Direct connection to the device – without hub.

Zigbee Direct is a new feature of Zigbee that simplifies onboarding and control of Zigbee devices directly via Bluetooth Low Energy devices. Connect your smartphone or tablet directly to your products – without a hub.

Without Hub

Connect your smartphone directly to
your device – without a hub.

Bluetooth

Direct connection via Bluetooth
Low Energy (BLE).

Awarded

ubisys Zigbee Direct solution was awarded
as Golden Unit by CSA.

Zigbee Direct and its Advantages

What is Zigbee Direct?

Zigbee Direct is the latest feature from the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). This new feature combines two market-proven technologies: Zigbee and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). This “fusion of technologies” enables a massive simplification in the user experience.
With Zigbee Direct, users can seamlessly interact with their Zigbee networks via a smartphone, tablet or other Bluetooth-enabled device. This means a hub is no longer mandatory for a connection between the smartphone/tablet and the end device. The Zigbee Direct feature thus simplifies the user experience in both commercial and residential applications.

Zigbee Direct helps to expand the market for new and existing Zigbee products, to reduce development and production costs and to simplify implementation. ubisys always strives to provide its customers with the highest quality solutions for the Zigbee and Matter ecosystem. With a broad audience in mind, we have a comprehensive selection of certified software components and hardware modules around Zigbee Direct. As application developers, device manufacturers, end users, installers, system integrators, solution architects, chip manufacturers and test houses, you can benefit from our technology and service offering and use Zigbee Direct for your solutions and products as well.

World’s first app and device to support Zigbee Direct

The ubisys Smart Home App is the first app ever in Apple’s App Store to support the brand new Zigbee Direct 1.0 standard! With the app, you can get simple networks up and running without a gateway, or use advanced features for ubisys devices that are already on third-party Zigbee networks. For example, it can be used to change the input configuration, even if the third-party app does not provide for this. What is required is a device that supports Zigbee Direct.

The Zigbee Direct connection to the app runs via Bluetooth, with a proven Zigbee network working behind it. A Zigbee Direct device is sufficient to create a network; classic Zigbee devices can be integrated, configured and controlled via it. Since the connection is done via Bluetooth, you need to be within range. The ubisys LED driver LD6 (from firmware version 1.1.1) is the world’s first device that supports Zigbee Direct. The ubisys Smart Home app is free of charge.

ubisys solution awarded as Golden Unit

The Zigbee Direct 1.0 solution from ubisys and chip manufacturer Qorvo, has been awarded as a Golden Unit by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). The brand new Zigbee Direct 1.0 standard was recently released and the certification program opened. Certification testing at accredited test sites includes Golden Units (GUs), which are leading reference implementations that set the standard for interoperability, reliability and performance. GUs are used to perform the required test cases for subsequent third-party implementations, the devices under test (DUTs).

ubisys supplies two types of GUs: First, the Zigbee Virtual Device (ZVD), which is a software component that runs on virtually any hardware that supports Bluetooth, e.g. smart phones, tablets, speakers, and computers; and, another one, the Zigbee Direct Device (ZDD), which runs on dual-mode concurrent IEEE 802.15.4 (native Zigbee) and Bluetooth devices, which act as a seamless access-point for ZVDs into the Zigbee mesh network. Both GUs support all mandatory and all optional features that Zigbee Direct 1.0 defines. And this in all possible network roles for both device types: End-device, router, or trust center in a universal binary that is runtime configurable and fully scriptable for automated testing. Both implementations are built on ubisys’s industry-leading Compact7B™ Zigbee stack, which also supports all the exciting new Zigbee 2023 (R23) features.

More Information about Golden Unit Award >