Digi unveils new XBee Sensors, ConnectPort X NEMA Gateways and XBee Adapters for ZigBee Wireless Networks

Digi International has released its new battery powered XBee sensors, which offer the ability to provide real-time data from a variety of sensors across a ZigBee wireless infrastructure. Their small form factor and long-life battery power make XBee sensors easy to integrate with Digi’s Drop-in Networking solutions to provide reliable, unobtrusive communications. XBee sensors can be used with ConnectPort X gateways, XBee embedded modules, XBee adapters or XBee wall routers to drop-in end-to-end device networksin wireless network infrastructure. The compact XBee wireless sensors are ideal for applications in building automation, energy management, security, freight/vehicle monitoring, food management and many more.

Digi’s XBee Wireless Sensors

Benefits of XBee sensors:

• Compact battery powered sensors with integrated ZigBee
• Temperature, humidity, light
• Long battery life
• Easy to integrate with Drop-in Networking family of gateways, adapters and modules
• Small size for unobtrusive installation anywhere

Key features of XBee sensors:

• General
  • Frequency: 2.4 GHz (ISM)
  • Internal antenna
• Performance
  • Indoor/Urban range: 133 ft (40 m)
  • Outdoor RF line-of-sight range: 400 ft (120 m)
  • Transmit power output: 1.25 mW (+1 dBm) / 2 mW (+3 dBm) boost mode
  • RF data rate: 250,000 bps
  • Receive sensitivity (1% PER): -97 dBm (-98 dBm boost mode)
• Networking and Security
  • Networking topologies: Point-to-Point, Point-to-Multipoint, Peer-to-Peer, Mesh
  • Number of channels: 16 - 5 MHz channels DSSS (Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum)
  • Filtration options: PAN ID, Channel, 64-bit (2^64) addresses

XBee’s Integrated Sensors:

• Temperature Sensor
  • Range: -18° C to 55° C (-0.4° F to 131° F)
  • Accuracy: +/- 2° C
• Ambient Light Sensor
  • Range of spectral bandwidth: 360 to 970 nm (similar to human eye)
  • Wavelength of peak sensitivity: 570 nm
• Humidity Sensor
  • Range: 0 to 100% RH
  • Interchangeability:
    • +/- 5 %RH (0% RH to 59%RH)
    • +/- 8 %RH (60% RH to 100%RH)
  • Accuracy: +/- 3.5% RH

XBee wireless sensors that monitor a combination of temperature and light or a combination of temperature, humidity, and light are available. The sensors are easy to integrate with Digi’s Drop-in Networking family of gateways, adapters and modules over a ZigBee network. Using a Python development environment that resides on Digi’s ConnectPort X gateways, customers can monitor the sensors for events and triggers and make decisions based on the information. XBee Sensors currently support Digi’s XBee ZNet 2.5 platform with support for Digi’s XBee ZB (ZigBee Pro Feature Set) platform targeted for Q3 2008.

Digi also introduced the industrial-grade versions of new  ConnectPor X NEMA gateway and XBee adapters. The ConnectPort X NEMA provides ZigBee to cellular (GSM) connectivity and is integrated into a NEMA 4X/IP66 enclosure for protection against dust, water and ice. XBee adapters featuring lithium batteries for extended life in extreme temperatures provide off-the-shelf wireless enablement of existing electronic devices.

Digi ConnectPor X Gateway and XBee Adapters in ZigBee Wireless Network

The ConnectPort X4 NEMA is Class 1, Division 2 certified, ensuring safe operation in the presence of flammable liquids, vapors and gases. It is designed for applications like tank or pipeline monitoring, precision irrigation control and automated metering infrastructure (AMI). In addition to Ethernet, serial and USB interfaces, the gateway offers four analog input ports for wired sensor connectivity and an open-frame power supply built into the enclosure base. All cable inlets and antenna connectors are designed to prevent intrusion by water or debris. Like all ConnectPort X gateways, the ConnectPort X4 NEMA features a native Python engine for programmability.

The lithium battery-powered XBee adapters are also Class 1, Division 2 certified. They join Digi’s current line of XBee adapters that are powered by alkaline batteries or an external AC power supply. Unlike alkaline batteries, which suffer significant charge loss at extended temperatures, lithium batteries maintain a steady charge over a much wider temperature range. In most remote device monitoring applications where readings are infrequent, lithium batteries can last for several years. The extended battery life is critical in broadly deployed, outdoor applications where getting to devices on a regular basis to change batteries is expensive and impractical. Lithium-powered XBee adapters are offered with RS-232, RS-485, Digital IO and Analog IO interfaces. A NEMA 4/IP66 enclosure can be purchased as an accessory for all XBee adapters.

The temperature/light XBee wireless sensor is available now and lists for $125. The temperature/humidity/light XBee wireless sensor is also available for $165.

ConnectPort X4 NEMA and XBee adapters will be available in July this year. Price of ConnectPort X4 NEMA is $799. Price of  Lithium battery-powered XBee adapters: $125.

More information about XBee sensors, ConnectPort X NEMA and XBee adapters can be found at Digi website