IEEE 802.15.

4
IEEE 802.15.4 is a Wireless communication standard specially designed for a low-rate, short-
range low-cost, low-speed communication between devices. It is part of the IEEE 802 family of
standards which provides both wire and wireless networking standards. It focus on providing cost-
effective and energy-efficient services for connecting devices where low-data rate and low-power
consumption is essential.

It is the basis for the Zigbee, ISA SP100.11 Wireless HART MiWiand 6LoWPAN

Features 802.15.4
1. Guaranteed Time Slot (GTS) transmissions.

2. Collision avoidance through CSMA/CA.

3. Integrated support for secure communications.

4. Power management functions such as link speed/quality and energy detection.

5. Support for time and data rate sensitive applications because of its ability to operate either
as CSMA/CA or TDMA access modes.

6. IEEE 802.15.4-conformant devices may use one of three possible frequency bands for
operation (868/915/2.4GHz).

IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol Architecture

Devices are designed to interact with each other over a conceptually simple wireless
network

The physical layer

The physical layer is the bottom layer in the OSI reference model used worldwide, and protocols
layers transmit packets using it

 The physical layer (PHY) provides the data transmission service.

 It also, provides an interface to the physical layer management entity, which offers access to
every physical layer management function and maintains a database of information on related
personal area networks.
 The PHY manages the physical radio transceiver, performs channel selection along with
energy and signal management functions.
 It operates on one of three possible unlicensed frequency bands:

 868.0–868.6 MHz: Europe, allows one communication channel

 902–928 MHz: North America, originally allowed up to ten channels
 2400–2483.5 MHz: worldwide use, up to sixteen channels

IEEE 802.15.4 MAC LAYER

The IEEE 802.15.4 MAC layer (OSI Model layer two — data link layer) is
responsible for:

 Joining and leaving the PAN;

 Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA-CA) for channel access;
 Guaranteed Time Slot (GTS) transmissions;
 Establishing a reliable link between two peer MAC entities;
 Beacon transmissions for a coordinator;
 Synchronization to the beacons.
 In addition, the MAC layer supports the use of symmetric encryption using the AES-128
encryption algorithm.
 There are also options for SHA-based hashes and access control lists to limit the transfer
of sensitive information to specific nodes or links

IEEE 802.15.4 standard

The IEEE 802.15.4 standard has undergone a number of releases. In addition to this
there are a number of variants of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard to cater for different
forms of physical layer, etc. These are summarised below in the table.
 IEEE 802.15.4 STANDARD SUMMARY

IEEE 802.15.4 VERSION ETAILS AND

COMMENTS

IEEE 802.15.4 - 2003 This was the initial release of the

IEEE 802.15.4 standard. It provided for
two different PHYs - one for the lower
frequency bands of 868 and 915 MHz,
and the other for 2.4 GHz.

IEEE 802.15.4 - 2006 This 2006 release of the IEEE

802.15.4 standard provided for an
increase in the data rate achievable on
the lower frequency bands. This release
of the standard updated the PHY for 868
and 915 MHz. It also defined four new
modulation schemes that could be used -
three for the lower frequency bands, and
one for 2.4 GHz.

IEEE 802.15.4a This version of the IEEE

802.15.4 standard defined two new
PHYs. One used UWB technology and
the other provided for using chirp
spread spectrum at 2.4 GHz.

IEEE 802.15.4c Updates for 2.4 GHz, 868 MHz

and 915 MHz, UWB and the China 779-
787 MHz band.

IEEE 802.15.4d 2.4 GHz, 868 MHz, 915 MHz

and Japanese 950 - 956 MHz band.

IEEE 802.15.4e This release defines MAC

enhancements to IEEE 802.15.4 in
support of the ISA SP100.11a
application.
 IEEE 802.15.4 STANDARD SUMMARY

IEEE 802.15.4 VERSION ETAILS AND

COMMENTS

IEEE 802.15.4f This will define new PHYs for

UWB, 2.4 GHz band and also 433 MHz

IEEE 802.15.4g This will define new PHYs for

smart neighbourhood networks. These
may include applications such as smart
grid applications for the energy
industry. It may include the 902 - 928
MHz band.

Although new versions of the standard are available for use by any of the
higher layer standards, Zigbee still uses the initial 2003 release of the IEEE 802.15.4
standard.
IEEE 802.15.4 Device Types

There are two types of devices in an IEEE 802.15.4 wireless network:

Full-function devices (FFDs) and

Reduced-function devices (RFDs).

Full-function devices (FFDs):An FFDs is capable of performing all the duties described in
the IEEE 802.15.4 standard and can accept any role in the network.

 FFDs can become coordinator and can also route messages to other nodes
 FFD that starts a PAN becomes the coordinator
 In star topology, all communication is to/from the coordinator
 In P2P topology, FFDs can communicate directly also
 A coordinator can ask another FFD to become a coordinator for a subset of nodes.
 FFD can communicate with any other device in a network

Reduced-function devices (RFDs).

 An RFD, on the other hand, has limited capabilities.

 Limited to only a star topology,
 cannot perform as a network coordinator, can only communicate with a network
coordinator
 RFD can talk only with an FFD device
 RFD devices are intended for very simple applications such as turning on or off a
switch.
  The processing power and memory size of RFD devices are normally less than those
of FFD devices
Define Zigbee
Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level
communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small, low-power digital
radios, such as for home automation, medical device data collection, and other low-power
low-bandwidth needs, designed for small scale projects which need wireless connection.
Hence, Zigbee is a low-power, low data rate, and close proximity (i.e., personal area) wireless
ad hoc network.

General Characteristics of Zigbee Standard

 Low Power Consumption

 Low Data Rate (20- 250 kbps)

 Short-Range (10-100 meters)

 Network Join Time (~ 30 msec)

 Support Small and Large Networks (up to 65000 devices (Theory); 240 devices
(Practically))

 Low Cost of Products and Cheap Implementation (Open Source Protocol)

 Extremely low-duty cycle.

 3 frequency bands with 27 channels.

Architecture of Zigbee
Zigbee architecture is a combination of 6 layers.

1. Application Layer

2. Application Interface Layer

3. Security Layer

4. Network Layer

5. Medium Access Control Layer

6. Physical Layer
  Physical layer: The lowest two layers i.e the physical and the MAC (Medium Access
Control) Layer are defined by the IEEE 802.15.4 specifications. The Physical layer is
closest to the hardware and directly controls and communicates with the Zigbee radio.
The physical layer translates the data packets in the over-the-air bits for transmission
and vice-versa during the reception.

 Medium Access Control layer (MAC layer): The layer is responsible for the interface
between the physical and network layer. The MAC layer is also responsible for
providing PAN ID and also network discovery through beacon requests.

 Network layer: This layer acts as an interface between the MAC layer and the
application layer. It is responsible for mesh networking.

 Application layer: The application layer in the Zigbee stack is the highest protocol
layer and it consists of the application support sub-layer and Zigbee device object. It
contains manufacturer-defined applications.

Channel Access Methods:

The coordinator assigns only one channel to the network.

All the devices will have to share single channel to communicate.

There are twomethods to access the channel

1. Contention Free Method:Coordinator dedicates a specific time slot to each device

(Guaranteed Time Slot (GTS) and transmit beacon signal periodically to allow all
devices to assess channel at particular period of time. Clock synchronisation of device
and coordinator is required

2. Contention Based Method :

Clock synchronisation of device and coordinator isnot required
 Carrier-Sense Multiple Access With Collision Avoidance Mechanism) CSMA/CA is
used
Here if a device wants to transmit
a) It first goes into a receive mode
b) Detect if there is any signal in the channel
c) Device will only transmit the data if the channel is clear
d) if the channel is not clear the devicse backoffs for a random period of time
and tries again

Zigbee devices (Components)

 Zigbee Coordinator (ZC): The most capable device, the coordinator forms the root
of the network tree and may bridge to other networks. There is one Zigbee
coordinator in each network since it is the device that started the network. It stores
information about the network, including acting as the trust center and repository for
security keys.

 Zigbee Router (ZR):, Router devices can act as intermediate routers, passing data on
to other devices. These types of Zigbee products are typically mains-powered so they
are always available on the network. Zigbee Router devices are sometimes called
Zigbee repeaters or Zigbee range extenders.

 Zigbee End Device (ZED): Contains just enough functionality to talk to the parent
node (either the coordinator or a router); it cannot relay data from other devices. This
relationship allows the node to be asleep a significant amount of the time thereby
giving long battery life. These types of Zigbee device products are often battery-
powered. A ZED requires the least amount of memory and thus can be less expensive
to manufacture than a ZR or ZC.

Different Network Topologies supported by Zigbee

A ZigBee system consists of several components. Device can be a full-function
device (FFD) orreduced-functiondevice(RFD).

A network includes at least one FFD, operating as the

personalareanetwork(PAN)coordinator.The FFD can operate in three modes: a PAN
coordinator, a coordinator, or a device.

An RFD is intended for applications that are extremely simple and do not need to
send large amounts of data. An FFD can talk to reduced-function or full-function
devices, while an RFD canonlytalktoanFFD.

ZigBee supports three types of topologies: star topology, peer-to-peer topology, and
cluster tree
Star Topology-In This Topology communication is established between devices and a
single central controller, called the PAN coordinator. The PAN coordinator may be powered
by mains while the devices will most likely be battery powered. Applications that benefit
from this topology are home automation, personal computer (PC) peripherals, toys, and
games.

Peer-to-Peer Topology- In This Topology there is also one PAN coordinator. In

contrast to star topology, any device can communicate with any other device as long as they
are in range of one another. A peer-to-peer network can be ad hoc, self-organizing, and self-
healing. Applications such as industrial control and monitoring, wireless sensor networks
and asset and inventory tracking would benefit from such a topology. It also allows multiple
hops to route messages from any device to any other device in the network. It can provide
reliability by multipath routing.

Cluster-tree topology-It is a special case of a peer-to-peer network in which most

devices are full-function devices and an RFD may connect to a cluster-tree network as a leaf
node at the end of a branch. Any of the full-function devices can act as a coordinator and
provide synchronization services to other devices and coordinators.

Zigbee Applications
1. Home Automation

2. Medical Data Collection

 3. Industrial Control Systems

4. meter reading system

5. light control system

6. Commercial

7. Government Markets Worldwide

8. Home Networking

Near Field Communication (NFC)

Near Field Communication (NFC) is a set of short-range wireless technologies,
typically requiring a distance of 4cm or less to initiate a connection. NFC allows you to
share small payloads of data between (devices include mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and
wearables) an NFC tag and an Android-powered device, or between two Android-powered
devices.

the transmission frequency is 13.56 megahertz for data across NFC. Data can be sent
at either 106, 212, or 424 kilobits per second which is quick enough for a range of data
transfers like contact details to swapping pictures and music.

NFC devices can be classified into 2types:

1. Passive NFC devices –

These include tags, and other small transmitters which can send information to other
NFC devices without the need for a power source of their own. These devices don’t
really process any information sent from other sources, and can not connect to other
passive components. These often take the form of interactive signs on walls or
advertisements.

2. Active NFC devices –

These devices are able to both the things i.e. send and receive data. They can
communicate with each other as well as with passive devices. Smartphones the best
example of active NFC device. Card readers in public transport and touch payment
terminals are also good examples of the technology.
Applications of Near Field Communication

1. Smart Cards

Payment using NFC-integrated smart cards offers easier payment compared to the
conventional multiple-step payment process. Top payment services like Visa and
MasterCard are offering NFC-embedded smart cards to customers

2.E-wallet (payment using a smartphone)

Cashless payment systems using mobile devices became popular at the beginning of this
decade and more services are offering cashless payments for customers’ convenience.
3. Smart Ticketing
Integrated smart chips can be used to replace traditional ticketing systems with smart tickets
for airlines, train and bus tickets, etc
4. Medicine and Healthcare
NFC integrated system can be used in medicine and healthcare activities. NFC offers greater
accuracy and convenience in prescribing medicine, easier check-in, payments, checking the
status of patients, and tracking records by embedding NFC tags to patient charts.
5 . Keyless Access
Keyless access is one of the familiar applications of near-field communications today. NFC’s
convenience and easy-to-implement feature make it a popular choice. NFC and RFID tags
can be used for access to doors and restricted areas with an auto-detect feature
6. Manufacturing
Smart tags are used in modern manufacturing industries to identify each product from its
different process stages within the company, packaging, transportation, and tracking of
products during shipment.
7. NFC Information Tags:Similar to QR code scanning using a Smartphone camera, users can
access information by NFC tags.

How Does Near-Field Communication Technology Work

How does NFC work?

Like other wireless signals Bluetooth and WiFi, NFC works on the principle of sending information
over radio waves. Near Field Communication is another standard for wireless data transition which
means devices must adhere to certain specifications in order to communicate with each other
properly. The technology used in NFC is based on older technology which is the RFID (Radio-
frequency identification) that used electromagnetic induction in order to transmit information.

This creates one major difference between NFC and Bluetooth/WiFi. NFC can be used to
induce electric currents within passive components rather than just send data. This means that
their own power supply is not required by passive devices. Instead they can be powered by the
electromagnetic field produced by an active NFC component when it comes into range. NFC
technology unfortunately does not command enough inductance to charge our smartphones, but
QI charging is based on the same principle.

An NFC-enabled device can operate under three different modes: reader/writer mode,
peer-to-peer mode, and card emulation mode.

1. The most common used in smartphones is the peer-to-peer mode. Exchange of variouspiece
of information is allowed between 2 devices. In this mode both devices switch between
active when sending data and passive when receiving.

2. The second mode i.e. read/write mode is a one-way data transmission. The active device,
possibly your smartphone, links up with another device in order to read information from it.
NFC advertisement tags use this mode.

3. The third mode of operation is card emulation. The NFC device can function as a smart or
contactless credit card and make payments or tap into public transport systems.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is wireless technology that is used for sharing of data between two
devices placed over short distances using a short wavelength such as ultra-high-frequency,
radio waves in scientific, industrial and medical radio bands in the range of 2.400 to 2.485
 GHz. It is similar to Wifi which operates on radio waves.It is a standard replacement of wired
communications which is mainly designed for devices with low power consumption.

Bluetooth Architecture:
The architecture of Bluetooth defines two types of networks:

1. Piconet

2. Scatternet

Piconet:

Piconet is a type of Bluetooth network that contains one primary node called the master node
and seven active secondary nodes called slave nodes. Thus, we can say that there is a total of
8 active nodes which are present at a distance of 10 meters. The communication between the
primary and secondary nodes can be one-to-one or one-to-many. Possible communication is
only between the master and slave; Slave-slave communication is not possible.

Scatternet:
As scatternet is interconnection of multiple piconets, it can accommodate more than 8 devices

It is formed by using various piconets. A slave that is present in one piconet can act as master
or we can say primary in another piconet. This kind of node can receive a message from a
master in one piconet and deliver the message to its slave in the other piconet where it is
acting as a master.
 Working of Bluetooth
 It is based on the simple principle of transmitting and receiving data using radio
waves. Each enabled equipment has a chip attachment called a Bluetooth adapter.
This adapter is utilized to receive and send the data. This adapter works on a
considerable range of connections. One electronic adaptor can identify another
Bluetooth-enabled device only if it falls within the area of the first device.

 When they are placed within the estimated communication range, it is linked and
paired which is called a pairing of Bluetooth devices. The radio wave connection
established between the two devices is used to send and receive the data between the
connected Bluetooth devices.

 The limit of data as 720KB per second can be sent and received by the devices
 Bluetooth uses the frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) method in the
physical layer to avoid interference from other devices or other networks. Bluetooth
hops 1600 times per second, which means that each device changes its modulation
frequency 1600 times per second. A device uses a frequency for only 625µ s (1/1600
s) before it hops to another frequency.