ZigBee silicon specialist GreenPeak launched a new chip at the CES show, as well as a new end-to-end smart home platform in collaboration with US-based software developer DSR. Most interestingly, the new GP691 chip supports Google’s Thread protocol, as well as the newly rewritten version of ZigBee.
ZigBee 3.0 was an attempt to unite the previously disparate elements of the ZigBee software stack, which included different profiles for different devices. Version 3.0 also supports Green Power, a part of the ZigBee Home Automation (ZHA) and ZigBee Light Link standards, which was developed to work on battery-less devices – such as energy harvesting light switches that can convert the motion of the switch into electricity to send a ZigBee message.
The GP691 is a communication controller chip, designed to coordinate the messages sent in the ZigBee mesh networking protocol, an evolution of the IEEE 802.15.4 specification, designed for ultra-low power communications. The new chip fully supports the ZigBee 3.0 stack, and GreenPeak claims it has industry’s most efficient power consumption for transmit and receive.
A GP691 chip includes a radio transceiver, real-time MAC controller processor, a security engine to handle encryption, a microcontroller, 16KB of RAM, and 248KB of flash memory. Keeping the hardware specifications low will help reduce the bill of materials, especially at high volumes.
The new partnership with DSR has created the ZigBee-based Intelligent Smart Home System (ISHS); an end-to-end platform that provides cloud software, data management, smart phone alerting software, and a complete line of sensors and gateways. Development kits are currently available.
The ISHS framework is intended to be used by both OEMs and network operators, by providing a common design structure intended to speed integration with both new and existing products. The four components are hardware reference designs and software for ZigBee sensors, a home gateway reference design and software package, a cloud management and analytics system with customer and operator interfaces, and a smart phone application that will act as a dashboard for interaction. Over the air (OTA) upgrades should also allow installed devices to be kept up to date should the framework be adjusted.
GreenPeak has partnered with Universal Scientific Industrial (USI) to develop a module for the GP691 – carrying on the GreenPeak tradition of designing the chips but outsourcing production. The modules measure 25mm x 17mm x 2.5mm, and will be the first module in the new GPM6000 range – which will be optimized for smart home applications.
“USI has a long history in working with the GreenPeak team that goes back to the early development of WiFi modules. Today USI is the undisputed world leader in WiFi and Bluetooth (combo) modules, and it is therefore logical that USI and GreenPeak partner for ZigBee modules as well,” said CY Wei, President of USI.
Wei is rather confident of the future of the ecosystem, declaring that “the market of ZigBee and ZigBee-combo modules will eclipse the market of Bluetooth and WiFi, enabling USI to further expand its industry and technology leadership.” While no one is throwing numbers or forecast data around, given that Bluetooth has such a lead (as it is found in almost every mobile phone in production, and a hefty installed base), USI’s confidence is impressive given the scale of the competition – and suggests that it subscribes to the vision that ZigBee will become a global standard and incorporated into WiFi.
But ZigBee isn’t a high bandwidth protocol, like WiFi, and so can’t hope to replace it in the home or workplace. Instead, Wei’s prediction of the combo module, a chip that pairs ZigBee with WiFi and/or Bluetooth seems like the more likely product that would outstrip current WiFi chip sales. If devices such as mobile phones and home gateways transition to support a WiFi+BLE+ZigBee chip, to support a growing installed base of ZigBee smart home products, then it is not misguided to assume that ZigBee functionality will begin appearing on the standard WiFi chips of the near future – if BOM costs are palatable to OEMs looking to add ZigBee to their devices.
And if these devices begin to seed the market, with a home hub or smart home ready piece of CPE, then the standalone ZigBee chip shipments would soar, as the end-point devices in a smart home (such as doorbells, lights, HVAC appliances, etc.) would be purchased by consumers looking to kit out their homes with low-cost high-benefit devices.
Of course, this is a chicken-or-the-egg problem, and it is up to the ZigBee Alliance to convince the world of ZigBee’s benefits. If it can successfully bring the industry round to the capabilities of a global low-power mesh network, then it’s hard to disagree with Wei’s vision.
However, while ZigBee is still a more open protocol compared to established rival Z-Wave, Sigma’s proprietary mesh network shows no real sign of subsiding. While Z-Wave and ZigBee are the biggest players in this space, and have larger customer bases than upstarts such as DECT ULE, Insteon, WeMo and Lutron (who all achieve similar aims), they still need improvements to stay ahead of the increasing competition. ZigBee 3.0 is a clear attempt by the alliance to remain at the forefront, but there loom two giants that might scupper its ambition.
Google Thread, both a mesh networking protocol and working group founded by Google subsidiary Nest, is quietly rumbling along, working on the standard for its 802.15.4 6LoWPAN IPv6-ready protocol – which threatens ZigBee because current ZigBee devices could be upgraded to use Thread instead, which leaves the ZigBee protocol in a somewhat precarious position.
And while Thread hasn’t quite shown its hand yet, with a large announcement due in the first half of this year, Apple and its HomeKit platform began appearing at CES (see separate piece) despite not yet publishing its technical specifications. As far as anyone publicly knows, Apple is sticking with Bluetooth and WiFi for its smart home ambitions, but the company is very influential in the industry, and converting it to ZigBee would certainly be the highlight of the Alliance’s 2015.
But that currently seems like quite an unlikely conversion, and so ZigBee must sit and wait for the potential Thread onslaught. In our last conversation with ZigBee CEO Cees Links, he noted that GreenPeak wasn’t tied to the protocol that carried data, and was rather more interested in the chips doing the transfers. With this in mind, ensuring that GreenPeak silicon can support Thread seems prudent – in case GreenPeak and the ZigBee camp are forced to jump ship to Thread. 2015 is going to be an interesting year in the IoT protocol wars.