AVR-Chat

be sure to keep ZigBee separate from IEEE 802.15.4 which is the
MAC/PHY spec to which the chips/modules are built. ZigBee is, so far,
downloadable firmware as an option for the network layer. Some
end-item manufacturers are using the '15.4 chips but their own network
layer. 

ZigBee is silently embedded in a few high end home theater products.
In home automation, now dominated by Z-Wave from Zensys, will see
ZigBee this year. Industrial controls seems to be split between the
use of '15.4 with a non-ZigBee MAC/PHY and a wholly new MAC/PHY (FHSS).

TI acquired Chipcon some time ago. With this came their '15.4 chips.
Figure 8 Wireless was the first serious implementation of the ZigBee
standard network/routing layer. It's now owned by TI/Chipcon.

Freescale (the Motorola spin-out) had been using Figure 8's ZigBee
stack before competitor TI acquired Chipcon and thus Figure 8. This
has not yet all sorted out. 

There are two or so other ZigBee implmementations, e.g., Ember. 

Maxstream's popular XBee / XBeePro modules use, so far, the Freescale
chips in the XBee modules. Use of ZigBee is optional. I read that
Maxstream was among the first to gain certification status with ZigBee
- this being and improved version of the F8 stack as I understand.

OEM Module (not chip) makers include...
(PC boards within dev kits are not OEM modules. I call the modules
real volume products with FCC Part 15 certification).
Some of these '15.4 module sellers support ZigBee, some do not.
Again, this list does not include the chip-only vendors. Some module
makers have have appeared of late and are not listed below.

Maxstream/Digi
Silicon Labs / Helicomm
Ember
Moteiv
Dust (not ZigBee as of now)
Renesas (is working on or has finished a ZigBee stack)
Panasonic (Digikey/mouser)
OKI (Digikey/mouser)
Jennic
Crossbow (not ZigBee as of now)
ZMD (perhaps the only 900MHz chips)

The end-user product vendors are quiet about their intentions - and
they would start with chips, not modules.


--- In AVR-Chat@yahoogroups.com, Thomas Keller <tjkeller1@...> wrote:
>
> Well, according to the Zigbee Alliance, 4 vendors have qualified at the 
> Gold level for interoperability and complete Zigbee implementation.  
> TI/Chip conis one.   You'll have to consult with Zigbee Alliance as to 
> who the other three are.
> 
>    The Zigbee Alliance has an email newsletter/announcement service
they 
> offer for free, sign up for it at www.zigbee.org.
> 
> Mark Nowell wrote:
> >
> > Well I'm starting to think that Larry's "isn't quite ready for prime
> > time" is about the only sensible explanation for all the evasion and
> > mystery I'm encountering when trying to figure out which kit to
use for
> > Zigbee mesh-networking. We really need mesh networking if this is
going
> > to work at all for us. It seems none of the module-makers wants to
> > confess that they don't have a full working implementation of
Zigbee yet
> > but do any of them have such a thing? If TI/Chipcon is the answer then
> > who makes modules which fully exploit this technology?
> >
> >
>