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B.E.,ELECTRONICS & B.E.,ELECTRONICS &
INSTRUMENTATION INSTRUMENTATION
III YEAR III YEAR


 
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 holds for industrial automation as it gains a
 1

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3
 
The promise of ZigBee is now starting to
be realized in industrial automation networks; as
with any other new technology, ZigBee users
must be sufficiently educated in the technology
to be able to deploy it successfully. Much of what
has been written and said about ZigBee has been
focused around home automation, especially
lighting control and building automation.
However, what is needed for a residential
deployment is very different from what is
required for an industrial deployment. This paper
provides an overview of ZigBee from the
perspective of industrial automation including
when ZigBee is appropriate and when ZigBee is
not appropriate. The paper then discusses the
components needed to add ZigBee networks to
existing industrial automation networks. Special
attention is given to the topic of gateways and
options for integrating the ZigBee network with
existing industrial automation application
software. A methodology is also presented that
can be used to design ZigBee networks for
situations commonly found on the factory floor.
The paper concludes with an overview of the
nearterm advancements expected in the
marketplace in relation to ZigBee.

-
 each other. The ability to automatically route
 communications around barriers as a self-healing
Companies are increasingly relying on
wireless networks in applications that monitor
factory floor conditions and control automated
systems. The move to wireless is fueled by the
fact that wiring runs are expensive, in terms of
both initial runs and reconfiguration, as well as
by ongoing performance improvements and cost
reductions in industrial wireless technology.
ZigBee, a new low-cost, standards-based,
wireless mesh networking technology created by
the ZigBee Alliance, holds tremendous promise
for advancing wireless further in industrial
settings, and products supporting the ZigBee
standard are just beginning to enter the market.
This paper examines the unique needs of wireless
industrial automation, the ZigBee components
that come together to address those needs and
their interoperation, and the promise ZigBee
foothold as a mainstream technology.
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ZigBee is designed to support easily
deployed, redundant path, low-cost systems for
integrating even the simplest end devices into
wireless automation. While its potential
usefulness extends to a wide range of
applications that include home as well as
industrial, it offers three inherent characteristics
that are especially desirable in industrial settings:

(4'(: The typical ZigBee radio costs far less
than most sensors and signal conditioners, adding
about $30 to the cost of any device incorporating
one. This provides an economic justification for
automating even the simplest of sensors,
extending wireless networking¶s reach
throughout the factory floor.
5 54( % Traditional wireless networks
are point-to-multipoint, with a programmable
logic controller (PLC) communicating directly
with various devices on the factory floor.
Challenges arise when there is a barrier in the
line of sight between a PLC and a given end
device. ZigBee introduces a mesh networking
technology, in which some or all of the end
devices with which a PLC communicates also
function as routers that can communicate with
network eliminates line-of-sight concerns.
&6('5 7(/' As an open standard,
ZigBee provides customers with the ability to
choose vendors as needed. ZigBee Alliance
working groups define interoperability profiles to
which ZigBee-certified devices must adhere,
organized by class. A ZigBee-certified modem
will communicate with any other ZigBee-
certified modem in its class, promoting
competition and the ability for end users to
choose the most effective device for each
particular network node, regardless of
manufacturer.


 outputs, and that generate alarms when process
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 variables exceed preset levels.
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It¶s important in discussing industrial In a wired industrial automation network,
automation to make a distinction between control electrical cabling is run between the PLC and
applications and monitoring applications. each of the sensors and actuators with which it
Monitoring applications are those that report such communicates. By far the most popular
conditions as fluid level, pressure, and communications protocol for this link is Modbus,
temperature for the purposes of recording and of which is an openly published communications
issuing alarms when a condition has exceeded a bus designed specifically for use with PLCs and
specific acceptable level. Control applications are supported by the vast majority of industrial
those that direct automation devices to take electronic devices. The PLC also typically has a
action, which can be as simple as opening or wired connection to the computer system running
closing a valve or as complex as performing real- the monitoring application to provide the human-
The distinction between monitoring and machine interface, with Ethernet as the
controlling is worth noting because ZigBee, as a networking technology for that link.
mesh networking technology, introduces latency
when communication is handed off from one
routing device to another.

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The typical industrial automation system
consists of one or more Programmable Logic
Controllers(PLC) plus sensors and actuators
working in concert to monitor and/or control a
discrete or continuous process.
The PLC is the brain of an automation
system, programmed to orchestrate network
activities. Controllers run ladder logic programs
and communicate with end devices to receive
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information or to instruct them to perform an



action. PLCs receive information from sensors,

which are end devices that sense and report such
In a ZigBee industrial automation
conditions as temperature, sound, pressure,
network, ZigBee devices provide an over-the air
strain, and vibration. Sensors are the primary end
network interface between the PLC and the
devices in monitoring applications and provide
sensors and actuators with which it
the inputs upon which control decisions are
communicates. ZigBee sensor modems provide a
based.
combination multichannel signal conditioner and
PLCs send instructions to actuators,
ZigBee module for sensors. Individual versions
which are such electromechanical devices as
of ZigBee sensor modems can support various
valves, motors, solenoids, and relays that perform
input types, such as 4-20mA and full-wave
actions (which may depend on the state of sensor
bridge, and can provide 4-20mA transmitters,
inputs). Actuators are the primary end devices in
digital I/O, and excitation voltages.
control applications, and a number of them may
work in close coordination to carry out a complex ZigBee Modbus modems connect to
task. The human-machine interface (HMI) to actuators, and combine the function of a serial
these systems is provided by software programs output device with a ZigBee module. Modbus
that keep a watch on sensor inputs and PLC commands issued by the PLC are transported
over the ZigBee network and relayed to the I/O
module.

ZigBee Modbus gateways provide the

takeout point for the ZigBee network, mapping
Modbus addresses to ZigBee addresses and
formatting responses from ZigBee remote
devices into the Modbus protocol. These
mappings prevent the Master PLC from having to
be ZigBee-aware, and preserve the functionality
of existing PLCs, sensors, actuators, and
monitoring programs. The application functions
exactly as before, except that wireless links have
replaced wired connections.
(/. '(! / All inputs and outputs at
ZigBee sensor modems and Modbus modems are
expressed as properly formatted Modbus
commands, which includes fields for Modbus
address, function code, and register address, plus
a fourth field for number of registers to read for
inputs or for ON of OFF values for outputs. For
example, to read the analog-to-digital channel 0
input of a ZigBee sensor modem which has been
assigned Modbus address 4, the following
Modbus command would be sent to the ZigBee
Modbus gateway.

O%055 (/. !//5 !% 5  The

mapping of Modbus commands to ZigBee
addresses at the ZigBee Modbus gateway is a
straightforward process. Modbus assigns a single
address to each device in the network, as does
ZigBee. The device can be an I/O block that has
many sensors and actuator, or an individual
sensor or actuator. The only operation required is

to convert that address from Modbus conventions
to ZigBee conventions, which is performed in the
Modbus gateway¶s controller software.
8
 !77 % Modbus uses a standard set of
registers to read and write input and output
values. Thus, the various I/O of the ZigBee
sensor modem must be mapped to the standard
Modbus registers to allow standard Modbus
commands to be used. In addition to the device
address resolution, the Modbus gateway also
translates the Modbus register specified in the
Modbus command to the appropriate I/O of the
ZigBee sensor modem. The mapping used by the
ZN-2401 ZigBee Sensor Modem is provided in
the table below.
The following Modbus command would be sent
to turn digital output 1 ON at a ZigBee sensor
modem
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ZigBee Modbus modems and sensor
modems can operate as routers (while still
providing I/O), capable of communicating with
other routers, gateways, or end devices. The
presence of routers is what makes a ZigBee
network self-healing. Should a router or end
device become unable to communicate directly
with the coordinator or primary router due to a
dropped link, it will automatically establish an
RF link with another router and transmit its data
back to the gateway through this second router.


 component called an OPC server. The OPC
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 1
 application and the hardware, allowing products
 that support OPC to be used in combination. The
A second common industrial automation
architecture is Distributed Control System
(DCS), in which multiple PLCs provide local
process control. This provides easy segmentation
of control functions, especially when there is
infrequent interaction between process functions.
There is still the need for central monitoring if
not supervisory control of the system. The figure
below shows data flow between DCS
components, including various ³languages´ used.
(For a simplified DCS network, see Figure 5.).
Each HMI application uses its own
language to communicate between the
application client workstation and application
server. This language is proprietary to each
application vendor and, in truth, there is very
little need for third parties to be knowledgeable
about this language.
Between the HMI application server and the
industrial automation hardware is where things
get interesting. The HMI vendor typically
provides industrial automation hardware too.
Thus the interface between the application and
the hardware is written for the specific vendor¶s
products. Users, however, demand the flexibility
to mix and match HMI applications and hardware
from multiple vendors. To avoid having to write
drivers for each HMI/hardware combination, the
industry formed the OPC Foundation to develop
a standard interface for HMI applications and
industrial automation hardware. This interface is
implemented using a server-based software
server abstracts the specifics of the HMI
OPC server allows the ZigBee Ethernet gateway
to communicate seamlessly with any HMI
application that supports OPC.
The OPC server communicates with the
ZigBee Ethernet gateway. While in theory, this
communication could use the ZigBee command
set used by the ZigBee module in the gateway,
that command set is not optimized for
communications over an Ethernet network.
Therefore, an intermediate or ³meta´ language
was developed to communicate with the gateway
over an Ethernet connection. The OPC server
knows and uses this meta language to
communicate with the gateway.
The ZigBee gateway communicates with
remote devices using the ZigBee command
language. The gateway accepts the meta
language from the OPC server encapsulated in
TCP/IP packets, removes the TCP/IP packet, and
translates the meta language commands into the
ZigBee command language. For data coming
from the ZigBee endpoint devices, the gateway
formats the data into the meta language format
and encapsulates the message in a TCP/IP
datagram. The datagram is then sent to the OPC
server over the Ethernet network.





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9 
As ZigBee is a very new standard, the
most useful ZigBee products available today are
designed to introduce ZigBee benefits to existing
networks. The ZigBee gateways, sensor modems,
and Modbus modems discussed so far do exactly
that, preserving existing investments while
replacing expensive and cumbersome wiring with
low-cost and flexible wireless connections.
As ZigBee becomes a mainstream
technology, we will see the introduction of off-
the-shelf ZigBee enabled sensors, actuators, and
PLCs. Rather than needing modems attached to
these devices, they will contain ZigBee radios
themselves to enable cost-effective, ready-to-use
devices for creating green field ZigBee networks.
As this happens, ZigBee gateways will
continue to be key components, providing
interfaces to get ZigBee data off the ZigBee
network and onto wired networks that host
human-machine interface applications and other
applications that make use of the ZigBee data.
However, the function of these gateways will
change as applications become ZigBee aware,
streamlining the mapping process.

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As a very well-designed standard created
with specific applications in mind, ZigBee has
much to offer industrial automation applications.
Low-cost deployment and redeployment, mesh
networking to cover entire industrial plants and
factories, and an open standard with multiple
vendors make ZigBee especially adept at
addressing the needs of industrial automation
applications. As the industrial communications
equipment industry continues its embrace of
ZigBee, we will see ZigBee devices optimized to
meet the unique needs of industrial automation.
This will mean products that function well in
settings with high RF noise floor, extreme
temperatures, and rough handling.
Yet even as the industry evolves toward
this optimization, there will for many years be a
need for ZigBee products that address existing
industrial automation networks and existing
applications, and the current crop of solutions ±
ZigBee modules, sensor modems, and gateways ±
will likely be keys to implementing ZigBee
networks for some time to come.
9  

ÔÊ ZigBee Takes It Easy: Short-range
wireless "ZigBee" networks are ready to
unwire your house, Technology Review
article by Eric S. Brown, August 19, 2004
ÔÊ Ember.com
ÔÊ Zigbeenetworks.com