Overview of the IEEE 802.15.4 standards family for Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks

Low Rate Wireless Personal Area Networks (LR-PAN) such as sensor networks have become very popular in recent years. These networks can be implemented with little or no infrastructure. The first step of standardization for such LR networks was taken in 2003 when the IEEE 802.15.4 was approved. This standard however went through an enhancement process and a newer version was released in 2006 known as the IEEE 802.15.4-2006 (or 802.15.4b) standard. However neither of the two standards supported ranging capabilities between nodes in the network. In order to support distance and hence location information, the IEEE 802.15.4-2007 was approved (also known as 802.15.4a). Standardization process continued and newer standards such as the IEEE 802.15.4c and 4d were sanctioned very recently. This paper reviews the network topologies, physical and MAC layers of the IEEE 802.15.4 family.