Zigbee Research

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International Journal of Software Engineering and Its Applications

Vol. 6, No. 3, July, 2012

35

Remote Monitoring and Controlling System Based on

ZigBee Networks

Soyoung Hwang and Donghui Yu*

Department of Multimedia Engineering, Catholic University of Pusan, South Korea{soyoung, dhyu}@cup.ac.kr

Abstract

Thanks to the rapid development of information technology and the growth of the Internetthrough high speed networks, network environments have even been changed from office

oriented environments based on business industries and public institutions to theinterconnection of digital electronics in home networks. Home network based applicationsare very diverse and the remote monitoring and control areas have been studied. Recently,

ZigBee has become one of the most promising technologies for home networks. ZigBee is a

specification for a suite of networking, security and application software layers using small,low-power, low data rate communication technology based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard forpersonal area networks. Moreover, owing to the rapid growth of mobile technology, high-

performance smartphones are widespread and in increasing cases are utilized as a terminaldevice. In this paper, we propose the design and implementation of a remote monitoring andcontrolling system using ZigBee networks. This system targets a home network. Web servicesand a smartphone are used for the client system to monitor and control the home.

Keywords:remote monitoring, ZigBee networks, remote control, smartphone, web service

1. Introduction

Thanks to the rapid development of information technology and growth of the Internet

through high speed networks, network environments have even been changed from officeoriented environments based on business industries and public institutions to theinterconnection of digital electronics in the home networks. Home network based applicationsare very diverse and the remote monitoring and control areas have been studied. Recently,

ZigBee has become one of the most promising technologies for home networks. ZigBee is aspecification for a suite of networking, security and application software layers using small,low-power, low data rate communication technology based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard for

personal area networks.There have been various studies on ZigBee based home networks. To realize remote home

automation based on ZigBee, implementation issues of home gateway and device nodes are

proposed in [1]. It presents hardware platform consideration and software implementation foreach of them. Similarly, hardware design issues are discussed for various home devices such

as wireless communications transceiver modules base, USB expansion base and controlswitches for electrical appliances in a room [2]. Also, an effective architecture for dynamic

integration of ad hoc ZigBee home network devices into OSGi (Open Service GatewayInitiative)-based home gateways is discussed. An ad hoc ZigBee home network device isrepresented by a device proxy service in the proposed architecture so that it can be

dynamically registered, discovered, accessed and unregistered just like a common OSGiservice [3]. [4] gives a way to construct ZigBee wireless sensor networks and implementremote monitoring and control by a GSM module. [5] describes the structure composition of


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the smart home system based on ZigBee and gives a system design concept andimplementation approach. Moreover, owing to the rapid growth of mobile technology, high-

performance smartphones are widespread and in increasing cases they are utilized as a

terminal device.In this paper, we propose design and implementation of a remote monitoring and

controlling system using ZigBee networks. This system is targeting the home network. Webservice and a smartphone are used for the client system to monitor and control the home. The

remainder of this paper is organized as follows. In Section 2, IEEE 802.15.4 and ZigBee

specifications are discussed as background technologies. Section 3 describes design issues of

remote monitoring and controlling systems. Next, implementation results are included in

Section 4. Finally, we conclude this paper in Section 5.

2. Background Technologies

2.1. IEEE 802.15.4

IEEE 802.15 is a working group for the standardization of WPAN (Wireless Personal Area

Network). IEEE 802.15.4 is one of the seven task groups which are included in it. The firstedition of the 802.15.4 standard was released in May 2003.

IEEE 802.15.4 specifies the physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) for

low-rate WPAN. WPANs are used to convey information over relatively short distances. Itfocuses on low-cost, low-speed ubiquitous communication between devices. Unlike wirelesslocal area networks (WLANs), connections effected via WPANs involve little or no

infrastructure. This feature allows small, power-efficient, inexpensive solutions to beimplemented for a wide range of devices. The basic framework conceives a 10-metercommunication range with a transfer rate of 250 kbit/s. Important features include real-timesuitability by reservation of guaranteed time slots, collision avoidance through CSMA/CAand integrated support for secure communications. Devices also include power managementfunctions such as link quality and energy detection [6].

Several standardized and proprietary network layer protocols run over 802.15.4-basednetworks, including IEEE 802.15.5, ZigBee, 6LoWPAN, Wireless HART, and ISA100.11a.Potential application areas include the following: sensors, actuators, interactive toys, remotecontrol, industry networks, home automation and so on.

2.2. ZigBee

ZigBee is a standards-based technology that addresses the unique requirements of most

remote monitoring and control and sensory network applications. ZigBee builds upon the

physical layer and medium access control defined in IEEE 802.15.4 for low-rate WPANs.

The specification goes on to complete the standard by adding four main components: network

layer, application layer, ZigBee device objects (ZDOs) and manufacturer defined application

objects which allow for customization and favor total integration.

The initial markets for ZigBee included Consumer Electronics, Energy Management andEfficiency, Health Care, Home Automation, Telecommunication Services, Building

Automation, and Industrial Automation. The core ZigBee specifications define smart, cost-effective and energy-efficient mesh networks. It is a self-configuring, self-healing system ofredundant, low-cost, very low-power nodes. ZigBee is available as two feature sets, ZigBeePRO and ZigBee. Both feature sets define how the ZigBee mesh networks operate [7].


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2.3. Home Network Technologies

A home network is a residential local area network (LAN) for communication betweendigital devices typically deployed in the home, usually a small number of personal computersand accessories, mobile computing devices, mobile phones, digital TVs, PDAs and so on. An

important function is the sharing of Internet access, often a broadband service provisioned byfiber-to-the-home or via Cable Internet access, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or mobile

broadband by Internet service providers (ISPs). In a broader sense, it includes software andservices for integration and operation of information appliances in addition to wired or

wireless network devices.Home networking technologies can be classified into two kinds: wired and wireless. The

telephone, power-line, Ethernet and IEEE 1394 exist as wired home network technologies. As

wireless home network technologies, wireless LAN, HomeRF, HyperLAN, Bluetooth, UWB(Ultra Wide Band) and ZigBee are representative. Since wireless networking solutions basedon the spread of mobile devices have emerged they can be applied to home networks also.

3. Design of Remote Monitoring and Controlling System

This section deals with the design of remote monitoring and controlling systems. To design

a system, we considered a home automation network. The system architecture is presented inFigure 1.

Figure 1. System Architecture

The system consists of a real-time home monitoring sub-system and a light control sub-

system. A home server with a home camera caters for home status through video to client. Italso works as a home gateway to provide interoperability between the heterogeneous ZigBee

and Internet and local and remote control over the homes light devices through the lightcontrol sub-system.

A client can access the home server through a web service or smartphone. The client can

monitor home status through a real-time monitoring sub-system and control the lights throughthe On/off control panel.


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3.1. Real-time Monitoring Sub-system

The real-time monitoring sub-system captures images of the area of the home to bemonitored and serves the client who accesses the server through the web or a smartphone.

Figure 2. Operation Processes of Real-time Monitoring Sub-system

Figure 2 shows the operation process of the real-time monitoring sub-system. The serverfinds a video device and captures images. Then, it generates captured data and transforms thedata format for RTP communication. After that, it generates the session manager and streamsmedia data to the client.

A client using the web or a smartphone generates the session manager and connects to theserver. Then, it receives media data and displays the video. In this way, the client can monitorthe in-home status in real-time.

3.2. Light Control Sub-system

Light control sub-system is composed of a server which works as a gateway, ZigBee

coordinator, end-device, switch node and a light as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Light Control Sub-system


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The operation of the sub-system is as follows.

A client program maintains a user interface which contains an on/off controlpanel.

A server which works as a gateway receives control commands from the clientand relays the command to the ZigBee coordinator through the RS-232C serial

communication.

The coordinator relays the control command which is received form the server tothe end device through RF communication.

The end device receives the command from the coordinator and controls the portof the switch node.

The switch node controls the switch of the light.ZigBee based remote controlling can be applied in several ways. In this paper, we

considered a simple light control and adopted it for a remote control sub-system.

4. Implementation Results

In this section we discuss implementation results of a real-time remote monitoring and

controlling system.

The server contains a web-cam and the monitoring and controlling programs are

implemented using Java. Web-based remote monitoring with video capture, data encoding

and RTP communication are implemented using JMF (Java Media Framework) which is a

multimedia extension API of Java. A client using web service can access the server after user

authentication.

Of the ZigBee networks, we use two Chipcon CC2420DB evaluation boards with CC2420s

(IEEE 802.15.4 radios) accompanying Z-Stack [8, 9, 10]. One is configured as a coordinator

and the other is configured as an end-device.

When the coordinator starts, it initializes all internal ports and waits for control commands

from the home server. If the home server sends a control command to the coordinator throughthe serial communication, the coordinator receives the command and sends it directly to the

end-device through RF communication. The end device receives the control command from

the coordinator and controls the switch node.


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Figure 4. Implementation Result using Web Service

Figure 4 shows the implementation results using web service. A client can access the

server after user log-in. The client can monitor the room's status and control the lights. In thefigure, the client turns off the light.

The implementation results using a smartphone are shown in figure 5. The client programis implemented on the android platform.

Figure 5. Implementation Result using Smartphone

As shown in the results, a client can monitor the in-home status in real-time and send light

control commands using the control button on the smartphone.


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5. Concluding Remarks

Recently, the home environment has seen a rapid introduction of networked digital

technology. This technology offers new and exciting opportunities to increase the

connectivity of devices within the home for the purpose of home automation. Moreover, with

the rapid expansion of the Internet, there is the added potential for the remote control andmonitoring of such networked devices.

ZigBee has become one of the most promising technologies for home networks. ZigBee is

a specification for a suite of networking, security and application software layers using small,

low-power, low data rate communication technology based on IEEE 802.15.4 standard for

personal area networks. Moreover, owing to the rapid growth of mobile technology, high-

performance smartphones are widespread and in increasing cases they are being utilized as a

terminal device.

This paper proposes design and implementation of a remote monitoring and controlling

system based on ZigBee networks. Real-time remote monitoring is implemented with JMF

which is a multimedia extension API of Java. The remote controlling is implemented using

ZigBee networks. The client program in a smartphone is implemented on the android

platform. Clients can monitor their homes and send light control commands using the web or

a smartphone.

This system can be applied in many areas such as elderly protecting systems, culturalheritage or forest fire monitoring systems, managing systems for agricultural cultivation andso on. As a future work, we consider expansion of the system using various sensors andactuators.

References

[1] Z. Shunyang X. Du, J. Yongping and W. Riming, Realization of Home Remote Control Network Based onZigBee, Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Electronic Measurement and Instruments,

(2007), August 16-18, Xian, China.

[2] A Fang, X. Xu, W. Yang and L. Zhang, The Realization of Intelligent Home by ZigBee Wireless NetworkTechnology, Proceedings of the 2009 Pacific-Asia Conference on Circuit, Communications and System,(2009), May 16-17, Chengdu, China.

[3] Y. Ha, Dynamic Integration of Zigbee Home Networks into Home Gateways Using OSGi Service Registry,IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics, vol. 55, no. 2, (2009).

[4] J. W. H. Qin, The Design of Wireless Intelligent Home System Base on ZigBee, Proceedings of the 11thInternational Conference on Communication Technology, (2008), November 10-12, Hangzhou, China.

[5] D. Yan and Z. Dan, ZigBee-based Smart Home System Design, Proceedings of the 3rd InternationalConference on Advanced Computer Theory and Engineering, (2010), August 20-22, Chengdu, China.

[6] IEEE 802.15.4: Wireless medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY)specification for low-ratewireless personal area networks (WPANs), (2006).

[7] ZigBee Specification,(2008), Document 053474r17,ZigBee Alliance.[8] Figure 8 Wireless, ZigBee Implementers Guide, (2005).[9] Figure 8 Wireless, Z-Stack Users Guide for the CC2420DB Board, (2005).[10]Figure 8 Wireless, Z-Stack/Z-Tool Serial Port Interface, (2005).


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