Abstract:
The Internet of Things (IoT) industry is growing rapidly. In 2015, the scale of China’s IoT market will exceed 750 billion yuan, and in the next five years, it is expected to surpass one trillion yuan. As the mainstream connection methods of IoT, what competitive or cooperative landscape will Bluetooth, Wifi, and ZigBee form?
The Size of China’s IoT Market is Huge
How big is China’s IoT market? In terms of market size, in 2012, China’s IoT market had already reached 365 billion yuan, and according to multiple third-party organizations, in 2015, it is expected to exceed 750 billion yuan. In the next five years, the market is expected to surpass one trillion yuan, with a compound annual growth rate of over 30%. The prospects for the IoT industry are indeed limitless.
The IoT connects any item to the internet through information sensing devices such as RFID, infrared sensors, GPS, and laser scanners, according to agreed protocols, to exchange information and communicate, achieving intelligent identification, positioning, tracking, monitoring, and management. We can simply understand it as connecting things to achieve various functional applications.
So, how are things connected? There are two methods: one is wired connections, such as connecting your computer to the internet via a network cable or connecting a camera to a monitoring platform via coaxial cable; the other is wireless connections, such as your phone accessing the internet via wireless WIFI.
The advantages of wired connections mainly lie in stability, reliability, and transmission speed, but due to their physical connection method, convenience and practicality are their fatal flaws. With the evolution of wireless technology in terms of stability, reliability, and speed, the development space for wired connections in future IoT applications is limited (though they will not disappear). Currently, there are many wireless transmission technologies, but I believe the three with the broadest application and greatest potential are Bluetooth, Wifi, and ZigBee. These three wireless transmission technologies are playing a major competitive role in the IoT space. So, who will unify the “IoT” world?
Three Kingdoms: Wei State – WIFI
WIFI technology is currently widely used, allowing personal computers, routers, handheld devices, and other terminals to connect wirelessly. WIFI is a high-frequency radio signal with the broadest user base, much like the Wei State in the Three Kingdoms, with many people and strong power.
Technically, WIFI’s main advantages are in transmission speed and distance, with a maximum transmission distance of 300m and a maximum transmission speed of 300Mbps. Its weakness lies in power consumption, with a maximum power consumption of 50mA.
Three Kingdoms: Shu State – Bluetooth
Although Bluetooth is not widely used in mobile phones and computers and is almost forgotten, like the Shu State in the Three Kingdoms, Bluetooth has a noble lineage and quietly perseveres, continuously expanding its territory. It has developed from version 1.0 to the latest 4.2 version, with increasingly powerful features. The 4.2 version significantly enhances IoT application characteristics, enabling IP connections and gateway settings among many new features.
Compared to WIFI, Bluetooth’s advantages mainly lie in power consumption and security. With a maximum power consumption of 20mA, it is much lower than WIFI’s maximum 50mA. However, it has notable disadvantages in transmission speed and distance, with a maximum transmission speed of 1Mbps and a maximum transmission distance of 100m.
Three Kingdoms: Eastern Wu – ZigBee
Compared to WIFI and Bluetooth, ZigBee can be considered a newcomer, young and promising, much like Eastern Wu in the Three Kingdoms! ZigBee, as a wireless communication technology, is currently mainly used in the smart home field, with good cooperation with many smart home device manufacturers.
As a short-range wireless communication technology, ZigBee’s advantages lie in low complexity, self-organization, high security, and low power consumption. Additionally, ZigBee has networking and routing features, making it easy to embed in various devices. In terms of power consumption performance, ZigBee performs the best among the three, with security between WIFI and Bluetooth.
Who Will Unify the “IoT” World?
It can be seen that Bluetooth, Wifi, and ZigBee, based on their respective technological advantages, play their strengths in different IoT applications. However, their competitive relationship is undeniable. As the saying goes, in the grand scheme of things, what has been divided must eventually unite. So, among Bluetooth, Wifi, and ZigBee, which wireless transmission technology will unify the “IoT” world, or will a fourth wireless technology emerge to share the territory? This remains to be seen as the smart home industry continues to grow.
Source: RFID World Network
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