29 May 2018

Difference between Bluetooth and Zigbee

Bluetooth technology is a wireless device system through which some electronic devices communicate with each other. It has features like a low cost, short range and also has less power consumption while in Zigbee network is a specification set of wireless protocols devices that have been designed for data transfer by the very low power device. So now let us check out the difference between Bluetooth and Zigbee to know more details about it.

Definition :
  • Bluetooth: It is wireless technology through which electronic devices communicate with each other. It can be used for the creation of a personal network that operates in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band and with a range of 10 meters.
  • Zigbee: In Zigbee a specification for a set of wireless protocols that have been designed for data transfer by low-power devices. It is based on a format IEEE 802.15 standard. 
Origin :

  • Bluetooth: It launches in the year of 1994 by Swedish telecom giant Ericsson. It was named after a famous European unification king, Harald Blatant.
  • Zigbee: Devised in the year 1998. It is named after the movement of a honeybee.
Protocol update :
  • Bluetooth: Updated under versions like 2.0, 2.1, 3.0, 4.0 etc.
  • Zigbee : Zigbee and Zigbee pro.
Management :
  • Bluetooth: Bluetooth SIG (special interest group).
  • Zigbee: Managed by Zigbee alliance.
Network topology :

  • Bluetooth: In Bluetooth technology like Ad hoc and very small network.
  • Zigbee: While in Zigbee technology like Ad hoc, peer-to-peer, star, and mesh.
Protocol stack :
  • Bluetooth: 250 Kb.
  • Zigbee: < 32 Kb.
Range :
  • Bluetooth: 10-100 meters.
  • Zigbee : 30-100 meters.
Link rate :
  • Bluetooth: 1 Mbps.
  • Zigbee: 250 Kbps.
Air interface :
  • Bluetooth: FHSS.
  • Zigbee: DSSS.
Network join time :
  • Bluetooth: Long.
  • Zigbee: Short.
Usage :
  • Bluetooth: Frequently.
  • Zigbee: Unfrequented.
Battery :
  • Bluetooth: Reachable.
  • Zigbee: not reachable.
Battery life (days ) :
  • Bluetooth: 1-7.
  • Zigbee: 10-1000s.
A number of supported nodes:
  • Bluetooth:  7 (star).
  • Zigbee : 65536 (mesh).
Power requirement :
  • Bluetooth: 100 mA.
  • Zigbee: 10 mA.
Development cost :
  • Bluetooth: 1.
  • Zigbee: 0.5.
Sensitivity :
  • Bluetooth: -82 dBm.
  • Zigbee: -92 dbm.
Network size :
  • Bluetooth: 7.
  • Zigbee: Unlimited.
Typical network join time :
  • Bluetooth : 3 sec.
  • Zigbee: 30 milliseconds.
Success metrics :
  • Bluetooth: Cost Convenience
  • Zigbee: Reliability, power, cost.
Complexity :
  • Bluetooth: Complex.
  • Zigbee: Simple.
Physical layer standard :
  • Bluetooth: 802.15.1.
  • Zigbee: 802.15.4.
Application focus :
  • Bluetooth: Applications like cable replacement, mouse, wireless keyboard, headsets etc.
  • Zigbee: Applications like Monitoring control, SCADA system sensor, TV remote control, medical instrument etc.
System resources :
  • Bluetooth: 250+kB.
  • Zigbee: 4-32 kB.
Linking time :
  • Bluetooth: up to 10s.
  • Zigbee: 30ms.
Security :
  • Bluetooth: SAFER, 64-bit.
  • Zigbee : AES, 128 bit.
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