ZigBee Alliance reaches out to developers

The ZigBee Alliance has launched a new 'Adopter' level of membership, which the organisation hopes will attract product developers that are not actually interested in the technology itself.

"We wanted to set up a class of membership that gave people access to the intellectual property pool but wasn't as expensive," said Bob Heile, chairman of the ZigBee Alliance, at the organisation's Open House in San Francisco.

The ZigBee wireless standard was developed for sensor networks for both industrial and consumer applications. The technology uses the IEEE 802.15.4 global standard and adds layers for application profiles, security and networking. It uses the same 2.4GHz radio band as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Although ZigBee offers less bandwidth than Bluetooth it consumes far less power, making it more suitable for sensors and other devices that need constantly to transmit data. It has a range of up to 30 metres.

Early applications of ZigBee will include wireless light switches, security sensors that check whether doors or windows are closed, and universal remote controls for consumer electronics devices, Heile said.

Cmpanies that want to deploy ZigBee in their products have to become a member of the ZigBee Alliance, a non-profit consortium of semiconductor manufacturers, OEMs and end users. Regular members pay a $9,500 annual fee.

The technology was ratified last December and the specifications are scheduled for an April release. With the ratification out of the way, the ZigBee Alliance plans to become more aggressive about pushing the technology into the world.

"Today is the first time that we have talked about details of the specification. In the future we will start talking more about how you use the technology," explained Heile.

Jon Adams, director for radio technology and strategy at chip firm Freescale Semiconductor, told vnunet.com that he considers the Adopter programme to be "mandatory" because it gives developers the freedom to apply the technology in any device they see fit.

Freescale manufactures ZigBee radios and is one of the eight official 'Promotors' of the ZigBee Alliance, the highest level of membership within the organisation.

"The Adopter class is going to allow [developers] to sell wherever they want. [The Alliance] created the technology, and the customers are going to take it where they see value. We just want the technology to get out there," said Adams.