Many people think that ZigBee and XBee are the same thing. That’s not true. ZigBee is a standard communications protocol for low-power, wireless mesh networking. XBee is a brand of radio that supports a variety of communication protocols, including ZigBee, 802.15.4, and WiFi, among others.

The ZigBee protocol is a standard the same way that Bluetooth is a standard. Any manufacturer’s device that fully supports the ZigBee standard can communicate with any other company’s ZigBee device. So just as your Motorola Bluetooth headset can communicate with your Apple iPhone, a CentralLite ZigBee light switch can communicate with a Black & Decker door lock. How does this work? Well, just like a great cake, robust network protocols are all about layers.