Medical Sensor Technology

Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits

VitaSens Handheld

What is Zigbee?

ZigBee Logo

As an extension to those standardized radio communication methods already available, such as WLAN and Bluetooth, specifications for a new communication technology have been adopted. This new technology has been developed specifically for wireless close range networks with low data rates (R-WPAN: Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Network): the ZigBee technology.
Some of ZigBee’s essential features, which are based on IEEE standard 802.15.4, are:

  • Total data rate 250 kbit/s, or reference data rate ~128 kbit/s
  • Low latency on dial-up
  • Low-size log stack
  • Excellent network properties
  • Low electric consumption
ZigBee is being marketed by the ZigBee-Alliance, an industry pool of more than 200 businesses (www.zigbee.org). Fraunhofer, too, is a member of the ZigBee-Alliance, and is actively contributing to the development and distribution of many diverse ZigBee applications.
Targeted sectors are building services engineering and industrial automation and control engineering as well as domestic applications. Application in computer periphery and medical technology is also possible.