According to ABI Research home automation device shipments are to exceed 351 million units by 2018 with a CAGR of 78%, with ZigBee beating IEEE 802.15.4 to take over top share of node shipments at 4.5m units.
“ZigBee is enjoying success in the home automation market because, as an open standard technology, multiple IC vendors are creating ZigBee chipsets," the analyst says. "Quite simply, open standard technologies are considered less risky and highly scalable when compared to the closed ecosystems of proprietary RF technologies.”
Z-Wave is also automation gaining traction, since its wide portfolio of interoperating products make it attractive for the DIY segment.
However the top wireless protocol is the Bluetooth LE (BLE) part of Bluetooth 4.0. ABI forecasts BLE shipments will reach over 133m units by 2018 thanks to the myriad devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) equipped with the technology.
"Not only do these devices drive production economy of scale advantages but CE is also growing role as a tool for managing and interacting with home automation systems," the analyst concludes.
