A flexible binding mechanism for ZigBee sensors

A unique feature of sensor networks is the capability of performing actions in response to events detected by sensors. Such a feature requires a mechanism to create an association between the sensor and the actuator, and the resulting association is called a binding. The ZigBee specification defines default binding mechanism called end-device binding. However, this binding mechanism allows only a restricted range of combinations between sensors and actuators. Event filters cannot be defined using this mechanism as well. This paper proposes a flexible binding mechanism for ZigBee sensors called event-action binding, where sensors and actuators can be associated without the constraints imposed by the end-device binding. An event-action binding associates a specific event generated by a sensor with a specific action provided by an actuator. The mechanism supports event filters and multiple event filters can be combined as a composite filter. The binding mechanism was implemented for ZigBee sensors conforming to the specifications of ZigBee home automation and ZigBee cluster library. The implementation is based on YAML descriptions and provides an event matching engine and a browser-based user interface.