How to make friends ZigBee and Wifi?

Question

Arduino

Good.
There is such a damn thing
And there is such a damn thing
That's got in my head the concept of "bringing Moscow to the state of passion."
The idea of ​​automating lighting in the house visited me a long time ago. I periodically return to it and came to the conclusion that it would be convenient to control everything by sensors, and to carry out coercion both by switches and remotely via a Win tablet, which drives the board via Wifi. And then comes the information crisis.
There is a desire to use ZigBee because of its simplicity and budget. Scatter boards around the house. Poke sensors and code wildly at night.
And the most acute problem was the provision of wireless communications. The tablet has wifi. But buying a Wifi Bee for every board is a perversion - it costs like a router.
And that's exactly the goal. PC(WiFi)->Arduino(ZigBee)[0..9]
Convert on the board itself from module to module? - crooked and wrong.
Use Xbee USB transmitter? - a miracle, because walking with a tablet to which some device is connected via USB is not comme il faut.
The question is connected with small experience of work in networks. Perhaps they are still compatible through a crutch thread?

Answer 1

I think it is worth considering the option of using a separate intermediate device, which will have both WiFi and ZigBee. Let's call it a server. Those. the tablet will only communicate with the server, and it already communicates with ZigBee devices.
I think that sooner or later the need for such a server will still appear, for example, for logs or for access to management outside the home. The server itself can be made from a WiFi router or a Raspberry Pi.

Answer 2

Still, this device is not called a server, but a gateway. Search "zigbee wifi gateway", etc. might give results :)
For example www.alibaba.com/product-gs/501808351/ZigBee_WiFi_Wireless_Gateway_for_Smart.html

Answer 3

I use the cheapest Digi ConnectPort for communication www.digi.com/products/wireless-routers-gateways/gateways/connectportx2gateways#overview coupled with Idigi device cloud www.idigi.com/

Answer 4

ZigBee and Wi-Fi have different data transfer protocols, so you won't be able to connect them together. Check out Bluetooth Shield for Arduino

Answer 5

wifi router (like asus wl-500gP) and openwrt. the module is installed on the com port. You will have to write your own module for Linux.

Answer 6

much more features?
downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/10.03/brcm47xx/packages/
There are about 2500 packages here. including php mysql etc

Answer 7

Where is the video card for output in the router? Where does the router have 10+ USB outputs? Outputs to input devices? What's the fun in making a server out of a router and reinventing the wheel?