IoT

Exegin and Zigbee – Innovating the Internet of Things

As a leading Zigbee software and hardware provider and a member of the Zigbee Alliance, Exegin is at the forefront of the exploding IoT market – IDC predicts IoT spending to top $1.29 trillion by 2020.

The applications powering the growth of IoT promise to change the way we work and live. Exegin is collaborating with other industry leaders to develop and roll out many of these new applications.

The Connected Home

Home automation (or ‘domotics’) is about much more than just managing your home lighting system. By using smart terminals to manage networked home appliances and devices, home automation allows for the remote control of many household functions – from across the room or across the globe. HVAC, security, lawn irrigation, and of course lighting can all be remotely monitored and controlled via Zigbee-enabled and networked devices.

Beyond just convenience and security, residential automation gives environmentally-aware homeowners the ability to reduce costs and lower their energy consumption.

Driven by industry leaders such as Exegin, Amazon, Leedarson and Assa Abloy, the home automation market is forecast to grow from US$83B to US$195B between 2017 and 2021.

Transforming the Retail Experience

Both merchants and merchants are benefiting from a wave of innovation in retail, thanks in part to a host of new IoT-enabled applications. Many of these, such as automated inventory management and in-store environmental monitoring, are built on Zigbee mesh networking technology. Shoppers making their way through store aisles can connect to the store network via their smartphones to conduct price checks, find products, and even apply coupon discounts automatically.

Another emerging application, electronic shelf labels (ESL), allows for dynamic price updates, promising more accurate pricing, and lower labor costs. According to ABI Research, the global ESL market alone could reach US$2 billion by 2019.

Finally, the inherent reliability of Zigbee mesh networks minimizes downtime, one of retail’s top concerns – according to Gartner, a single minute of downtime costs retailers an average of US$5,600.

Smart buildings leading the way in industrial automation

The growing demand for security, cost savings, and energy efficiency is driving the commercial building automation market, estimated to exceed US$100B by 2022 (Oristep Consulting).

Climate control, lighting, smart sprinklers, and security access points can all be monitored by the low-cost, low-power sensors used in Zigbee networks. And since those Zigbee networks are standards-based, interoperability is assured across multiple supplier’s products and solutions.

In the competitive world of commercial real estate, the low implementation and lifecycle costs of Zigbee-based automation solutions provide key advantages for both commercial landlords and tenants.

Keeping the City lights on

In a related market, the benefits of monitoring, customization, and control can now be extended to outdoor street lighting. Full control of outdoor lighting will allow cities to proactively conserve energy and control lighting costs.

Exegin is currently engaged with Schreder to develop these outdoor lighting solutions based on the low-power wireless networking standard (6LoWPAN).

According to research by the Northeast Consulting Group, there are currently over 315 million total streetlights in the world, growing to over 350 million by 2026. More efficient LED lighting is rapidly replacing traditional solutions, allowing for new and retrofitted lighting to be networked, controlled and optimized via Zigbee-based networks.