Experience in measuring Wi-Fi to ZigBee interference using open-source hardware

Abstract

Considering the growing appliance of wireless technologies in the Internet of Things and Wireless Sensor Networks the question of their coexistence and interoperability becomes extremely important. Wi-Fi and ZigBee technologies already have a long-lasting presence in the market as well as deployment in many systems. Because of their numerous appliances, it is extremely important to measure the impact of one technology on another. This paper has presented the approach of using open-source hardware and software for measuring the interference effects of Wi-Fi to ZigBee. The testing platform is built on Arduino microcontroller boards. This paper describes the experiment, the experimental platform, methodology, and tools used for collecting and analyzing data, as well as the experience gained during the experiments, and its influence on future work. The results presented in this paper give a clear insight into how the IEEE 802.11 networks influence the throughput of IEEE 802.15.4 networks when operating in similar frequencies. According to presented test results, Wi-Fi at distances of about 12m can affect the ZigBee throughput when the central frequency difference is 7 MHz or lower.