Zigbee method for allowing user configurations?

[psychogenic]

Hello,

Working on a zigbee end device with a number of endpoints that are all behaving nicely in general but wondering what the zigbee-ish way of allowing for user config and the nRF Connect SDK support for such.

Say I have an output on the device, that we'd like to allow the user to trigger as either

• on/off or toggle; or
• a momentary action (on for n seconds, then back off)

The notion is that the end user gets to choose how the output will behave and if they want it to stay on 3 seconds, then go back off, they need to be able to say so (set it to toggle or momentary, and when momentary set it for 3 seconds) by configuring it through their smart hub or whatever.

How is this sort of thing done in zigbee in general and what mechanisms are in place with the NCS?

Thanks!

[Charlie]

Hi Pat,

If I understand your notion correctly, shouldn't this application logic be implemented by your development?

For example, we already have the light bulb and switch samples from Zigbee samples — nRF Connect SDK 1.8.0 documentation (nordicsemi.com). You can modify Zigbee: Light switch to have a button send on command and send off or toggle after 3s. The delay time can also be configured through some buttons and displays. You can also do this on a smart hub. The logic is the same and totally decided by the application developers.

Just let me know if I am wrong, we can continue the discussion.

Best regards,

Charlie

[psychogenic]

Not quite.  The app devel deciding this is trivial.

I want to know how to let the end-user do this. 

What is the zigbee way of allowing some flexibility/configuration?  

How do I let the device developer expose "knobs" and controls to allow end users to customize their usage of the device, for example as described above?

[psychogenic]

To clarify, what I'm looking for is info on standard techniques/practices in Zigbee and with NCS for exposing and  communicating configuration options available to the end user.

What I don't want is to be forced to use a side-channel (e.g. BLE GATT) and have another exposed surface to secure and maintain. 

Everything should pass over zigbee.  I'd think this is a pretty normal use-case and that I must just be missing some hint as to how this is done with connect SDK.

[Charlie]

Hi Pat,

psychogenic said:

What is the zigbee way of allowing some flexibility/configuration?  

How do I let the device developer expose "knobs" and controls to allow end users to customize their usage of the device, for example as described above? 

The delay between on/off is a kind of UX-related application-level development. As I mentioned, the developer can provide some buttons and displays, or touch screen to allow the end-user to configure some parameters through the Zigbee device. The UI running on the device is not related to Zigbee. NCS only provides the most fundamental Zigbee implementation for nRF chips, developer still needs to do lots of job for their final products. In this case, everything passes over ZigBee.

psychogenic said:

What I don't want is to be forced to use a side-channel (e.g. BLE GATT) and have another exposed surface to secure and maintain. 

 Everything should pass over Zigbee. I'd think this is a pretty normal use-case and that I must just be missing some hint as to how this is done with connect SDK.

The truth is that most smart home vendors use a Zigbee Bridge/Hub/gateway in order to allow end-user to configure their Zigbee devices through mobile devices or PC.

You can find a list of existing Zigbee based smart solutions as reference: What is ZigBee and What Devices Can it Work with Within the (smarthome.news)

Best regards,

Charlie