What are the big differences between the Xbee and the wifi Shield? I'm looking to do simple scanning with a wireless receiver. I'll need to cpture mac addresses and RSSI's of all surrounding devices. Is there any reason why I cannot do that with the Xbee? I believe the shield will do that without any issue.
I'm looking to do simple scanning with a wireless receiver.
Scanning bar codes? What do you intend to scan?
I'll need to cpture mac addresses and RSSI's of all surrounding devices.
Why? Most devices don't broadcast their MAC address. And, RSSI as any measure of distance is so uncorrelated as to be useless.
Is there any reason why I cannot do that with the Xbee?
That would depend on which XBee you are referring to.
I believe the shield will do that without any issue.
Sure. Just scan the forum for all the WiFi issues.