Taking the IP Route

The push to extend wireless networking is making strides, thanks to moves in the IP networking and ZigBee space.

A consortium of suppliers, the IP for Smart Objects (IPSO) Alliance, is pushing the wireless networking drive to small devices such as light sensors, temperature controls, actuators, security systems and appliances.

IPSO is being backed by Cisco, Emerson, Freescale, and Sun Microsystems. IP (Internet Protocol) can be used to collect and move information from sensors, actuator-equipped devices and intelligent appliances.

This could help small and mid-size manufacturing units collect information, such as energy usage, to help lower operating costs as well as drive down pricing, according to network analyst Paul Korzeniowski.

Adding more intelligence to industrial devices would enable vendors to develop sophisticated applications, such as end-to-end utility metering, integrated home and building automation, industrial systems, asset tracking, “smart cities” and “smart grids”, Krozeniowski explains.

At the other end of the spectrum is ZigBee, based on the IEEE’s 802.14.5 standard and active in the market since 2002. It can support wireless networks where a network coordinator collects information from up to 65,000 remote devices.

ZigBee is widely used in energy metering infrastructure. The ZigBee Alliance has developed the Smart Energy public application profile, which outlines a common set of energy management functions and protocols. Over a dozen products have now been certified as Smart Energy compliant.

The need for smart energy solutions is becoming more and more urgent,” says Bob Gohn, Ember’s Vice President of Marketing, who also notes that one of the biggest challenges facing ZigBee system designers is balancing the requirements for ever more powerful, feature-rich, device applications that fit within the tight footprint of low-power chips.

Stan Schatt, ABI Research Vice President and Practice Director of Networking, expects ZigBee to see the biggest uptake in fast-growing Asian building markets.

IP extends ZigBee
Arch Rock Corporation has proposed a new framework for running ZigBee application profiles, such as Smart Energy, over IP. Its Compact Application Protocol (CAP) expands the scope of the ZigBee applications to any IP-enabled device. This is one of many possible integrations between linkspecific lower-layer protocols of ZigBee with network and transport layers of IP solutions.

A number of alliances are also emerging between ZigBee and IP-based players. For instance, Ember Corporation has teamed with CalAmp to enable ZigBee and IP-based wireless networks to work together for automated meter reading, peak energy demand response and other Smart Grid applications.

BFM, a Swedish energy management company, has deployed a self-healing multi-hop mesh network devised by Meshnetics on IP and ZigBee platforms to devise a complete over-the-internet energy management system.

For a total installation cost of US$45,000, its energy management system reportedly returned annual energy savings of US$35,000 – nearly paying for itself over the course of a single year.

Wireless sensor networks give tremendous value in terms of energy conservation and bottomline benefits across any and all industries, says Richard Hänsel, CEO of BFM.

Communications is becoming more important in factories and plants with the goal being for every element and component to be connected to a network. Even smaller industrial plants are now seeing advantages from having instant data from around the plant, observes analyst Steve Rogerson.

And more companies are embracing wireless industrial solutions as green and financial pressures force firms to turn to electronics to find ways toreduce their energy bills, he says.