Note that the RX and TX pins of the microcontroller are still connected to the TX and RX pins (respectively) of the FTDI chip - data sent from the microcontroller will be transmitted to the computer via USB as well as being sent wirelessly by the Xbee module. on the two pins towards the interior of the board), the DOUT pin of the Xbee module is connected to the RX pin of the microcontroller and DIN is connected to TX. With the jumpers in the Xbee position (i.e.

These determine how the Xbee's serial communication connects to the serial communication between the microcontroller (ATmega8 or ATmega168) and FTDI USB-to-serial chip on the Arduino board. The Xbee shield has two jumpers (the small removable plastic sleeves that each fit onto two of the three pins labelled Xbee/USB). XbeeShieldSchematic.pdf (Eagle schematics and board layouts available from the Libelium SquidBee wiki download page.) Jumper Settings The Xbee shield was created in collaboration with Libelium, who developed it for use in their SquidBee motes (used for creating sensor networks). It also provides female pin headers for use of digital pins 2 to 7 and the analog inputs, which are covered by the shield (digital pins 8 to 13 are not obstructed by the shield, so you can use the headers on the board itself). The shields breaks out each of the Xbee's pins to a through-hole solder pad.

It can be used as a serial/usb replacement or you can put it into a command mode and configure it for a variety of broadcast and mesh networking options. The module can communicate up to 100 feet indoors or 300 feet outdoors (with line-of-sight). It is based on the Xbee module from MaxStream. The Xbee shield allows an Arduino board to communicate wirelessly using Zigbee.

Wifi vs bluetooth vs xbee