A] ZIGBEE

1. Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for a suite of high-level

communication protocols used to create personal area networks with small,
low-power digital radios, such as for home automation, medical device data
collection, and other low-power low-bandwidth needs, designed for small
scale projects which need wireless connection. Hence, Zigbee is a low-
power, low data rate, and close proximity (i.e., personal area) wireless ad
hoc network.
2. The technology defined by the Zigbee specification is intended to be simpler
and less expensive than other wireless personal area networks (WPANs),
such as Bluetooth or more general wireless networking such as Wi-Fi.
Applications include wireless light switches, home energy monitors, traffic
management systems, and other consumer and industrial equipment that
requires short-range low-rate wireless data transfer.
3. Its low power consumption limits transmission distances to 10–100 meters
line-of-sight, depending on power output and environmental
characteristics. Zigbee devices can transmit data over long distances by
passing data through a mesh network of intermediate devices to reach
more distant ones. Zigbee is typically used in low data rate applications that
require long battery life and secure networking (Zigbee networks are
secured by 128 bit symmetric encryption keys.) Zigbee has a defined rate of
250 kbit/s, best suited for intermittent data transmissions from a sensor or
input device.
4. The name refers to the waggle dance of honey bees after their return to the
beehive.

B] GPS
The GPS (Global Positioning System ) navigation system employs a
constellation of 24 satellites and ground support facilities to provide the three
dimensional position, velocity and timing information to all the users
worldwide 24 hours a day.
The GPS comprises of three segments, namely the space segment, control
segment and user segment. All the three segments work in an integrated
manner to ensure proper functioning of the system.
Space Segment
a) The space segment comprises of a 28 satellite constellation out of which 24
satellites are active satellites and the remaining four satellites are used as
in-orbit spares. The satellites are placed in six orbital planes, with four
satellites in each plane.
b) The satellites orbit in circular medium Earth orbits (MEO) at an altitude of
20200 km, inclined at 55◦ to the equator. The orbital period of each satellite
is around 12 hours (11 hours, 58 mins). The MEO orbit was chosen as a
compromise between the LEO and GEO orbits. If the satellites are placed in
LEO orbits, then a large number of satellites would be needed to obtain
adequate coverage.
c) The satellites are powered by solar energy. They have back-up batteries on
board to keep them running in the event of a solar eclipse. The satellites are
kept in the correct path with the help of small rocket boosters, a process
known as ‘station keeping’.
Control Segment
The control segment of the GPS system comprises a worldwide network of
a)Five monitor stations
b)Four ground antenna stations
c)Master control station.
Each of the monitor stations is provided with high fidelity GPS receivers and a
Cesium oscillator to continously track all GPS satellites in view.
User Segment
The user segment includes all military and civil GPS receivers intended to
provide position, velocity and time information. These receivers are either
hand-held receivers or installed on aircraft, ships, tanks, submarines, cars and
trucks.
The basic function of these receivers is to detect, decode and process the GPS
satellite signals. Some of the receivers have maps of the area stored in their
memory. This makes the whole GPS system more user-friendly as it helps the
receiver to navigate its way out.

C] WIFI
1. WiFi stands for Wireless Fidelity. WiFiIt is based on the IEEE 802.11 family
of standards and is primarily a local area networking (LAN) technology
designed to provide in-building broadband coverage.
2. Radio Signals are the keys, which make WiFi networking possible. These
radio signals transmitted from WiFi antennas are picked up by WiFi
receivers, such as computers and cell phones that are equipped with WiFi
cards. The WiFi card reads the signals and thus creates an internet
connection between the user and the network without the use of a cord.
Access points, consisting of antennas and routers, are the main source that
transmit and receive radio waves
3. WiFi systems are the half duplex shared media configurations, where all
stations transmit and receive on the same radio channel. The fundamental
problem of a radio system is that a station cannot hear while it is sending,
and hence it is impossible to detect a collision. Because of this, the
developers of the 802.11 specifications came up with a collision avoidance
mechanism called the Distributed Control Function (DCF).
4. According to DCF, a WiFi station will transmit only when the channel is
clear. All transmissions are acknowledged, so if a station does not receive
an acknowledgement, it assumes a collision occurred and retries after a
random waiting interval.
5. For security three different techniques have been defined.

a) Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)

b) WiFi Protected Access (WPA)
c) IEEE 802.11i/WPA2

The IEEE is finalized the 802.11i standard, which is based on a far more
robust encryption technique called the Advanced Encryption Standard.