzes energy usage collected from advanced devices such as smart electricity, gas or water meters. This data can be collected through various communication channels either on request, or on a pre-defined schedule. Cellnet recognized the potential financial costs to businesses and the legal liabilities of utility companies should the electric delivery status quo remain. In response, it created an AMI solution, UtiliNet network technology, which offers two-way communication and control - to provide key building blocks needed when creating a smart electric grid. UtiliNet puts more control and efficiency back in the hands of businesses and consumers while allowing utilities to offer new services that create more value for their customers. ZigBee Home Area Networks Interface Consumer's Devices Consumer Interface for: Usage, Prices and Two-way Communications  The Cellnet Solution Success Cellnet supports the single largest AMI network in the United States and its UtiliNet relies on ZigBee to communicate with ZigBee home area networks (HAN), sometimes referred to as "in-premise networks." A HAN can be comprised of ZigBee-enabled devices like appliances, thermostats, water heaters, pool pumps, to name a few. This communication and control is possible because ZigBee is a global wireless language that connects dramatically different devices. Since ZigBee is a global wireless standard, it provides the scalability and reliability needed to support an infrastructure as demanding as smart energy grids created through AMI. UtiliNet ultimately creates a wide area network linking ZigBee equipped smart meters back to the utility, allowing the utility to communicate with ZigBee-enabled devices found in HAN installed in homes and businesses. "Our technology helps customers take charge of their energy consumption," said Mak Tarnoff, director of product marketing at Cellnet. "Now they can reduce and conserve energy based on price information. UtiliNet allows utilities to send a wireless signal to the consumer's electric meter and ZigBee technology transmits that signal to ZigBee devices in the home. This means consumers can control usage of thermostat-based equipment such as the heating ventilation and control system based on price sensitivity." Importantly, ZigBee gives utility companies a standards based approach to new energy efficiency programs such as demand response, time-of-use pricing programs, energy monitoring, pay-as-you-use and net metering programs. Home owners and businesses will also get the most out of their distributed generation products, like solar panels. Utility companies gain new tools and real-time data to react to emergencies. UtiliNet helps utility companies avoid dispatching a utility worker during emergencies personally confirm a power outage. Cellnet technology immediately informs customers of an outage, accurately pinpoints the location and source of the problem allowing service to be restored faster.
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ZigBee Working Groups Application Framework Group (AFG) - Phil Jamieson, Philips The ZigBee Application Framework working group (AFG) is responsible for realizing applications that utilize the network and security components of the ZigBee stack. Our brief is two fold. Firstly, to provide a framework for application development and secondly to standardize individual profiles. TSC Architecture Group (TAG) - Don Sturek, Texas Instruments The system and architecture efforts for the ZigBee protocol are defined within the TAG. The TAG interfaces with the ZigBee Technical Steering Committee (TSC), all other technical Working Group and the Marketing Working Group to define the system level protocol architecture and interfaces for the ZigBee protocol. Security Work Group (SWG) - Robert Cragie, Jennic The SWG defines the overall security architecture which provides cryptographic tools and interfaces from which profiles may select security services to enable an adequately secure communications link Network Work Group (NWG) - Ian Marsden, Integration Associates The task of the NWG is to provide a protocol for connectionless, end-to-end data transmission in a network of IEEE 802.15.4 nodes, routing data either via a single hop or multiple hops. ZigBee Qualifications Work Group (ZQG) - Bill Wood, Daintree Networks The certification, compliance and interoperability efforts for ZigBee are organized, defined, coordinated, and implemented by the ZQG. The ZQG is a policy setting body, and it establishes the criteria for product certification in a vendor-neutral fashion. Gateway Work Group (GWG) Marketing Work Group (MWG) - Brent Hodges, ZigBee Alliance The MWG is not an overall policy setting body, but rather serves in an advisory capacity to the ZigBee Board of Directors regarding Alliance-wide strategy issues. The MWG executes the promotion and marketing strategy as agreed upon with the Board. Gateway Work Group (GWG) - Pat Kinney, Kinney Consulting The GWG is focused on defining specifications for bridges and gateways between ZigBee networks and other device networks. Profiles completed or in process include: Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) Commercial Building Automation (CBA) Home Automation (HA) Personal Home & Hospital Care (PHHC) Telecom Applications (TA) Wireless Sensor Applications (WSA) |
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News Release: ZigBee ALLIANCE MEMBERS CONNECT WITH TELECOM MARKET Alliance Members Developing New Solutions for Secure Mobile Payments, Information Delivery, The Alliance's growth into the telecom market is driven by industry experts from leading network operators and technology providers including Motorola, Huawei Technologies, Samsung Electronics, ETRI, KDDI R&D Laboratories Inc., OKI Electric Industry, Orange FT, Telecom Italia and TSC Systems. These members are examining ways to leverage the inherent strengths of ZigBee: low power, reliable mesh networking, AES128 security, low data rate and global network acceptance. Because ZigBee is the global wireless language connecting dramatically different devices, companies can develop new mobile applications while gaining access to ZigBee-based home and commercial building automation devices. "ZigBee offers cost-effective, standards-based wireless networking solutions emphasizing mobility, reliability and ease of use - a perfect fit for today's increasingly mobile phone oriented world," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "By formalizing what was already happening in the market, our members are giving telecom companies new ways to expand revenue, while simplifying the lives of mobile phone users everywhere. Any company developing proprietary telecom solutions should get involved with ZigBee and participate in the Alliance's thriving ecosystem now." The New ZigBee Mobile Device ZigBee mobile devices include mobile telephones and personal digital assistants with embedded ZigBee technology or using a ZigBee SIM card. These devices act as a mobile terminal and/or as a sensor control device anywhere there is a ZigBee network or ZigBee access point. Potential applications currently in development include:
ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance membership comprises technology providers and original equipment manufacturers worldwide. Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at www.zigbee.org. Contact: Kevin Schader ZigBee Alliance +1 925-275-6672 Tommy Tse GolinHarris for the ZigBee Alliance +1 415-274-7915 |
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News Release: ZIGBEE ALLIANCE ADDS CELLNET TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS Addition Adds New Expertise for Energy Solutions San Ramon, Calif. - April 23, 2007 - The ZigBee Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in residential, commercial and industrial applications, today announced that Cellnet Technology is now a Promoter level member and the newest member of the ZigBee Alliance Board of Directors.Cellnet, a leading provider of intelligent communication and automation solutions to energy and water businesses worldwide, has been a Participant level member of the ZigBee Alliance since 2006. Cellnet's UtiliNet ZigBee Gateway technology supports two-way communication and control for ZigBee enabled in-home devices - leveraging installed communications infrastructure to deliver in-premise customer networks that expand load control, energy management, and demand response programs. "Utilities are facing a changing marketplace and ZigBee is a global solution ideally suited for demand response, smart meters and other advanced metering initiatives," said David Slump, chief executive officer of Cellnet. "Cellnet believes in ZigBee because of its open standard approach and our product line and membership in the ZigBee Alliance demonstrates our focus on providing our customers with only the best solutions." Cellnet joins Eaton Corporation, Ember Corporation, Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Honeywell, Huawei Technologies, Mitsubishi Electric, Motorola, Philips, Samsung, Schneider Electric, Siemens, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Tendril Networks on the ZigBee Alliance Board of Directors. "Increasing global energy efficiency starts with power companies, then reaches consumers and tackling this wide spectrum of devices is perfect for the unique and global capabilities of ZigBee," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance. "Adding Cellnet to the Board of Directors allows the ZigBee Alliance to draw upon Cellnet's utility industry strengths, and will lead to more effective energy management solutions for use in the home, commercial and industrial automation spaces." About Cellnet Technology, Inc. Cellnet provides intelligent communication and automation solutions to energy and water businesses worldwide. The company's offerings include advanced metering infrastructure, in-premise networks, automated meter reading, SCADA and distribution automation. Cellnet's proven record of delivering customer value is demonstrated by over 14 million customer endpoints representing contracted revenue of over $2.2 billion over the next 15 years. For more information visit www.cellnet.com. ZigBee: Wireless Control That Simply Works The ZigBee Alliance is an association of companies working together to enable reliable, cost effective, low-power, wirelessly networked, monitoring and control products based on an open global standard. The ZigBee Alliance membership comprises technology providers and original equipment manufacturers worldwide. Membership is open to all. Additional information can be found at www.zigbee.org. Contact: Kevin Schader ZigBee Alliance +1 925-275-6672 Paige Besson Cellnet Technology, Inc. +1 678-258-1500 |
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