The ZigBee Alliance said it will combine a set of not-entirely-compatible ZigBee profiles under an umbrella standard: ZigBee 3.0.
ZigBee, based on IEEE 802.15.4 and operating at 2.4 GHz, is used for low-power and short-range communications. There are multiple ZigBee specifications, or profiles, each optimized for a different application. There is one for home automation, for example, another for smart energy, another for health care, and so on.
In the past, vendors in each of these application areas operated independently of each other. Now, with increasing enthusiasm for the concept of the Internet of things (IoT), these applications can no longer reside in incompatible silos.
The new standard unifies ZigBee standards found in tens of millions of devices already purchased and in use, the Alliance said.
ZigBee 3.0 is to enable communication and interoperability among devices for home automation, connected lighting, energy efficiency and other markets.
All device types, commands, and functionality defined in current ZigBee PRO-based standards are available to developers in the new standard.
One profile, RF4CE, the one used for remote controls, will not be included in ZigBee 3.0 however. This is the profile that aims to bring set-tops and other CPE together (see “ZigBee controls set-tops and smart home devices with same remote“).
The draft standard is available to members of the ZigBee Alliance today, and the technology is currently undergoing testing. ZigBee 3.0 is expected to be ratified in the fourth quarter of 2015.
ZigBee is facing competition from a standard called 6LoWPAN (IPv6 over low power wireless personal area networks). 6LoWPAN likewise makes use of IEEE 802.15.4, but is IP-based.
