ZigBee Communication Module: A Review of Functional Features and Multi-domain Applications

I. Basic Concepts of ZigBee Communication Modules

ZigBee communication modules are wireless communication modules based on the ZigBee protocol and the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. These modules usually operate on the 2.4GHz ISM frequency band, and there are also versions that support the 868MHz and 915MHz frequency bands to adapt to regulations in different regions. ZigBee modules are designed to support wireless network solutions with low data rates, low power consumption, security, and reliability, and are widely used in consumer electronics, energy management, healthcare, home automation, telecommunication services, building automation, industrial automation, and other fields.

II. Characteristics of ZigBee Modules

Characteristics	Details
Low Power Consumption	Under the low-power standby mode, two ordinary AA batteries can be used for 6 - 24 months.
Low Cost	The Zigbee data transmission rate is low and the protocol is simple, so the cost is greatly reduced.
Low Complexity	The size of the Zigbee protocol is generally between 4 - 32KB, while that of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi usually exceeds 100KB.
Low Rate	The data transmission rate is low: 10Kb/s - 250Kb/s, focusing on applications with low-rate transmission.
Large Network Capacity	In theory, a Zigbee network can accommodate 65,536 nodes (with a 2-byte address).
No Routing Depth Limit	There is no limit on the routing depth (200 levels of routing, which is basically equivalent to no limit).
Support for Multiple Node Types	It can be set as Coordinator (coordinator or master module), Router (router or slave module), or End Device (terminal node or slave module).
Transparent Transmission	Transparent transmission, with a maximum of 269 bytes per data packet.
Point-to-Point Transmission	Point-to-point transmission can be sent to any node.
Simple Instructions	The module control instructions are simple and backward-compatible.
Communication Backward Compatibility	The communication is backward-compatible.

III. Security Measures of the ZigBee Protocol

The ZigBee protocol has adopted a series of measures to ensure the security of data transmission:

• AES Encryption Algorithm: ZigBee devices use the AES-128-bit encryption algorithm to encrypt the transmitted data to prevent data from being stolen or tampered with.
• Security Keys: ZigBee devices use security keys for authentication and encrypted communication. These keys can be generated by the network coordinator and distributed to other devices in the network.
• Secure Communication Protocols: The communication between ZigBee devices adopts secure communication protocols, including the secure handshake protocol and the data transmission protocol, to ensure the security and integrity of communication.
• Anti-Replay Attack: ZigBee devices adopt a mechanism to prevent replay attacks, ensuring that the transmitted data will not be resent or maliciously tampered with.
• Network Key Update: ZigBee devices regularly update the network keys to prevent known keys from being cracked by attackers.
• Device Authentication: ZigBee devices need to undergo authentication when joining the network to ensure that only legitimate devices can access the network.
• Key Management: The ZigBee protocol adopts a multi-layer key system, including application keys, network keys, and device keys, to achieve different levels of security protection and permission management.
• Data Encryption: ZigBee uses the AES-128 algorithm to encrypt data to ensure the confidentiality of data during transmission.
• Secure Communication Protocols: The communication between ZigBee devices adopts secure communication protocols, including the secure handshake protocol and the data transmission protocol, to ensure the security and integrity of communication.
• Anti-Replay Attack: ZigBee devices adopt a mechanism to prevent replay attacks, ensuring that the transmitted data will not be resent or maliciously tampered with.
• Network Key Update: ZigBee devices regularly update the network keys to prevent known keys from being cracked by attackers.

These measures together form the security defense line of the ZigBee protocol, ensuring the security and integrity of data transmission.

IV. Application Scenarios of ZigBee Modules

Application Scenarios	Details
Smart Home	It can be used in smart homes to connect smart home devices and realize wireless communication between home devices, such as the remote control of smart lights, smart sockets, and other devices.
Internet of Things	It is used in the Internet of Things to connect Internet of Things devices and realize wireless communication between Internet of Things devices, such as the short-range wireless networking and data transmission among sensor devices in an environmental monitoring system.
Industrial Automation	It is used in industrial automation to realize the wireless monitoring and control of equipment, such as the centralized collection of data from industrial MODBUS-RTU protocol wireless devices and the online monitoring of low states.
Security Monitoring	It can be used for security monitoring to connect security monitoring devices and realize wireless communication between security monitoring devices.
Others	It can also be applied in smart power grids, intelligent transportation, finance, mobile POS terminals, supply chain automation, intelligent buildings, fire protection, public security, environmental protection, meteorology, digital medical care, remote sensing, agriculture, forestry, water affairs, coal mines, petrochemicals, and other fields.

V. Applications of ZigBee Communication Modules in Industrial Automation

The applications of ZigBee communication modules in the field of industrial automation are mainly reflected in the following aspects:

• Remote Monitoring and Control: ZigBee technology enables devices in industrial automation systems to communicate wirelessly, thus realizing remote monitoring and control. This technology can reduce the complexity and cost of wiring and improve the flexibility and maintainability of the system.
• Data Communication: ZigBee networks can be used to transmit sensor data to the control center or send control instructions from the control center to field devices. This data communication method not only saves manpower and material resources but also ensures the accuracy of data, because the signal error of wireless transmission is usually smaller than the line loss error of wired communication.
• System Integration: ZigBee technology can be integrated with existing industrial automation systems without replacing the original equipment. By adding ZigBee communication modules, new sensors or actuators can be easily connected to the system to realize the expansion and upgrading of the system.
• Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection: ZigBee is a low-power consumption technology, which is very suitable for industrial automation systems that need to operate for a long time. It can significantly reduce the energy consumption of the system and conform to the development trend of green environmental protection.
• Cost-effectiveness: Compared with other wireless communication technologies, the cost of ZigBee is relatively low, which makes it the preferred technology for many industrial automation projects. In addition, due to the low-power consumption characteristics of ZigBee, it can also extend the battery life and further reduce the operating cost.
• Reliability and Security: ZigBee technology provides reliable network construction, scalability, and highly secure communication capabilities. Its network topology is self-organizing and self-healing, and it can repair itself in case of failures to ensure the stable operation of the system.

To sum up, ZigBee communication modules are widely used in the field of industrial automation. They not only improve the efficiency and flexibility of the system but also help to reduce the operating cost and improve the reliability and security of the system. With the continuous progress of technology, the applications of ZigBee in the field of industrial automation will be more extensive and in-depth in the future.

VI. Technical Specifications of ZigBee Modules (Taking Some Models as Examples)

Models	Main Technical Specifications
CC2530	Working frequency: 2.4GHz; Transmission rate: The maximum can reach 250kbps, but it is usually between 20 - 30kbps in practical applications; Power range: The effective power range is from -28dBm to +4.5dBm, and the default power is 1dBm; Receiving sensitivity: Extremely high, with strong anti-interference ability; Antenna gain: 5.64dBi; Input impedance: 40Ω (at 2.45GHz); Standing wave ratio (VSWR): 2.0; Input reflection coefficient (S11): -13.8dB (at -2.45GHz); Sleep current: <10mA; Working voltage: 2.0 - 3.6V; Memory configuration: Four different flash memory versions are provided: CC2530F32/64/128/256, which have programmable flash memories of 32/64/128/256KB respectively.
F8913	ZigBee chip: Industrial-grade ZigBee chip; Standard and frequency band: IEEE 802.15.4; Indoor/urban communication distance: 60m (90m enhanced version); Outdoor/line-of-sight communication distance: 300m (1200m enhanced version); Transmit power: 2.82mw (+4.5dBm), 100mw (+20dBm) (with PA); Theoretical bandwidth: 250Kbps; Sensitivity: -95dBm (-104dBm with PA); Network topology: Point-to-point, point-to-multipoint, peer-to-peer, and Mesh networks; Channels: 11 - 26; Maximum packet bytes: 512Bytes; Interface type: TTL serial port (data bits: 8 bits, stop bit: 1 bit, parity: none, baud rate: 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, 115200bps), Antenna interface: Standard SMA female antenna interface, characteristic impedance 50 oh

VII. Advantages of ZigBee Communication Modules

ZigBee communication modules have the following main advantages compared with other wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth:

• Low Power Consumption: In the low-power standby mode, ZigBee devices can support one node to work for 6 to 24 months or even longer with two AA dry batteries. This is a significant advantage of ZigBee. In contrast, Bluetooth devices can only work for several weeks, and Wi-Fi devices usually can only work for several hours.
• Low Cost: The ZigBee protocol is greatly simplified, reducing the requirements for communication controllers. The amount of code required for a full-featured master node is much smaller than that of Bluetooth, and the amount of code for a sub-function node is even as low as 4KB. In addition, ZigBee is free of protocol patent fees, and the price of each chip is about $2, which gives ZigBee a clear cost advantage.
• Low Rate: ZigBee operates at a relatively low rate of 20 to 250kbps, providing original data throughput rates of 250kbps (at 2.4 GHz), 40 kbps (at 915 MHz), and 20 kbps (at 868 MHz), respectively, meeting the application requirements for low-rate data transmission.
• Short Distance: The transmission range of ZigBee is generally between 10 and 100 meters. After increasing the radio frequency transmission power, it can also be increased to 1 to 3 kilometers. This refers to the distance between adjacent nodes. If the transmission is relayed through routing and communication between nodes, the transmission distance can be even further.
• Short Delay: ZigBee has a relatively fast response speed. Generally, it only takes 15ms to switch from the sleep state to the working state, and it only takes 30ms for a node to connect to the network, further saving electrical energy.
• High Capacity: ZigBee can adopt star, sheet, and mesh network structures. One master node can manage several slave nodes, and at most one master node can manage 254 slave nodes. Meanwhile, the master node can also be managed by the upper-level network nodes, and a large network composed of up to 65,000 nodes can be formed.
• High Security: ZigBee provides three levels of security modes, including no security setting, using the Access Control List (ACL) to prevent illegal access to data, and adopting the symmetric cipher of the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES128) to flexibly determine its security attributes.
• License-free Frequency Band: ZigBee uses direct sequence spread spectrum in the Industrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) frequency bands, including 2.4GHz (worldwide), 915MHz (in the US), and 868 MHz (in Europe), without the need to pay additional spectrum usage fees.

To sum up, ZigBee communication modules have significant advantages in aspects such as low power consumption, low cost, long-distance transmission, high capacity, short delay, high security, and license-free frequency bands. They are especially suitable for Internet of Things application scenarios that require a large number of nodes, low power consumption, and long-distance transmission.

VIII. Summary

ZigBee communication modules are based on specific protocols and standards, have characteristics such as low power consumption and low cost, and adopt multiple security measures to ensure data transmission. They have a wide range of application scenarios, outstanding advantages in industrial automation, corresponding technical specifications for different models, and significant advantages compared with other wireless technologies as a whole, and are suitable for multiple Internet of Things scenarios.