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Wireless Networking Hardware

New Chips Enable 2.4 GHz Sensor Networks 104

Posted by michael from the background-chatter dept.
mindless4210 writes "Oki announced today that the world's first fully compliant IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee chip has been developed. The technology promises to start a new generation of wireless sensor networks, utilizing the unlicensed 2.4 GHz spectrum. The new IC integrates the digital circuit-based MAC and PHY with the analog circuit-based RF onto a single chip. The company also developed a kit which enables fast production of sensor networks which could control air conditioning, lighting, fire alarm systems, and many other applications. The low power consumption of the chip enables multi-year operation with only dry-cell batteries."
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New Chips Enable 2.4 GHz Sensor Networks More

New Chips Enable 2.4 GHz Sensor Networks

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  • Probably unrelated... (Score:5, Funny)

    by tha_mink ( 518151 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:12PM (#9132361)
    The company also developed a kit which enables fast production of sensor networks which could control air conditioning, lighting, fire alarm systems, and many other applications. The low power consumption of the chip enables multi-year operation with only dry-cell batteries."

    We have a motion sensor based security system here at home, and it goes off once a month when a spider finds its way into the body of the sensor. I'll stick with light switches thank you.
    • Great. Now in that little bit of spectrum I'll have the 7 WiFi nets I can see when I wander around my house. The phones (my and a neighbors) that eat a channel at random. The microwave. Some mystery device that's killed the 'hood's WiFi at random times.

      Please Mr Frederic Cee Cee (FCC for short)
      Can we have another chunk of spectrum?

      WiFi has changed how people use computers at work and at home. The experiment was a success. Can we have a bigger cup to sip from now?

  • Split (Score:4, Insightful)

    by DiscordOfFive ( 778099 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:12PM (#9132365) Journal
    In one way I'm scared for how this could be used to trample privacy rights, or abused in myriad ways. On the other hand, the implications for my home media, climate control, and the like is certainly enticing....
    I guess it's just a matter of who makes it, and what it's made/marketed for....

    • Re:Split (Score:3, Insightful)

      by NonSequor ( 230139 )
      I'm afraid of how waffle irons might be used to invade my privacy.

      This technology is only useful for networking large numbers of simple devices.

      From the IEEE 802.15.4 page

      The IEEE 802.15 TG4 is chartered to investigate a low data rate solution with multi-month to multi-year battery life and very low complexity. It is intended to operate in an unlicensed, international frequency band. Potential applications are sensors, interactive toys, smart badges, remote controls, and home automation.

      Low data rate

      • Re:Split (Score:3, Informative)

        by drinkypoo ( 153816 )

        From the very same page [ieee802.org]: "Data rates of 250 kbps, 40 kbps, and 20 kbps". The lowest rate is five to ten times faster than a dialup modem, which is enough for very-low-bitrate video, and a decent stream of still images, or a fairly decent-quality mono audio stream when compressed (or about telephone quality without compression.)

        At its high end, it's nearly twice as fast as ISDN, which is commonly used for fairly decent-quality videoconferencing.

        Using a mesh network one could spread the traffic out bet

        • I thought dialup tended to be 37 to 53 kbps -- that would make the low end of this technology comparable to dialup ...

  • In all reality (Score:5, Funny)

    by beatnitup ( 616700 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:19PM (#9132429)
    Whats really running thorugh people's minds is "does this mean that i'll have to upgrade my card if they upgrade their routers to continue stealing my internet from my neighbors?"

  • Not sure why this is a "first" ... (Score:5, Informative)

    by rskrishnan ( 543735 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:23PM (#9132474)
    Lots of companies have single-chip-2.4Ghz radio ICs. Like nvlsi.no or ChipCon. And NVLSI is better by a mile - quite literally a single chip 2.4GHz radio - make a sensor network in a few weeks .... if you find someone to help you solder the QFN pkg (goddamn SMD pkgs).Perhaps they bundle the ZigBee protocol within the IC ??

    • Re:Not sure why this is a "first" ... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Dielectric ( 266217 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:33PM (#9132578)
      I think it's just the first production ZigBee chip, which, until now, has been total vaporware. Nordic and ChipCon and Cypress and others have had working 2.4GHz wireless chipsets for quite a while, but they're all proprietary, not a recognized IEEE standard.

      Hate the QFN? I agree, that would be pretty hard to solder down by hand. Check out the Cypress wireless chipset, you can get an SOIC which is actually pretty easy with a fine tip.
      • Most certainly hate the QFNs - I've been hunting for a pcb assembler who can assemble QFNs _and_ at a reasonable price (cannot afford $250 to solder 5 boards - I'm already down to a 3 digit bank balance(in US$)). SOIC would be a welcome change - but my design is aleady committed to the nvlsi chip - so would be very costly to back out now. Also nvlsi seems a simpler solution (fewer external components ==> less mistakes). So can you recommend a _cheap_ and efficient prototype pcb manuf guy/company/backdo
        • $250 for five boards is about right, actually. Your best bet on a budget is to make a friend at someplace like Lucent or Motorola for example.

          One more option would be to re-flow the boards at home in your toaster oven. No, really, I'm serious. You can use solder paste and an ordinary, inexpensive toaster oven to handle the reflow. I saw a well documented project that did this on the web somewhere, which should be easy enough to find with Google.
          • Just be sure your boards are solder-masked; some of the cheaper places don't do it by default. I know Olimex does do solder mask, but aside from that you're on your own. (No relationship, but you can't beat $26 for a double sided 160x100mm board in single quantities.)

            For prototyping lower-frequencies items in a similar package (LCC8) I've successfully tacked wire-wrap wire to the contacts, but it's a pain and the lead inductances will kill you at these freqs.
          • Feh, nevermind the toaster oven, solder paste and a heat gun. I populated two boards yesterday like this. Just get some solder wick, too, because you'll most likely have to go back over and clean up any spurious solder bridges.
      • I think it's just the first production ZigBee chip, which, until now, has been total vaporware

        Actually we (Chipcon [chipcon.com]) launched a 802.15.4 compliant device in november last year. [chipcon.com] Datasheets and reference designs are availible here [chipcon.com].
        • Actually we (Chipcon) launched a 802.15.4 compliant device in november last year.

          And Moteiv [moteiv.com] is the first to ship a mote (wireless sensor node) using the CC2420, integrated PCB antenna, a TI MS430 microcontroller, and USB for reprogramming, debugging, and data collection.. all of course running TinyOS :).

    • At 2GHz and up the QFN package is somewhat of a got to have, otherwise the inductance of the package leads starts to become a big issue.

      That 14 pin DIP just won't hack it due to the lead frame inductance.

    • Chipcon actually has a ZigBee compliant chip [chipcon.com] already...it's the first I have seen. Of course, they claim is the the wrold's first one too.

      Since 2.4 GHz is an ISM band, there are no license requirements, and there are already many proprietery transceivers on the market. The difference here is that Zigbee (802.15.4) is an IEEE std. ZigBee was developed because many felt Bluetooth was too complicated for sensor network and automation type applications. Indeed, with the Piconet scheme of 7 active nodes, l

  • So much for 802.11b/g (Score:5, Informative)

    by russotto ( 537200 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:25PM (#9132500) Journal
    I'm glad my WiFi network is 802.11a. If this goes into wide use there's going to be so much noise in 2.4Ghz that 2.4Ghz wireless is going to be really hard to continue using. (Heck, it already is)

    As to the techno-babble, most 802.11a/b/g cards require a separate chip for the MAC (which handles the 802.11 level 2 protocol -- some chipsets do most of this on the host), the PHY (which handles the digital signal processing) and the RF section (which is black magic). Putting them all on one chip allows for smaller and hopefully less power-hungry devices.
    • I really don't think this will cause a great deal of interference in 2.4 GHz. It's for a sensor network that uses low data rates, plus the 802.15.4 standard is meant to create a PAN, so it's reach isn't likely to be that far.

  • Motorola vaporware (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Rorschach1 ( 174480 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:29PM (#9132539) Homepage
    I've been waiting for ZigBee hardware from Motorola for quite a while now. Several months ago, their web site proudly proclaimed that their HCS08 series chips would support ZigBee. I'm now using HCS08 chips, but all mention of ZigBee has since vanished from the product page.

    Makes me wonder if there's some not-quite-working ZigBee RF hardware on the chip...
    • When I was at the embedded systems conference in San Francisco Motorola had a booth demonstrating Zigbee. They had a cell phone controlling an RC car. Kinda neat.
  • So this would be right for the "sensors in the woods" story from yestereday, right?
    http://ask.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/ 05/11/19 2235&mode=thread&tid=126&tid=158&tid=9 9
    " The low power consumption of the chip enables multi-year operation with only dry-cell batteries."

    great stuff... sounds more like Neal Stephenson's future than ever before.. now for the Feed.
  • Now we can do location and positioning with a potential high degree of acuracy.

    like I noticed, tho, with my recent $20 purchase of the p5 glove [essentialreality.com], the technology may be there, but where are the applications? Aren't there developers out there, unemployed?

    WiFiMaps.com [wifimaps.com] is taking a stab at the location based computing, any interested developers out there?
  • The low power consumption of the chip enables multi-year operation with only dry-cell batteries.

    Would it be possible, I wonder, to have solar-powered sensors, or even sensors powered by storing vibrational energy (for use in, say, air ducts)? Of course, sensors placed in easily accessible locations probably wouldn't benefit too much from never needing battery replacements. However, I can think of a few applications where you'd want to have a sensor in locations that are not readily accessible for main
    • yup, we're doing that at cal right now. we're harvesting from ambient vibrations and magnetic fields. Although the amount of energy you can get isn't really enough to power the processor and radio packages. Untill they can signifcantly reduce the amount of power consumed by radios we'll still have to depend on batteries
  • The 2.4GHz band is unlicensed, so it's freely available for smallscale operators (individuals). Too available - it's getting crowded with different incompatible signals. The FCC uses licenses to prevent this problem, but they're too exclusive and expensive for the public to use. While the IETF uses published RFCs to allow interoperable systems, but that requires mutual compliance in unlimited signal spaces. It's obvious that radio developers won't comply with interoperability with existing signals in unlice

  • Subdermal anyone? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Frigid Monkey ( 411257 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:49PM (#9132736) Homepage Journal
    The new chip has several key bennefits, which include the use of synchronous serial interface when connecting to a host CPU, low-power consumption enabling long time operation with dry-cell batteries, and a 0.22 micron low-leakage process. The package is quite small at only 7x7(mm).

    Just me or does this seem like the perfect chip for a subdermal implant. Seriosly, stick one of these babys next to a pacemaker and you can control your heartrate via the TCP/IP or encrypt the signal and have law enforcments firearms disable themselves in the hands of criminals (ala Judge Dredd [imdb.com]) Coupled with a proper set of sensors soldiers vital stats could be relayed to a central command unit without bulk transmiters, or just one transmitter ( Aliens (1986) [imdb.com]

    Maybe I shouldn't watch so many movies.

    • Re:Subdermal anyone? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Homology ( 639438 )
      Just me or does this seem like the perfect chip for a subdermal implant. Seriosly, stick one of these babys next to a pacemaker and you can control your heartrate via the TCP/IP...

      Seriously, you would never do that. A pace maker uses advanced technology (inluding the surgery) to make it simple and reliable, to just work as long as possible, What is at stake is the lifespan and medical health of the patient. A TCP/IP is not part of that.

  • Great (Score:3, Insightful)

    by ThePeices ( 635180 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:53PM (#9132790)
    Just what we need, more usage of the 2.4GHz spectrum, as if its not used enough. We need more unlicenced spectrum set aside for the ever increasing amount of wireless devices. 2.4 is pretty much saturated in most populated areas.

  • Sweet! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:53PM (#9132793)
    Now I can have fun remotely controlling my neighbor's air conditioner...

    100
    30
    100
    30

  • If you like this kind of stuff... (Score:4, Informative)

    by xplosiv ( 129880 ) on Wednesday May 12, 2004 @05:54PM (#9132795)
    I suggest you check out CocoonTech.com [cocoontech.com], it's a site dedicated to Home Autmation, Theaters and Security, This article got posted there this morning before it appeared on slashdot ;) Z-wave, which is 'similar' to ZigBee is one of the newer but fast growing protocols in the HA world. There have been many times where manufactures have said they have developped an x-10 killer protocol, but so far ZigBee & Z-wave seem to be ones of the few which might actually become widely accepted (or in some cases is being deployed already). Home Automation for the masses!
  • When the sensors can outlast most domestic electronics, one has to wonder WHY??!!


    In all probability, the only useful place for this is in amateur rocketry launching low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites with a life-expectancy long enough to make it worth the effort.


    (Why probes? Because wireless can be lighter - no wiring - and doesn't tangle up so badly.)

  • sensor networks which could control air conditioning, lighting,

    Hell, I'll buy it if it allows me to control lightning. Start phoning in ultimatums... Pay me several million dollars or say goodbye to all your prescious broadcasting towers... Muwahahahaha
  • chipcon has has a single chip zigbee transceiver for a while now (CC2420).

    They claim "industry first"... maybe there was an earlier one still.
  • Some of the tech that bluetooth was designed for and is now being use by 802.11 . Wide adoption was bluetooth failure and the ridiculous amount you need to pay for a bluetooth hardware and software development kit from Ericsson.

  • No news (Score:2, Informative)

    by Jeff Kelly ( 309129 )
    First of all Zigbee is no protocol for wireless sensor networks. The curently supported network topology is to inflexible and the maximum number of devices per subnet (255) is not nearly big enough that Zigbee is of much use for ambitious installations. There are better solutions for sensor nets and zigbees priorities lie in differentz directions than that.

    Secondly neither 802.15.4 (The phy and mac layer) nor the Zigbee Protocol (network and app layers) are fully specified. The current specs lack important

  • DVD+RW,-RW,-R,+R,DL,R,ROM ??!

    802.11b,b+,g,a,bluetooth(+IEEE ver),firewireless(+IEEE ver),zigbee(+IEEE ver),3g(CDMA? UMTS?),

    will some people just design simple, interoperable and scalable standards and reduce the level of fragmentation?

    ZigBee sounds great, but will it survive?

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