UWB Vs Zigbee Vs Bluetooth: Difference Between UWB and Zigbee and Blueooth
On this page, UWB and Zigbee and Bluetooth are compared and their differences with regard to various comparison criteria are discussed.
What is UWB?
Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology utilizes spectrum with a frequency greater than 500 MHz. The FCC approved the use of unlicensed spectrum between 3.1 and 10.6 GHz for UWB applications in 2002. It transmits high-speed data over a wide bandwidth (BW) using electro-magnetic (EM) pulses of short duration. IEEE standard 802.15.4a/z is adhered to by UWB. High data rate (27 Mbps) communication is possible thanks to its wide bandwidth. It is also well-liked because of its low power consumption, low latency, and high immunity to different types of interferences.
The figure shows a UWB network made up of UWB anchors installed in various locations. These anchors can connect to UWB tags, UWB smartphones, UWB lights, and WiFi access points. Gateway is used to connect the WiFi AP or router to the cloud. Target sensor data from motion, temperature, light, and other sensors is collected using UWB technology. Applications for precise location and tracking can be used with it.
These are UWB’s advantages or positive aspects.
- ➨The data rates are extremely high.
- ➨Compared to Bluetooth, it has a lower power requirement for non-positioning applications.
- ➨Additionally, it can withstand jamming and fading and provides better noise immunity.
- ➨It can quickly pierce a wide range of materials.
- ➨Alongside other wireless technologies like bluetooth and wifi, it coexists.
- ➨It makes use of the TOF (Time of Flight) concept to precisely locate UWB-tagged objects in multipath environments with centimeter-level resolution.
What is Zigbee?
When a lot of battery-powered devices need to be connected, zigbee is preferred over wifi and bluetooth. A short-range wireless protocol is called Zigbee. It made use of the 2.4 GHz spectrum and the IEEE 802.15.4 physical layer, which are both used by WiFi and Bluetooth. 20 Kbps to 250 Kbps is the range at which it operates. Zigbee uses a mesh topology for operation and follows the AODV protocol for data routing. An indoor range of 10–20 meters is provided by a Zigbee-enabled device. The 128 bit AES encryption algorithm is used by Zigbee for secure communication. In comparison to WiFi (3 seconds) and Bluetooth (10 seconds), a Zigbee node requires a network join time of approximately 30 seconds. Theoretically, it supports up to 65000 devices, but in reality, it only supports 240. Open source standards are used by zigbee technology, which is overseen by the alliance.
Three frequency bands, namely UHF, VHF, and HF, are used by Zigbee. 868 MHz in Europe, 915 MHz in the United States and Australia, and 2.4 GHz in other parts of the world. For each of these bands, Zigbee employs a different channel, namely. channel 0 in 868 MHz, 915 MHz channels 1 through 10, and 2.4 GHz channels 11 through 26. Zigbee only makes use of one of these total channels for operation.
A router, coordinator, and end devices make up a zigbee network. Home automation, medical data collection, industrial control systems, and other uses for Zigbee are just a few. Zigbee technology supports different topologies viz. star, mesh and tree.
Bluetooth Technology
By the bluetooth SIG (Special Interest Group), the bluetooth wireless technology has been created and is currently under management. The IEEE 802.15.1 document contains the specifications. It uses the 2.4 GHz band. A piconet is a small network that can be formed by up to 8 devices communicating ad hoc. Such piconets coexist in the same bluetooth radio range by the tens. One device serves as the master in a piconet, and the other devices serve as active slaves. A scatternet is referred to as having two or more piconets, as shown in figure below. Any device with a bluetooth radio can instantly establish a wireless connection with another device using bluetooth technology that is within range of the device’s coverage.
The IEEE has developed a number of Bluetooth specifications to support various ranges and data rates. The following lists the features of each Bluetooth version, from 1.0 to 5.3 as of this post. 1998 saw the introduction of the first Bluetooth version. In order to address the problems with previous Bluetooth versions’ power consumption, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) was released in 2006.
Bluetooth versions
- Bluetooth V1.2: Data rate : 720 Kbps
- Bluetooth V2.0: Enhanced data rate, 2.1 Mbps
- Bluetooth V2.1: Secure simple pairing, data rate of 2.0 Mbps
- Bluetooth V3.0: High speed with 802.11 wifi radio, data rate of 24 Mbps
- Bluetooth V4.0: Low energy protocol, data rate : 24 Mbps
- Bluetooth V4.1: Coexist with LTE, Indirect IoT device connection
- Bluetooth V4.2: Adds features in line with IoT requirements, including support for the IPv6 protocol.
- Bluetooth V5.0: Range : Greater than 400 meters, Data rate : 2 Mbps
- Bluetooth V5.1: Range : 400 meters, Data rate : 2 Mbps, Power consumption : 0.01 to 0.5 W
- Bluetooth V5.2: Range : 400 meters, Data rate : 2 Mbps, Power consumption : 1 Watt
- Bluetooth V5.3: Released in July 2021, it offers low consumption, reduced interference,
- enhanced security, improved quality, and other benefits.
The following are some of bluetooth’s advantages.
- ➨It provides wireless ad hoc connectivity between devices, enabling hands-free use.
- ➨Compared to UWB, the BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) version offers low power consumption in object tracking applications (Bluetooth AOA Locator & Bluetooth Gateway)
- ➨It is available in almost all the gadgets e.g. smartphones, watches, tablets, laptops, headphones, Earbuds etc.
- ➨No technical expertise is necessary because it is so simple and easy to use.
- ➨In comparison to other wireless technologies, it offers less interference.
Difference Between UWB and Zigbee and Blueooth
Following table mentions difference between UWB and Zigbee and bluetooth with respect to various parameters.
Summary
Positioning, low latency, and low power data transfer applications use UWB. For IoT applications based on smart homes that require thousands of nodes and a wider coverage area, zigbee is used. For the past 20 years, commercial and industrial applications and products have been using bluetooth extensively.
