Connections Panel: Standards Build the Foundation for Home Networking

Market researchers are forecasting up to 175 million multimedia network nodes in US homes by 2007, according to panelists speaking at Connections, The Digital Home Conference & Showcase, in San Jose. Connected devices will include PCs, conventional consumer electronic appliances and converged devices. Standards will play a key role in making it all work together. Some of the organizations active in this area include:


The Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi) Alliance is in its third release of standards defining an open service delivery platform for use in network-aware consumer devices. John Barr, representing the alliance, said OSGi has gained traction in Europe and for automotive telematics. For instance, OSGi is embedded in Philip's iPronto intelligent remote control device and BMW's iDrive electronics platform. http://www.osgi.org


Over 545 companies across the PC and CE industry are now active in The Universal Plug and Play (UpnP) Forum. UPnP is independent of operating systems and allows devices to be recognized and configured by other devices on the network. Its goal is to be seamless and invisible to the end user. A separate, non-profit UPnP Implementers Corporation has been formed for certifying products and promoting the technology. So far 40 products have been certified. Most are development tools, but consumer UPnP devices are expected by the end of the year. http://www.upnp.org


The HomePlug Alliance sees the first generation of its in-home wired network technology as a complement to Wi-Fi. The next generation HomePlug spec (an RFP went out last week) is expected to provide multi-stream entertainment at rates high enough for HDTV distribution from room to room. http://www.homeplug.org


The WiMedia Alliance is targeting very high bandwidth wireless applications using ultra-wideband (UWB) type technology in peer-to-peer, ad hoc networks. For example, a business traveler might like to purchase and download a full-length DVD quality movie into a notebook computer from a kiosk at an airport gate. By scaling up to hundreds of Mbps, WiMedia could be used for such connections. http://www.wimedia.org


Believing that small is beautiful, the Zigbee Alliance is promoting a standard for very small, very low-cost wireless devices with ultra-low power requirements. Zigbee would enable wireless connections up to 256 kbps in button-size devices. Tiny batteries would provide useful lifetimes measured in years. Bob Heile, representing the Zigbee Alliance, said such devices could be embedded into intelligent light bulbs, motion detectors, wireless smoke and Co2 detectors, or wireless universal remote controls. More creative applications could include Zigbee-enable shoes, which would use the tiny device to transmit data on footsteps taken, distance walked, body temperature, pulse rate, etc. The shoe manufacturer might specify a shelf life of several months before the shoes are purchased and then a useful shoe life of several years. Zigbee devices for industrial applications are expected in the first half of 2004. The first consumer devices based on Zigbee might appear in 2005. http://www.zigbee.org