ZigBee RF4CE enables super wireless remote controls
BY CEES LINKS
GreenPeak Technologies
Utrecht, The Netherlands
http://www.greenpeak.com
The emerging development of ultra-low-power wireless networks based on 802.15.4 promises to revolutionize the consumer electronics industry: new products, new features, the new connected home and maybe, with no batteries.
The first version of 802.15.4 ZigBee was ratified in 2003, with an update in 2006. Originally developed for industrial wireless sensor networks, the IEEE 802.15.4 standard is now expanding into many other technology spaces, including health care, retail, agriculture, security, etc. For low-date-rate use in home automation and entertainment, ZigBee and ZigBee RF4CE are probably the best solutions. Many companies are currently shipping IEEE 802.15.4 compliant transceivers and modules.
There are several proprietary low-power wireless LAN solutions for sense and control networks, but the open-standard ZigBee/IEEE 8201.15.4 appears to have the most momentum.
Fig. 1. IEEE 802.x includes a wide range of wireless standards.
The various ZigBee/IEEE 802.15.4 standards
Targeting a wide variety of commercial, home automation, and industrial markets, ZigBee provides a strong and dynamic standards body with an active marketing wing. “Standard” ZigBee is applicable for a wide range of low-data-rate medium-range wireless LAN applications. ZigBee Pro adds increased interference robustness for radio unfriendly environments, increased range, and support for more nodes.
There is also a variety of ZigBee specialized profiles for specific functions. These smaller, more task-oriented profiles require fewer MIPS and flash memory, and may have lower power consumption. Specialized profiles for smart energy, remote controls, and home automation have been released.
Still in development is a new ZigBee “Green Power” profile for developers of energy harvesting solutions that provides a guideline for the seamless connectivity of ultra-low-power energy supplies with ZigBee networks and sensors. This feature set is expected to become a completed standard by the end of 2009. According to the ZigBee organization, Green Power will enable extensions for deploying switches, sensors, and controllers using harvested energy in residential, commercial and industrial environments.
ZigBee RF4CE for remote control
In March 2009, the RF4CE organization (a partnership with Panasonic, Phillips, Sony, and Samsung) was adopted by the ZigBee Alliance to provide a multivendor interoperable RF-based remote-control devices standard for consumer electronics that feature s easy-to-use two-way wireless connectivity.
ZigBee RF4CE was designed for home entertainments and automation applications that do not require the full-featured mesh-networking capabilities offered by ZigBee. It reduces memory size requirements, lowers the cost of implementation, and provides an easy development and testing path. The standard provides new features such as transmitting through walls and cabinet doors and, by using the new ZigBee low-power features, can enable controls to run for a decade or more on a hardwired coin-cell battery.
ZigBee RF4CE features for consumer electronics
Most current home remote controls use decades-old IR beam technologies. Aside from a short range and limited bandwidth, this requires the user to aim the IR remote-control device at the unit under control. ZigBee RF4CE devices do not have to be aimed and thus can be hidden away in closets and cabinets.
GreenPeak provides a reference design for RF4CE remote controls that enables unitsRF remote controls that can run for over 10ten years on a single battery and withwith a BOM of less thanunder $2 each.
Fig. 2. A low-power transceiver in the remote-control talks to a matching chip in the TV, set-top box, or home server.
An RF implementation provides a much greater range than IR, enabling someone with a single remote control to manage entertainment, environment, security, and other applications throughout the home. They no longer have to adjust the air-conditioning thermostat in one room, go downstairs to check the security system, go into the den to adjust the sound system, and then go back upstairs to change the channel on their TV. An RF4CE device makes it possible to control all the devices from a single remote.
Because ZigBee RF4CE can support interactivity, it is no longer necessary to stand in front of your TV set to adjust the volume or need to watch the TV to set up your DVR recording times. You may even be able to interact with your TV or Internet eCommerce services remotely, buying products and reading/responding to e-mail from anywhere in the home, all on your remote control. GreenPeak provides a reference design for RF4CE remote controls that enables units that can run for over 10 years on a single battery and have a BOM of less than $2.
Low, low power
Maybe the most exciting trend is the potential of no more batteries, which means no maintenance. First generation RF4CE remotes will be able to work off a single coin cell battery. Future remotes may be able to dispose of the battery once and for all, getting all their needed transmission power via energy harvesting from ambient light combined with the pressure and the movement of usage. An anticipated ZigBee Green Power application is lighting switches that do not use batteries or need to be connected to the power main. Just the energy expended by your fingers turning the switch on and off will create enough power to transmit the control signal across the room to a lamp with a ZigBee slave device. This could slash construction and installation costs and/or make planning your home interior much more flexible and creative.
Within the next decade, a plethora of ZigBee remote-control devices will empower a revolution in homes and offices. ZigBee can help make our lives a bit more convenient, and our environment will be cleaner by removing the need for batteries – where remote controls consume about 4 billion a year. Using the ultra-low-power feature of ZigBee RF4CE, each battery should last 10 times as long slashing battery consumption. ■
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