Reliability of ZigBee networks under broadband electromagnetic noise interference

The goal of this paper is to determine the robustness of the ZigBee wireless networking technology under the influence of interference caused by broadband electromagnetic noise from the operating environment of sensing, monitoring, and control systems. Broadband electromagnetic noise was of interest because such electrical noise (i) does exist and is prevalent due to emissions from electrical and electronic components nearby the communication system, and (ii) can cause interference across multiple (wireless) channels. Therefore, such noise will need to be characterized and modeled to assess its effects upon the performance of a wireless system as well as for devising noise control methods. In addition to answering the research question of how will ZigBee survive under broadband electromagnetic noise, this work also provides a method to predict the minimum number of ZigBee nodes required for reliable operation within a given space. These two questions have neither been answered in the ZigBee specification nor in any existing research publications.