Digi XBee Tools: Develop, Build, Deploy and Manage Wireless Applications

Digi International Digi International
July 31, 2019

Introducing Digi XBee Tools for Fast Prototyping, Development and Deployment

Planning an IoT project is an exciting adventure. But its also a little bit like boiling the ocean. The number of considerations, tactics and decisions along the way can be a little mind boggling.

At Digi, we have developed tools that can support your product journey, simplify the prototyping, development and building tasks, get you to market faster and give you the peace of mind that its all secure and under control. In this post, I will share information about Digi XBee® Tools, a collection of hardware and software resources to help ensure you have what you need every step of the way in your IoT product development and deployment journey.

The best part is that all of the Digi XBee Tools are available "ala carte," and some of them are downloadable absolutely free.
 

First, a Little About Digi XBee

For many years, developers worldwide have chosen Digi XBee devices as the central communication module in their wireless designs. With multiple form factors, protocols and wireless communication ranges to choose from, developers find that they have complete flexibility to develop with Digi radio modules. In fact, today we are proud to announce that we have sold over 15 million Digi XBee modules.

Always Innovating, Always Enhancing

A Digi XBee device is more than just a wireless module. Digi XBee radios enable wireless connectivity through multiple protocols, are future-proof and stand the test of time. The updates and enhancements we have made to the Digi XBee product lines in recent years have helped drive product innovation, rapid prototyping and improved time-to-market in countless applications worldwide. For example:

  • We rolled out the Digi XBee 3 line, a new generation of advanced wireless modules for the most demanding, remote, low-power applications.
  • x
  • We introduced Digi XBee Cellular, a line of modules for cellular applications that require fast, direct communications with cellular networks.
  • We also developed the Digi XBee LTE-M/NB-IoT module, supporting two worldwide wireless standards on one radio device.
  • Additionally, we have built design flexibility into the modules through pin compatibility and consistent form factors.
  • And we rolled out pre-certified Digi XBee modules to dramatically improve time-to-market and let our developers do what they do best: develop applications. After all, less time spent in the lab means more time developing, testing and deploying new products.
  • And finally, we have built-in MicroPython support and developed libraries of MicroPython code samples to enable processing on the edge.


On that note, lets talk about the tools.

Digi XBee Tools to Develop, Build, Deploy and Manage Wireless Applications



Every technical phase in the lifecycle of an IoT application comes with its unique set of challenges. Digi has been there. We understand those. And we have created tools to make the processes in each of those phases more streamlined to simplify tasks, help you get to market faster, and enable remote access for firmware updates and ongoing monitoring.
 

Watch the following video to join me as I play the role of each persona involved in the wireless application lifecycle, and have a little fun along the way.

If you want to get to a quick proof-of-concept to evaluate the capabilities of a wireless technology, manufacture your wireless product at scale, deploy a wireless network in the field, or manage your deployment over its lifetime, Digi has the tools to support your mission. Lets look at how Digi XBee Tools support each phase of the application lifecycle.
 

Phase 1: Develop

Five Digi XBee Tools support the initial design, prototyping and testing of your wireless application:

  • Digi XBee Configuration and Test Utility (Digi XCTU®): This configuration and testing platform is designed specifically to help you configure and test Digi XBee modules and networks. With its many capabilities such as range testing and measuring throughput, Digi XCTU is a favorite of Digi XBee developers.
  • Digi XBee MicroPython: Digi modules now integrate MicroPython for rapid prototyping and development, which means developers can quickly program intelligent behaviors into their wireless applications and route that functionality through the networks edge.
  • Digi XBee Development Board (XBIB-C): The Digi XBIB-C Development Board provides a set of prototyping features for evaluating and testing functionality of cellular modules such as current consumption, and includes a 40-pin expansion header for accessories such as the Digi XBee GPS Daughter Board. Models are available for each Digi XBee form factor: through-hole, surface-mount and micro.
  • Digi XBee GPS Daughter Board: This board connects easily to the Digi XBIB-C Development Board to rapidly design and test GPS functionality for your IoT application.
  • Digi XBee MicroPython PyCharm IDE plugin: This software plugin provides an integrated environment for rapidly programming MicroPython on Digi XBee modules, and is designed to streamline the programming and flash processes.

 

Phase 2: Build

In this phase, a technician is responsible for taking the configuration files provided by the developer and building out configured Digi XBee devices at scale. Digi XBee Multi Programmer is a device with a software interface for programming up to six Digi XBee modules at once. To scale up production even more, the technician can plug in more than one Digi XBee Multi Programmer into the PC. The Multi Programmer comes in three models, one for each Digi XBee form factor: through-hole, surface-mount and micro.
 

Phase 3: Deploy

When you are ready to deploy your network of configured Digi XBee devices out in the field, three Digi XBee Tools help you get the job done:

  • Digi XBee Network Assistant: This desktop utility helps you visualize and map your local Digi XBee network, analyze network strength between nodes and send batch firmware updates to all nodes on the network.
  • Digi XBee 3 USB Adapter: This programmable device can work with any of Digis supported wireless protocols, and is designed to provide connectivity to a local Digi XBee network from a laptop or PC to commission the network and connected devices.
  • Digi XBee Mobile App: This downloadable app provides the same functionality as Digi XCTU, but is Bluetooth-enabled for field work, enabling you to quickly configure, commission and update firmware wirelessly at the deployment site.

 

Phase 4: Manage

The last phase of the IoT application lifecycle is management and maintenance. Once your technicians are no longer at the deployment site establishing and debugging connections and checking device uptime, there is ongoing work to be done.

Digi Remote Manager® is a cloud-based IoT device and network management tool that provides all the functionality you need to monitor your network in real time, perform firmware updates and manage any issues that arise.

Digi Remote Manager (DRM) automatically monitors the configuration of devices across your network, wherever devices may be deployed in the world, and can quickly reset any configurations that may have been tampered with. You can set up alerts for various conditions to ensure you get notified of any concerns, and check your entire network from the DRM interface at a glance.

Additionally, anytime you want to push firmware updates or security patches out to your entire network, you can quickly and easily do so from the DRM interface. So, as you can see, while Digi XBee modules have always been a go-to choice for wireless applications, it just got better with Digi XBee Tools.
 

Partnering with Digi on Your Next Wireless Design

Developing a product is challenging. Youre always under the gun to get to milestones as you prototype, test and debug your application design and move through the manufacturing and deployment phases. When looking for a manufacturer, you need a true partner that will help you with all of the different phases of getting to market and managing Digi XBee networks after deployment.

With Digi, you get a partner that has tons of experience with wireless technologies. We understand the difficulties, the trade-offs and considerations that need to be made along the way. Digi provides the knowledge and expertise to support your development and deployment efforts, and today we also provide the full suite of tools to support every phase in the IoT application lifecycle.
 

>> Contact us for assistance with your wireless design or sign up for our newsletter to keep up with Digi news.

Download Our White Paper
Learn about the differences between the Zigbee and DigiMesh protcols

Related Content

SparkFun and Digi Expand XBee Ecosystem SparkFun and Digi Expand XBee Ecosystem Digi recently collaborated with SparkFun Electronics to revise and improve their most popular XBee development boards and... READ BLOG How Do IoT Devices Communicate? How Do IoT Devices Communicate? Internet of Things (IoT) devices communicate is dozens of different ways, using hundreds of different protocols. In this... READ BLOG A Practical Guide to Using BLE on Digi XBee 3: Application Note A Practical Guide to Using BLE on Digi XBee 3: Application Note Digi XBee® 3 modems feature Bluetooth® Low Energy which provides numerous possibilities for wireless applications enabled with cellular, Zigbee®, DigiMesh® or 802.15.4. BLE enhances the XBee 3 line, enabling functionality such as beaconing and discovering application services from neighboring devices. VIEW GUIDE Digi XBee MicroPython PyCharm IDE Plugin Demo Digi XBee MicroPython PyCharm IDE Plugin Demo If you are an embedded developer, you understand the need for tools that shortcut tedious or error-prone aspects of coding. The... WATCH VIDEO XBee vs. Zigbee: A Simple Comparison Guide XBee vs. Zigbee: A Simple Comparison Guide In this article, we provide a simple and clear comparison between XBee and Zigbee, including how and when to use them, and the... READ BLOG The Year of Massive IoT Revolution The Year of Massive IoT Revolution Digi International participated in a panel discussion hosted by Telit Communications addressing the technologies and advances... RECORDED WEBINAR Digi XBee: The Ecosystem for Wireless Development Digi XBee: The Ecosystem for Wireless Development The IoT is growing, and markets and demands are ever changing. Today it is important to build future-proof designs that can upgrade and scale to help you navigate those changes. VIEW PDF Cutting the Cable: A Digi Guide to RF Integration Cutting the Cable: A Digi Guide to RF Integration IoT product developers and engineers come from multiple backgrounds, and not all have training in RF technology. If you find... WATCH VIDEO Digi XBee: The Ecosystem for Wireless Development Digi XBee: The Ecosystem for Wireless Development Digi XBee modules have been deployed in millions of applications around the world. This blog provides an overview of the module... READ BLOG Accelerating Wireless Development with the Digi XBee RF Ecosystem Accelerating Wireless Development with the Digi XBee RF Ecosystem Embedded developers have multiple choices today in embedded development tools for wireless connectivity in IoT applications. It... RECORDED WEBINAR Introducing Digi XBee Secure Sessions for Another Layer of Secure Wireless Communication Introducing Digi XBee Secure Sessions for Another Layer of Secure Wireless Communication Digi XBee Secure Sessions functionality is a password-secured connection between two nodes in a Digi XBee network (server and... READ BLOG Digi XBee Tools Wins the 2019 Minnesota Tekne Award for IoT Digi XBee Tools Wins the 2019 Minnesota Tekne Award for IoT On November 20, 2019, Digi International was presented with the 2019 Minnesota Tekne Award, in the IoT category, for Digi XBee®... READ BLOG Introducing the Digi XBee Mobile SDK for Fast Bluetooth Development Introducing the Digi XBee Mobile SDK for Fast Bluetooth Development Today, every mobile application has the ability to communicate using the Bluetooth Low Energy protocol. From wireless head... READ BLOG Five Things You Should Know About Deploying 50,000 Devices Five Things You Should Know About Deploying 50,000 Devices Large networks of IoT devices are becoming commonplace. Whether you are deploying dozens or tens of thousands of devices, there... RECORDED WEBINAR Cellular Simplified: Introducing the Digi XBee 3 LTE-M/NB-IoT Smart Modem Cellular Simplified: Introducing the Digi XBee 3 LTE-M/NB-IoT Smart Modem With the introduction of Digi XBee Cellular LTE-M/NB-IoT, Digi has simplified the task of integrating the latest LTE and low... READ BLOG Digi XBee Tutorials and Resources for Developing Wireless Applications Digi XBee Tutorials and Resources for Developing Wireless Applications In this article we are talking about how to find all the great tutorials and resources to support your application development... READ BLOG MicroPython Examples for Digi XBee Part 1: Edge Computing MicroPython Examples for Digi XBee Part 1: Edge Computing The best way to understand the power of edge intelligence is hands-on. In this series well take you through some simple... READ BLOG Introducing the Official Digi XBee Python Library Introducing the Official Digi XBee Python Library When you're developing connected applications, as we all know, time is of the essence. You need tools and resources, like... READ BLOG