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Is mesh ideal for a constant data collection sensor network?

Hi,

I have a topology which has 20 to 50 nodes and these nodes should send a data packet of approximately 20 bytes at 50 Hz to a single gateway node. Is BLE mesh suitable for this application?

Also, is there a separate online power profiler for mesh or is setting the role to "Advertising (non-con/scan)" enough to give an approximate power consumption of a mesh node?

Thanks

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  • Hi,

    BLE Mesh should be fine for your application but when sending messages this fast you probably run into this issue.

    No, we don't have a separate online power profiler for Mesh. Yes, setting the role to "Advertising (non-con/scan)" in the online power profiler should give you an approximate power consumption for a mesh node.

  • Hi Mttrinh,

    Thanks for replying.

    The link you shared was useful and I do believe that I would hit that issue with the frequency at which I would receive updates.

    Would Thread or Zigbee be better alternatives for my use case? Is there any official power consumption comparison chart or something like that between Mesh, Thread and Zigbee?

    Thanks

  • Hello,

    Although there aren't any hard limits (that I know of) I think that 50Hz from 20 nodes is too much for zigbee as well (and Thread for that matter). The low power networks are not made for these kinds of throughput. What you are looking at is a total of 50*20*20 = 20000B/s = 160kbps (this is with 20 nodes, not 50). 

    I have not tested, but I've seen reports that says that they have acheived 110kbps in Zigbee. I would imagine that the throughput is quite similar in Thread.

    The curent consumption is quite similar in all the mesh networks, Bluetooth Mesh, Zigbee and Thread. The nRF needs to have the radio turned on in RX mode at all times, so you will have the radio RX current as a baseline, and then there will be some more from the processor and XTALs.

    Best regards,

    Edvin

  • Hi Edvin,

    I have two more question.

    1> If I could manage the range and instead use BLE with one central and 20 peripherals(I believe that is the current limit, right?), I assume this would give me a way better throughput. Is this assumption correct?

    2> Are there any official Nordic documents listing throughput comparisons between BLE, Mesh and Zigbee? Even blog posts or something else like that would do

    Thanks

  • Hi,

    1. Yes, that is correct. You will get better throughput using BLE if the range isn't an issue. 20 peripherals are the current limit.

    2. Unfortunately, we don't have any official documents with a throughput comparison between BLE, Mesh, and Zigbee.

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