ZigBee Mesh Networks: ZigBee Makes a Mesh of Controller Networks

From Extreme Tech ... device, at between $1 to $5 per unit. Think of it as a mesh-based two-way version of RFID. Each ZigBee radio has a range of about ...

... ZigBee's premise is simple. As sensors spread throughout buildings, and as controlling computers become cheaper and cheaper, the industry needed an easy and cheap way to move information from device to device. The ZigBee wireless protocol provides a mesh-based network, with smarts enough to route signals from dumb device to dumb device, at between $1 to $5 per unit. ...

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 goal of the ZigBee Alliance is to provide the consumer with ultimate flexibility, mobility, and ease of use by building wireless intelligence and capabilities into every day devices. ZigBee technology will be embedded in a wide range of products and applications across consumer, commercial, industrial and government markets worldwide. For the first time, companies will have a standards-based wireless platform optimized for the unique needs of remote monitoring and control applications, including simplicity, reliability, low-cost and low-power.