Wireless technology
is just everywhere from cell phones, Internet Cafes to
wireless digital cameras. The reason for the explosion
is its convenience, ease of use and low cost. Until now,
the most common usage of wireless technology in the security
industry was the “proximity” technology used
in conjunction with readers and cards. Wireless technology
in general has been a “proprietary” technology,
where manufactures did not allow access into their products,
so frequency, protocol and message processing only operated
with the manufacture’s own product line.
 Communication
Technology Leaders
As a leader in technology,
PCSC has integrated an open global standards
wireless technology as an alternative to “wires”.
Today’s industry communications consists
of “older RS 485” and Ethernet
communications networks. PCSC now offers
4 types of communication topologies, providing
our users with the ability to choose the
right communication network for quality and
cost effective installations. The PCSC communication
topologies include RS 485, TCP/IP, WiFi and
XBee-PRO™ ZigBee wireless technology.
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Wireless
Technologies
A variety of wireless
technologies have been designed, each for
a specific purpose and our investigation
shows the XBee Pro offers the best feature
set for the security industry. XBee Pro is
a global standard utilizing globally accepted
frequencies and therefore no special “approval” is
needed. XBee Pro offers operating distances
well beyond the capabilities of WiFi or Bluetooth
technologies and offers network topologies
such as “point to point” and “point
to multi-point” or “Mesh” technology.
For security, the XBee Pro utilizes a 128
bit AES encryption.
Setting a Standard
XBee-PRO™ is designed under the
standards of the “ZigBee Alliance”, an association
of companies working together to maintain a global standard
for the wireless device. XBee Pro is developed with inherent
advantages that make it a viable solution for the “Total
Building Control” market. XBee Pro is designed for
use with battery operated devices. Its low power consumption
is enhanced with the ability to place it into a “sleep
mode” and awake only when needed to ensure battery
life for years. This advantage allows XBee Pro to be incorporated
into devices such as alarm sensors, door locks, lighting
and many more products to eliminate the need to “wire”.
The use of XBee Pro will create an easy means for interoperability
between vendors and systems.
 XBee-PRO™ is a low power wireless transmitter and receiver (“transceiver”)
using a globally accepted 2.4 GHz frequency band. It can
support 13 channels of communication each with the ability
to support over 65,000 nodes, more than enough for any
installation.
Its performance in transmitting
distances of up to 1 mile (1.6 km) in outdoor environments
and 300 feet (91 m) in indoor conditions provide the
ideal wireless topology.
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