Introduction to Z-devices - page 3

I want to create a line of smart devices. I'll call them Z-devices.

The Z-device sales catalog will include servos, displays, buzzers, speakers, microphones, flex sensors, temperature sensors, potentiometers, distance sensors, GPS units, inertial measurement units, etc; all the usual stuff as sold by AdaFruit, SparkFun, Seeed Studios, etc. These generally are designed for direct connection to an Arduino or similar microcontroller, and are generally the building blocks out of which more complex mechanical and electronic systems are made.

But Z-devices will be different because inside each of them will be a powerful microprocessor, a power source (battery or power harvester), and a radio, all in a single "Z-chip".

Lots of software related to each device can be preloaded it into its Z-chip, so that it can execute many high-level functions independently of a host computer.

And we can handle lots of very intelligent network behavior so that groups of Z-devices can operate autonomously. For example, once a host commands a Z-lamp to gets its brightness from a Z-knob, those two devices can continue to talk to each other without further commands from the host. Essentially, we can program the network itself.

As this "Z-chip" doesn't exist yet, for demonstration purposes we will create a small "Z-board" which has all the proposed capabilities of the Z-chip except for size, and instead of putting it inside the device, we will literally glue it on to the device.

In the future, we will have our Z-chip. We don't know just how far off in the future that will be, but we shall start toward it right now.