Will wireless standard ZigBee be adopted for yachting automation?

A new wireless standard called ZigBee might especially catch on in the maritime sector. It will enable, a.o., navigational instruments to ccommunicatie wirelessly (with a PC) and has very low power requirements. Furthermore, it will make it very easy to use devices like a PDA or even a cellphone as a wireless monitor. There are similar proprietary things available, but I think a standard based approach will win in the end.

“What you need is a tiny, cheap, low-power wireless device that’s only job is to send or receive a few bits of data now and then. That’s why ZigBee was created. Designed for home, building, and industrial automation, ZigBee, like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, is a catchy buzzword for an ungainly sounding wireless standard — in this case, IEEE 802.15.4.
ZigBee, which operates at 2.4-GHz, is two-way so it’ll be able to log your house’s electric, water, gas usage, and send it to your computer for analysis. (That way, you’ll have documented evidence next time you yell at your kids for leaving the lights on.) Because ZigBee has a range of only about 30 feet, and sends data in infrequent bursts, batteries could last for a couple of years without having to replace them. Light switch and thermostat manufacturers have joined the ZigBee alliance, along with the usual suspects, such as Philips, Motorola, Intel, and Hewlett-Packard.”