ZigBee Alliance Offers Home Automation Public Application Profile

  • Nov 02, 2007
The ZigBee Alliance, a global ecosystem of companies creating wireless solutions for use in consumer, commercial building and utility applications, recently announced the completion and immediate free public availability of the ZigBee Home Automation (HA) public application profile that offers manufacturers a standards-based approach to introducing new wireless home automation products globally, eliminating the need for proprietary technology.

HA allows reliable and interoperable home automation applications to be developed by product manufacturers for consumers everywhere offering unprecedented reliability, control, convenience, security and choice. The Alliance is also making publicly available its ZigBee Cluster Library (ZCL) that provides engineers with the building blocks for applications with common needs, reducing development effort and permitting leaner implementations tailored to their applications.

"Consumers have been primed for a variety of home automation applications, and the maturing technology ecosystem around home automation, with developments such as the ZigBee Home Automation profiles, are moving the market forward," said Jonathan Gaw, research manager at IDC. "The growing global focus on improving energy efficiency can play a key role in introducing consumers to the value of home automation solutions."

HA offers manufacturers a proven standard approach to making devices reliable, affordable, easy to install and operate for the new construction, do-it-yourself and retrofit markets. HA provides standard interfaces for the control of lighting, HVAC, power outlets, motorization, security, audio/video and other devices. It maximizes the numerous technical strengths of ZigBee including use of the globally available 2.4 GHz band, self-organizing and self-healing mesh networks, and proven operational co-existence with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other systems. HA was created by industry leading ZigBee Alliance members, ensuring that the myriad of devices in the automated home work together and create a robust and secure solution regardless of manufacturer.

"Control4 chose ZigBee as the wireless control technology for our vision of the smart home. ZigBee is ideal because it is a standards-based technology with world-wide approval," said Will West, CEO of Control4. "We and our ecosystem partners will continue to introduce new products based on ZigBee with the assurance of compatibility."

"Colorado vNet chose ZigBee for our Wireless Lighting and Control System because we were confident it provided the reliability and scalability our customers demand and expect from us," said Colorado vNet CEO Bill Beierwaltes. "Since it's standards-based, ZigBee allowed us to easily adapt the technology of our wired system into a wireless solution. Moving forward, the HA profile offers the ability to communicate with a wide variety of ZigBee-based devices."

Featured

  • Video Surveillance Trends to Watch

    With more organizations adding newer capabilities to their surveillance systems, it’s always important to remember the “basics” of system configuration and deployment, as well as the topline benefits of continually emerging technologies like AI and the cloud. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services

  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.