Wireless Communication protocols in IoT

This paper discusses the different wireless technologies and protocols that are currently used or can be used in the future for IoT. It covers the basic properties of these protocols and their respective advantages and disadvantages. The paper also talks about the challenges faced by IoT and the need for international standards. The wireless technologies discussed include Zigbee, RFID, Z-wave, Lifi, Bluetooth, BLE, Wifi, WiMAX and 6LoWPAN.

Wireless Communication protocols in IoT
Abstract: IoT is the emerging and promising
technology that is used to connect physical
smart devices with each other to
communicate without the human
involvement. The basic requirement for the
IoT to work is the communication. It can be
wired of wireless. In this paper, different
wireless technologies and protocols that are
currently used or can be used in the future are
discussed. The basic properties of these
protocols and their respective advantages and
disadvantages are also covered.
Key words: IoT, RFID, Z-wave, Lifi.
Introduction
The Internet of Things (IoT) is the revolution
technology of this decade in information
technology. It works by connecting physical
devices with the internet. The goal of IoT is to
connect the basic services and facilities like
smart phones, transportation system, home
appliances, watches, sensors, etc. to a
common interface so that they all can
communicate with each other to provide a
better interface. The basic requirement of IoT
is wireless communication. There are number
of wireless protocols and technologies that
can support IoT. The physical devices are
connected with each other wirelessly. It gives
rise to the machine to machine interface. IoT
also require smart devices which are able to
connect with other without human
intervention [1]. The challenges faced by the
IoT are lack of international standards, privacy
and trust issues, authentication, etc.
Wireless Communication
It is a technology in which the communication
is achieved with the help of electromagnetic
waves. In this type of communication there is
generally a transmitter and receiver. A
transmitter is used to transmit information
with the help of an antenna whereas a
receiver is used to receive information with
the help of antenna only. There are various
technologies that are using wireless
communication [2]. IoT generally uses
wireless communication to share information
[3]. As this technology is growing every day, a
standard is set by IEEE for various
technologies. All devices that are using this
technology have to follow these standards
and protocols.
Wireless Technologies in IoT
There are many wireless technologies that are
present and they can be used in IoT:
Zigbee
It is a wireless technology developed by
Zigbee alliance. It follows IEEE 802.15.4
standard. Due to its short range it is used in
close proximity. It is generally used for 10-100
meters. It is used to wireless personal area
network (WPAN). Zigbee has low data rate,
hence it is mostly used in home automation,
collecting data for medical devices, smart
energy devices and other application which
require low power and low bandwidth. As
compared to other wireless technologies
Zigbee is simpler and less expensive. The data
rate used in Zigbee is 250kbits/sec. Zigbee is
used in in applications that require long
battery life. The data in Zigbee is secured with
128 symmetric encryption keys. It takes 15ms
for Zigbee to respond from sleeping to work
mode and 30ms for a node to connect to a
network. A master zigbee node can handle up
to 254 child nodes [4].

RF links and NFC
RF links uses radio frequencies for
communications. It is also called Radio
Frequency Identification (RFID). They are used
to identify a specific target using two
components known as tag and reader. Tag is
generally installed on the target and reader
used to read it whenever target comes in the
range. It can provide a communication link up
to 1km. The range of RFID depends upon the
transmission power and the antenna used. It
uses electronic chip to transmit data. Power is
given to the reader where as there is no
power required for the tag. In some cases
power tags are also used and hence the
operating frequency is increased. The
response time for RFID is generally faster. As
soon as the tag comes in the range of
electromagnetic field it can be detected. The
life or durability of RFID is also long. The tag is
completely packed, hence there is no chance
for any kind of damage.
NFC stands for Near Field Communication.
This is also a wireless protocol which is used
to transmit and receive data over wireless
channel. In this technology, there are two
devices one of which is a portable device and
it communicate with its port in a close range
of 4cm. This is used in payment applications
with smartphones. It also used radio
frequencies [5].
Bluetooth and BLE
Bluetooth is used for short range
communication. Typical range for bluetooth is
within 10m. It was developed by Jaap
Haarsten in 1994 working for Ericson. The
IEEE standardization for Bluetooth is IEEE
802.15.1. It was one of the first wireless
technologies which were originally designed
to replace rs232 connectors. It is used where
short and cheap communication with low
power consumption is required. It can create
a personal area network and does not require
line of sight for communication. It is very
important for the connection of IoT sensors
and actuators because the power
consumption is key factor. The only
disadvantage with Bluetooth is that it cannot
be connected to the internet directly. It needs
a gateway like a computer to connect with the
internet [12].
BLE stands for Bluetooth low energy. It is an
advanced version of the classic Bluetooth. It
uses low power as compared to the typical
Bluetooth while maintaining the same
communication. Cost of BLE is also less than
Bluetooth. Most of the current devices like
laptops, desktops, smart phones, etc. are
using BLE [6].
Wifi
Wifi is the short form for Wireless Fidelity. It
basically means a local area network which is
not wired, hence it is called wireless local area
network. If follows IEEE 802.11 standard.
Various devices that uses WiFi are personal
computers, smartphones, tablets, smart
television, printers, smart home appliances,
etc. It uses two frequency bands which are,
2.4GHz UHF and 5.8GHz SHF ISM bands. There
is no specific range for Wifi. It depends on the
power of transmitter and receiver. Any device
that came in the range of the transmitter can
access the Wifi. This makes it vulnerable for
the security as compared with the wired
communication. The main advantage of using
the WiFi in IoT is that it is very easy to use and
access the internet [7][13].
WiMAX
It is also known as Worldwide Interoperability
for Microwave Access. It is based on the IEEE
802.16 standard. It was one of the alternate
technologies used in the 4G communication in
place of LTE technology. The general speed
provided in WiMAX was 30 to 40 megabit per
second. WiMAX was upgraded in 2011 and
the speed provided is 1 Gigabit per second.

Z-wave
This wireless communication protocol is
widely used in home automation. Z-wave was
developed by Zensys in 2001. Typical range of
Z-wave is up to 100 metres. It uses 800-900
MHz radio frequency range for
communication. It is an open communication
protocol. This technology is basically used to
send message to the control unit from one or
more nodes. There are two kinds of devices
involved with Z-wave. One is poll controllers
which are used to send commands to the
slave devices and other device is used to
execute the command [8][9].
6LoWPAN
It is a short form for IPv6 over Low Power
Wireless Personal Area Network. This is a very
promising protocol for internet of things. It
uses IPv6 protocols to send and receive data
with IEEE 802.15.4 standard. IPv6 uses 128 bit
encryption which is enough to address all the
devices in the world [10]. 6LoWPAN is a
connection oriented technology.
LiFi
It stands for Light Fidelity. Like WiFi, this is
also a wireless communication technology in
which light is used to transmit and receive the
information. Visible light spectrum, ultraviolet
light and infrared are used to transmit data.
This is presently an emerging technology and
more research is required on this. The speed
in LiFi is much greater as compared to any
other wireless technology [11].
Conclusion
There is no doubt in saying that Internet of
Things is the revolution technology and it will
grow with a very fast rate. The requirement
for IoT is the wireless connectivity. Wired
connections are not preferred in IoT. The
main reason for that is the ease of access,
longer range and low power consumption.
The drawback of using wireless
communication is the lack of security. Another
concern is about the authentication. All the
protocols discussed in this paper are for
wireless communication. Among those some
are in present use and some will be used in
future. IoT is still a new and emerging
technology and a lot of research and
standardization is still required in it.
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