/archive/j/site/logos/zigbee.pngOne of the main pet peeves of ZigBee is that home automation devices from different manufacturers are not compatible with each other (i.e., Control4 ZigBee light switches are not compatible with the CentraLite JetStream ZigBee light switches). In this case, ZigBee is being used as a 'transport' mechanism, with manufacturers putting a propriatary layer/protocol on top of it. ZigBee Pro is supposed to be changing this, making everything compatible, with multiple manufacturers (such as Control4) announcing that they will support ZigBee Pro in the very near future.
/archive/j/news/2009/6/nxr-zgw-pro.pngIt looks like AMX will be one of the first companies to release hardware which will be ZigBee Pro compatible. They are working hard on an Ethernet-to-ZigBee Pro gateway (NXR-ZGW-PRO) and a few other ZigBee Pro devices. It would be great if the Ethernet based protocol is in an open format, allowing other hardware and software manufacturers to support this gateway.
While the ZigBee Pro profile isn't real news (it has been around for several years), it looks like this might be the year where ZigBee Pro is finally gaining traction. Several chip manufacturers have created new ZigBee Pro chips, and now that companies such as AMX and Control4 are working on ZigBee Pro support, one can only hope that it will trickle down to the DIY home automation world.
Protocols such as UPB and Z-Wave are great, but the more competition, the better. ZigBee Pro looks good on paper, let's just hope that there won't be any major implementation issues (or quality problems, such as the Centralite JetStream paddle issue).
Click here to view the article
/archive/j/news/2009/6/nxr-zgw-pro.pngIt looks like AMX will be one of the first companies to release hardware which will be ZigBee Pro compatible. They are working hard on an Ethernet-to-ZigBee Pro gateway (NXR-ZGW-PRO) and a few other ZigBee Pro devices. It would be great if the Ethernet based protocol is in an open format, allowing other hardware and software manufacturers to support this gateway.
While the ZigBee Pro profile isn't real news (it has been around for several years), it looks like this might be the year where ZigBee Pro is finally gaining traction. Several chip manufacturers have created new ZigBee Pro chips, and now that companies such as AMX and Control4 are working on ZigBee Pro support, one can only hope that it will trickle down to the DIY home automation world.
Protocols such as UPB and Z-Wave are great, but the more competition, the better. ZigBee Pro looks good on paper, let's just hope that there won't be any major implementation issues (or quality problems, such as the Centralite JetStream paddle issue).
Click here to view the article
