The idea of ​​letting the refrigerator automatically order butter and cheese has been around for a long time, but the typical application of this smart home has not yet come true. On the other hand, other networked applications have emerged and are increasing every day. For vendors, this means they have to decide which wireless network standards to focus on.
According to statistics from Strategy Analytics, there were 2.8 connected devices per household in 2008, and by 2015 this figure had risen to 8.6. According to Gartner, each family will have an average of 500 smart devices by 2022. Germany is one of the key markets for smart homes: from the 2016 Smart Home Monitoring Report (published by Dr. Grieger & Cie. Market Research Institute and the German Smart Home Initiative), it can be seen that among the 1017 households surveyed, About 30% of smart home devices are already in use, mainly in energy management, entertainment and communications, and security.
However, smart home and environmentally assisted living (AAL) technology is not only widely used in personal consumption. Property management companies and housing associations are increasingly focusing on and adopting smart home technology solutions to monitor energy consumption and expenses, as well as monitoring and adjustment. Indoor temperature to prevent mildew heat control system. There are many wireless standards and platforms for network connections to these applications.
Proprietary agreement from the United States: Z-Wave
Sigma Designs has developed the Z-Wave hybrid network protocol itself, but no other semiconductor vendor uses the protocol, and many device manufacturers are worried that the technology will go to a dead end. In the United States, Z-Wave uses the unlicensed 915 MHz band, but this band is not available in Europe, and Z-Wave terminal equipment vendors must use 868 MHz transceiver conversion. Other shortcomings of Z-Wave include low data transfer rates and are not compatible with smartphones. This is a very serious problem, because most users want to remotely control the smart home through their smartphones. This was also verified in the 2015 Deloitte Smart Home Survey report.
Flexible frequency selection: ZigBee
ZigBee is another hybrid network protocol that has so far been used primarily in the US market. It is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 specification and uses an unlicensed 2.4 GHz in the short frequency band. This means that users can choose the best frequency for each smart home device, especially hybrid transceivers using the shortband/2.4 GHz band, such as Atmel's AT86RF215 transceiver. However, ZigBee is not currently recommended because it found a serious security hole in 2015 and has not yet found a way to resolve this issue through firmware updates. This may change in the near future, as the ZigBee Alliance is already testing the 3.0 version of the specification and will completely block the vulnerability.
Universal and secure: Thread
The Thread network protocol is also based on the IEEE 802.15.4 specification, using unlicensed 2.4 GHz and short frequency bands. It has the advantages of stability, self-healing and energy saving, and supports IPv6. It is a 6LowPAN alternative that can compete with Bluetooth and WiFi. AES encryption also guarantees security. Because Thread is license-free, 220 companies and organizations around the world support the standard, including industry leaders such as ARM, Samsung, Atmel, Procter & Gamble and Osram. The popular module provided by Redpine Signals is based on the current RS9113M2MCombo chipset, which supports the Thread protocol as well as other mainstream standards such as dual-band WiFi (2.4/5 GHz), traditional Bluetooth standard, Bluetooth Low Energy Standard (BLE) and ZigBee et al.
Bluetooth global intelligence
The Bluetooth Smart Standard, also known as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), also uses the 2.4 GHz band and is already widely used around the world. BLE also has a decisive advantage, that is, support for IPv6, which allows the terminal device to connect directly through an IPv6 address. Nordic Semiconductor has provided IPv6 package support on its nRF51 SoC (CortexM0 + 2.4 GHz transceiver) and nRF52 SoC (Cortex M4 + 2.4 GHz transceiver + NFC) chips. In addition, the widespread use of BLE on smartphones makes it one step ahead of other competition specifications. Almost all device models come with a BLE interface for easy communication with other BLE smart home products . In addition, the BLE 5.0 standard has also been greatly improved in terms of coverage, data transfer rate and broadcast capabilities. This kind of broadcast function does not have to be connected to the terminal device and transfer data to the cloud, thus realizing a separate Internet of Things, and the APP application is therefore redundant. Industry experts predict that the hybrid network protocol for Bluetooth Smart will be available in 2017. Natural Nordic Semiconductor will also provide software support packages for its nRF51 and nRF52 chips.
From the gym to the smart home: ANT
Another protocol that cannot be ignored is ANT, which was developed by Garmin subsidiary Dynastream and is currently limited to networking of sports devices. The ANT protocol has also been recognized and used in home automation, indoor positioning and telemedicine. ANT is a proprietary protocol like Z-Wave, but its advantage is that it has been supported by several semiconductor manufacturers to provide customers with better stability. With low power consumption, flexible network topology, and the support of more and more smartphones, the ANT standard will become a competitive standard worthy of serious consideration. Nordic Semiconductor also offers software support packages for the ANT protocol on its nRF51 and nRF52 chips.
WLANs that have been distributed throughout the home
WLAN is undoubtedly the preferred network standard for smart homes, as it has been deployed in most homes and apartments, with high data rates, and is ideal for applications that monitor high bandwidth requirements such as cameras and multimedia systems. In addition, smart home applications such as energy management and environmentally assisted living (ALL) also use WLAN as their wireless network standard, whether it is direct communication with a smartphone or transmitting data to the cloud over a local network. WLAN and BLE are often mixed, especially by transmitting sensor data to the central control unit via BLE, and then transmitting it to the cloud via WLAN. In this case, the hybrid module is the most suitable, such as Redpine Signals' RS9113 chip. The latest short-range WLAN standard, 802.11ah, also ensures that WLAN will become the preferred network standard for smart homes for the foreseeable future.
Standard battle will continue
It is not yet clear which wireless standard will overwhelm other competition specifications. We can safely say that no single standard can control a group and dominate one, and multiple standards will coexist at the same time. In this case, the centralized networking unit will be compatible, and a single vendor will develop its own proprietary, well-defined smart home system . The decisive criterion in all cases is support for IPv6, compatibility with smartphones, and the flexibility to respond quickly to new environmental changes. ANT has all of the above advantages, so it can be concluded that it will occupy a larger market share. But heavyweight BLE and WiFi will continue to maintain their dominant position in the market.
Henan Yongrong Power Technology Co., Ltd , https://www.hnyongrongglobal.com