ZigBee Technology

Pioneered by Philips Semiconductors, ZigBee is a low data rate, two-way wireless standard for home automation and data networks. The name "ZigBee" is derived from the erratic zigging patterns many bees make between flowers when collecting pollen. This is evocative of the invisible webs of connections existing in a fully wireless environment.

ZigBee provides for high data throughput in applications where the duty cycle is low. This makes it ideal for home, business, and industrial automation where control devices and sensors are commonly used. The ZigBee protocol also offers three primary benefits:

1. Its low cost allows the technology to be widely deployed in wireless
   control and monitoring applications
   
   
2. Its low power-usage allows longer life with smaller batteries
   
   
3. its mesh networking provides high reliability and larger range

Due to its low power output, ZigBee devices can sustain themselves on a small battery for many months, or even years, making them perfect for install-and-forget purposes, such as most small household systems. Applications well suited to ZigBee include heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), industrial control, lighting systems, intrusion detection, fire sensing, and medical data collection.

The standard itself is regulated by a group known as the ZigBee Alliance, a global body of over 150 member companies creating wireless solutions for use in home automation, commercial building automation, advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), automatic meter reading (AMR), as well as a variety of residential, commercial building and industrial applications.