Hello
So I got some experience with the Xbee modules. They do work great.
But at the moment I only got two working so one is sending data to
the other one vice versa.
But now I would like to set up a network of Xbee's. For example I need
to put a Sensor far a way from the Computer. So I have to put several
Xbee's between the Sensor and Computer to transmit the Data. Do I
need for every Xbee a Microcontroller?
Or better, does someone have experience in this?
Thx
Geko
We're working at it at our university. Mesh is created by our software running on arduino (not by XBee module).
Unfortunately the current power requirements of arduino+xbee shield do not allow sensor deployment to areas without power (as only a few hours of battery-operated sensor can be achieved with current hardware).
I'm trying to get a battery-friendly version of the above hardware (ie remove serial power regulators that waste power even if devices go to sleep) and to likely work at 3.3 v only (so a CR2032 can power the whole thing).
Please note our simple system only supports data flow to a single sink (not a full mesh solution).
Is it possible to post the software for this mesh?
Did you allready make some progress in this?
Thanks in advance!
Hannes
Unfortunately my student dropped the project and the code was not finished 
The idea is quite simple and it is explained on section 3 of this paper A Multi-Hop Implementation in Wireless Sensor Networks | PDF | Wireless Sensor Network | Computer Network
It does not create a mesh though, just a tree to the sink.
You don't need an Arduino at every node. The Xbee's can form the mesh network and route messages by themselves.
You need to make sure you have the correct profile loaded on each Xbee. The one connected to the computer should be a coordinator. The others should be router/end-points. As long as they are all configured to use the same channel and network, messages from the remote end-point to the coordinator should automatically routed through any other routers in between.
Note that this is how it's supposed to work as I understand it. I haven't yet implemented this but I've been researching it for a future project.
A simpler (and possibly less expensive) alternative might be to simply change to more powerful/better antenna Xbee variants with longer range.
It is my understanding that only ZigBee (aka series 2) Xbee modules provide mesh networking functionality. Isn't it?
From the manufacturer's white paper ...
Digi offers several products for communication over 802.15.4 or ZigBee. The XBee and XBee-PRO 802.15.4 modules provide
point-to-point 802.15.4 communications, and the XBee ZNet 2.5 modules provide ZigBee-compliant mesh.