Zigbee is an IEEE 802.15.4-based specification for creating personal area networks with small, low-power, low-cost wireless connections designed for Internet of Things and machine-to-machine applications. It was created by the Zigbee Alliance, which includes members like Philips, Motorola, Intel and HP. Zigbee supports low data rate transmissions, star or peer-to-peer network topologies, hundreds of devices per network, and low power consumption, making it well-suited for wireless sensor and control applications that don't require high data rates but do need low cost and low power usage.