A Study of the Mesh Topology in a ZigBee Network for Home Automation Applications

Technological advances allowed in recent years the development of numerous applications and systems that improve people's lives in various sectors, especially the home automation. Already the wireless communication has become dominant in the data transmission segment to allow greater adaptability and flexibility in access to multiple devices among users, and networks based on wireless protocols (IEEE 802.11) widely used. However other protocols such as ZigBee (IEEE 802.15.4) appear quite attractive relative to price, power consumption, and reduced implementation of electronic projects. This study aims to evaluate the performance of the mesh topology operating modes in a ZigBee network. Results showed that there is a performance difference between the operation modes of the mesh topology. In the residential environment were carried out communication tests between the ZigBee network devices, where the results were acceptable to the tested environment. Distances and response times between the ZigBee network devices were within the minimum quality requirements for the operation of home automation project.