The last time I checked Zigbee was up to ten standards, all based on different solutions or sector depending on the use of the product. Neighborhood Area Network (NAN) was the last one I heard about. with some standards and the possible that one manufactore might might manufacture for different makrets can mean a lot of work. The ZigBee Alliance has seen this and has unified all its wireless standards under one standard called ZigBee 3.0.
Novabase and Entropic have created a new home gateway, which they said is unlike any other device on the market today. They have collaborated to develop a SAT-IP gateway with home automation features. The solution is part of an industry initiative to allow satellite broadcasting to IP base devices.
Other SAT-IP solution are available; however the new home gateway according to Novabase and Entropic, is the industry's first to integrate home automation, SAT-IP in a power plug form factor.
iControl is now offering the Netgear STS7000, a Google Android based tablet that can manage their “iControl Connect” solutions. It is ZigBee and Z-Wave compatible, therefore you can access and control your home automation systems such as security, energy management and lighting, through it touchscreen interface.
ZigBee Alliance has announced that a number of his members are working of developing a standard for the NAN. NAN is defined as a utility's last-mile, outdoor access network that connects smart meters and other utility devices to Wide Area Network (WAN) communication points. ZigBee pointed out that an important of the NAN standardization is to help seamless interoperability between utilities and product manufacturers.
Zigbee Alliance and the ECHONET consortium have recently announced plans to develop a certification program for products based on ECHONET standards. This will be based on ECHONET Lite products using the ZigBee IP wireless mesh networking communications protocol. Now designers and implementers will have the peace of mind knowing that products that are certified meet the required standards to interoperate seamlessly.
Vistor to this month’s Australia and New Zealand Smart Utilities Conference will see the world’s first certified smart grid Electric Vehicle (EV) charger. Create by DiUS Computing, the ChargeIQ an intelligent charger that communicate with Smart Meters and adjust the electric vehicle’s charging load based current demand. ChargeIQ is certified to the Zigbee communications standard and is used by Victoria’s smart meters.
Philips has joined the smart lighting club with the release of Hue smart lighting solution. The LED bulbs come with its own management App for Apple iOS or Google Android devices. Unlike standard bulbs you will use less energy with these, up to 80 per cent less. Connect wirelessly to them and personalize you own lighting scheme.
At this year’s Metering, Billing/CRM Europe Freescale is showcasing a new generation of its Kinetis wireless solutions that offers dual-PAN (personal area network) functionality. The Kinetis KW20 wireless microcontrollers (KW21D256V, KW21D512V and KW22D512V) will allow a single device to seamlessly connect and actively participate in two separate networks.
Makers of set-top boxes, gateways and smart home controllers with Zigbee RF4CE should now find it easier to integrate home automation into their smart home products. That is because Greenpeak, a semiconductor company has release a new chip (GP710) that supports Zigbee RF4CE and Zogbee IP/Zigbee PRO protocols. Therefore, products developed with the GP710 chip will be able to extend their functionality within the home.
ZigBee this month is celebrating passing the landmark of having over 500 ZigBee Certified products on the market. Within a short of period of one year, ZigBee have seen a 60 percent increase in certified products. ZigBee certification covers all areas of the connected home ecosystem, to ensure that different manufacturers’ solution interoperate with each other.