IEEE Standard Extends Wireless Communications to Inexpensive Applications

A new standard from the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) opens the world of wireless communications to inexpensive applications, from sensors and switches for industrial and residential use to smart tags and badges, interactive toys, inventory tracking and much more. The standard, IEEE 802.15.4,™ provides for low data rate connectivity among relatively simple devices that consume minimal power and typically connect at distances of 10 m (30 feet) or less.

IEEE 802.15.4, “Wireless Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) Specifications for Low Rate Personal Area Networks (LR-WPANs),” addresses fixed, portable and moving devices that operate at data rates of 10 to 50 kbps. It allows devices to form short range ad-hoc networks within which they can interact directly.

“This is an enabling standard,” says Pat Kinney, chair of IEEE 802.15 Task Group 4. “It builds a framework so existing low end wired devices can participate in wireless networks and also creates a path for many new applications. The potential uses have several things in common. They all involve relatively simple, low speed wireless links that need so little power that a set of AA batteries might last three to five years or even longer. We believe a host of new applications will be based on the standard. These might include motion sensors that control lights or alarms, wall switches that can be moved at will, meter reader devices that work from outside a house, game controllers for interactive toys, tire pressure monitors in cars, passive infrared sensors for building automation systems and asset and inventory tracking devices for use in retail stock rooms and warehouses.”