Does IEEE 802.15.4 wireless interfere with WiFi communications?
The Digital Lumens Intelligent Lighting System is designed to communicate over a distinct “lighting network” using a completely different wireless protocol. IEEE 802.15.4 is a low-power, low-bandwidth communications protocol. In general, the IEEE 802.15.4 protocols minimize the time the radio is on, helping to reduce power use. In beaconing networks, nodes only need to be active while information is being transmitted. It is a self-healing, line of sight protocol — if a node in the network is removed, the message will take the next best route to the destination. IEEE 802.15.4 is designed to require minimal power (1mW) with a sight range of about 50 feet (15 meters) in ambient warehouse spaces.
The IEEE 802.15.4 protocol is specifically designed to limit interference with 802.11 traffic. Some IEEE 802.15.4 channels do overlap with WiFi (in 2.4 GHz band), but are so weak in comparison that they don’t interfere.
The nature of IEEE 802.15.4 communication limitations, combined with access controls surrounding the LRA, make it exceedingly difficult to either a) influence the fixtures themselves, or b) use the lighting network as a conduit to infiltrate the enterprise network. However, if there is concern about the intelligent lighting system and associated components meeting local security requirements, please talk to ussupport@digtiallumens.com or +1 (617) 723-1200, extension 3. — there are many potential architecture implementations.
