IEEE 802.15

It defines physical layer (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) specification for wireless connectivity with fixed, portable and moving devices within or entering personal operating space.

The members of the task group were not able to come to an agreement choosing between two technology proposals, Multi-band Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MB-OFDM) and Direct Sequence UWB (DS-UWB), backed by two different industry alliances and was withdrawn in January 2006.

This amendment includes many optimizations, corrected errors, clarified ambiguities, and added editorial clarifications while preserving backward compatibility.

The task group TG3c developed a millimeter-wave-based alternative physical layer (PHY) for the existing 802.15.3 Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) Standard 802.15.3-2003.

The millimeter-wave WPAN allows very high data rate, short range (10 m) for applications including high-speed internet access, streaming content download (video on demand, HDTV, home theater, etc.

Stack acknowledgment has been defined to improve the medium access control (MAC) efficiency when used in a point-to-point (P2P) topology between two devices.

The intent of this amendment is to enhance and add functionality to the 802.15.4-2006 MAC to a) better support the industrial markets and b) permit compatibility with modifications being proposed within the Chinese WPAN.

Specific enhancements were made to add channel hopping and a variable time slot option compatible with ISA100.11a.

The IEEE 802.15.4f Active RFID System Task Group is chartered to define new wireless Physical (PHY) layer(s) and enhancements to the 802.15.4-2006 standard MAC layer which are required to support new PHY(s) for active RFID system bi-directional and location determination applications.

[12] Approved in 2020,[13] amendment to the UWB PHYs (e.g. with coding options) to increase accuracy and exchange ranging related information between the participating devices.

IEEE 802.15.5 provides the architectural framework enabling WPAN devices to promote interoperable, stable, and scalable wireless mesh networking.

In December 2011, the IEEE 802.15.6 task group approved a draft of a standard for Body Area Network (BAN) technologies.

The inaugural meeting for Task Group 7 was held during January 2009, where it was chartered to write standards for free-space optical communication using visible light.

In 2015, a new task group was launched to revise the 802.15.7 standard, with several new PHY layers and MAC routines to support optical camera communications (OCC) and light fidelity (LiFi).

In September 2020, a new PAR was approved, and a new task group started to work on a first amendment P802.15.7a aiming at increased data rate and longer range for OCC.

Features of the proposed include: The draft standard is under development, more information can be found on the IEEE 802.15 Task Group 8 web page.

The recommended practice will define a message framework based on Information Elements as a transport method for key management protocol (KMP) datagrams and guidelines for the use of some existing KMPs with IEEE Std 802.15.4.

IEEE P802.15.10 received IEEE Standards Board approval on 23 August 2013 to form a Task Group to develop a recommended practice for routing packets in dynamically changing 802.15.4 wireless networks (changes on the order of a minute time frame), with minimal impact to route handling.

The aim is to address industrial applications, i.e. ultra-reliable, low-latency connectivity with negligible jitter for next-generation IoT.