News

23 January 2009

 

Automatic meter reading and smart energy to lead 802.15.4/ZigBee use

Across nine primary application categories, automatic meter reading (AMR) and smart energy will be the leading applications for IEEE802.15.4 and ZigBee wireless sensor networks, forecasts market research firm In-Stat in its 37-page, $3295 report ‘802.15.4--A New Sense of Energy’ (report number IN0804105MI).

Other growing application segments include consumer electronics (via efforts by the RF4CE Radio Frequency for Consumer Electronics industry consortium), building control, industrial process control, and residential automation.

ZigBee, through its impressive marketing efforts in the US, has owned the largest mind share in the wireless sensor networking space for the past several years. However, a host of proprietary software stacks are being used in applications where ZigBee offers more than what is required by the specific applications, In-Stat says.

“A large number of technologies are being used for countless applications, with ZigBee usage becoming more focused on the fast-growing smart energy application,” says analyst Brian O’Rourke. “On a global basis, utilities and governments are leveraging these technologies to provision, monitor, and bill customers more efficiently while also benefiting the environment,” he adds.

In addition to proprietary standards, other consortia are building industry standards on 802.15.4 for other applications, including industrial, building, and home automation. These technologies will help drive volume and lower chip costs for 802.15.4 components.

In-Stat concludes that the number of 802.15.4 node and chipset units will reach 292 million in 2012, up from 7 million in 2007. However, currently only a third of 802.15.4 chips include a ZigBee stack, demonstrating the fragmentation among competing sensor network technologies and software stacks.

Search: Meter reading ZigBee

Visit: www.instat.com