The latest research report released by Ericsson recently predicts that by 2018, the number of sensors, home appliances and machines connected to the Internet of Things will exceed that of mobile phones, becoming the largest category of connected devices. Which communication protocol will so many connected devices be connected to?
IoT applications are so rich that different communication standards may be required in different areas. For a smart home that may become the largest user of the Internet of Things after 2017, which kind of agreement can ultimately succeed? Thread was proposed by Google's Nest Labs in July 2014. It is an IP-based wireless network protocol that supports IPv6 through 6LoWPAN technology. Ultra-low power consumption allows the device to run for several years. As a new protocol, Thread can defeat the Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and ZigBee protocols to integrate the smart home market?
Wi-Fi and Bluetooth technology are hard to become the standard in the field of smart home
Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) is a technology that allows electronic devices to connect to a wireless local area network (WLAN), typically using a 2.4G UHF or 5G SHF ISM radio frequency band. Although Wi-Fi is one of the most widely used short-range wireless communication technologies, why is it in the smart home field?
First of all, the networking capacity of WiFi is relatively low. Currently, the actual size of WiFi networks generally does not exceed 16 devices. However, in the home environment, the number of switches, lighting, and home appliances is far more than 16. This is obviously not the case. Suitable for smart home. Secondly, if the Wi-Fi network is not protected, as long as it is within the signal coverage, you can access your network through the wireless network card, occupy your bandwidth, and cause your information to leak. Wi-Fi security encryption technology also It is a very serious problem for smart homes. Finally, the higher power consumption of WiFi is contrary to the demand for low power consumption in smart homes.
Bluetooth technology works in the 2.4GHz ISM band, using 1600hop/s fast frequency hopping technology, forward error correction coding (FEC) technology and FM modulation. The device is simple and supports point-to-point and point-to-multipoint communication. In the field of smart phones, embedded application development and other areas have been valued. In order to be able to seize the smart home market, in December 2014, the Bluetooth Technology Alliance announced the release of the Bluetooth core specification version 4.2, faster data transfer speed, more powerful privacy protection and support for the IPv6/6LoWPAN network, making the new version " The best Bluetooth technology ever." However, the design concept of Bluetooth is to replace the point-to-point wired transmission technology instead of the networking technology, which is a fatal flaw. The confusion between Bluetooth 2.0 and Bluetooth 4.0 also makes it difficult for Bluetooth to become the standard in the smart home field.
ZigBee and Thread standard dispute
The Zigbee protocol was formally proposed in 2003. Based on the IEEE802.15.4 standard, the 2.4GHz band is used to provide a faster data transmission rate of 10 meters. It appears to compensate for the high complexity and power consumption of the Bluetooth communication protocol. , the distance is short, the network size is too small and other defects. The ZigBee Alliance is a non-profit organization that creates open global IoT standards for consumer, commercial and industrial applications. It has more than 400 member companies worldwide, covering chip suppliers, equipment manufacturers, televisions, telecom operators, certification bodies, and large All links of the retail chain and other industrial chains have a major impact in the smart home and the entire Internet of Things industry.
Currently, ZigBee 3.0 has integrated many years of experience in many application areas (lighting control, home automation, building automation, retail, etc.). ZigBee's certification program has been steadily launched and launched, authorizing multiple testing centers to certify more than 1,000 ZigBee products.
The ZigBee protocol seems to have become the trend of smart home standards. However, in July 2014, Google's Nest Labs proposed the Home Internet of Things protocol technology Thread, and established the Thread Group membership and certification body for this purpose. The Thread Group has seven board members, including Nest Labs, ARM, Silicon Labs, Freescale, and Samsung.
Thread and ZigBee belong to the same 802.15.4, but have made great improvements for 802.15.4. The Thread protocol is based on IPv6 and has been optimized for transmission security and system reliability. Compared to other agreements, Google believes that Thread 1.0 can become the Internet of Things standard.
There are three main reasons. In terms of technology, Thread supports IPv6 through 6LoWPAN technology, which improves the power consumption of WiFi and the inability to coexist with Bluetooth 2.0 and 4.0 technologies. The Thread Group is more inclusive in terms of openness. On the one hand, Thread focuses on the networking layer design that enables a wide range of IoT solutions to interoperate; on the other hand, ThreadGroup president Chris Boross said, "ThreadGroup will continue to seek opportunities to compete with other industry organizations that develop IoT application layers. In terms of appeal and influence, Thread Group has grown rapidly since its establishment. The number of members has grown from the initial 7 to more than 160. Qualcomm, the leader of the Internet of Things standards organization AllSeen Alliance, has also joined.
Interestingly, in 2015, ZigBee Alliance and Thread Group issued a joint statement announcing that ZigBee's application layer protocol will be implemented on the Thread network architecture. Standardization of protocols for devices in a variety of applications, such as smart homes. Thread is a challenger to ZigBee technology, but several major players in the Thread Group, such as Freescale, ARM, and Silicon Labs, also have a prominent leadership position at the ZigBee Alliance.
Although we don't know who ZigBee and Thread will become the standard for smart home, the two alliances are very active in promoting smart home standards.
Who can be the ultimate standard?
Silicon Labs is the first vendor to showcase the Thread network and provide a stack of Thread protocols. Silicon Labs hopes that ZigBee's design will be upgraded to Silicon Labs Thread software via OTA in the future.
NXP is introducing a new wireless MCU, the JN5179 solution, which supports both low-power ZigBee 3.0 and Thread communication protocols. The solution consists of an ARM Cortex-M3 CPU and an IEEE 802.15.4-based 2.4 GHz radio chip.
Compared to Silicon Labs and NXP's uncertainties, Cees Links, founder and CEO of smart home semiconductor system manufacturer GreenPeak, believes that ZigBee's green energy-saving features, long-range transmission range and low power consumption will become smart home development. The first choice for wireless technology.
Will Thread become the standard for smart homes in the future? At present, although it is still not predictable, Thread has two difficulties to become a standard: one is to convince vendors to implant 802.15.4 chips in each device, and the other is to establish a truly unified standard.
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