One thing that all commentators on the ‘connected everything’ space agree on is the need for common standards to allow a wide range of sensors, appliances and devices to talk to each other. This is nicely captured in an article in the Economist magazine, where the key problem is described as there being too many overlapping and conflicting initiatives. This is nothing new, and most new technologies which benefit from network effects, starting with the battle between direct and alternating current for power distribution in the 1880s, have seen such battles of standards.
“The real problem may turn out to be not a lack of standards, but too many—and disagreement over which initiative to pursue”
Currently the spotlight is on the ‘battle’ between the AllSeen Alliance led by Qualcomm and the Open Interconnect Consortium led by Samsung, Intel and Cisco. Both groups aim to create the standards for interconnectivity in the home. Additionally, Google is leading a group called Thread based on its Nest home thermostat system, while the Industrial Internet Consortium is focusing on, well, industrial applications.
How do the three main alliances for home connectivity compare?
Thread’s objective is to allow connected devices in the home to talk to each other over a low-power mesh network. It is designed to support a wide range of devices, including hme appliances, access control and home security, lighting, safety and temperature control. The radio network is based on the IEEE 802.15.4 specification, which is also the basis of the Zigbee system.
The AllSeen Alliance boasts the largest membership list, and is spearheaded by Qualcomm who originally developed the AllJoyn technology that the alliance promotes. Like Thread, AllJoyn is focused on home applications, including entertainment (TV and Audio), control (temperature) as well as automotive applications, and can boast an impressive list of approximately 80 members including Electrolux, HTC, LG, Haier, Sony TP-Link, Microsoft, Cisco and Panasonic. The system is designed to be agnostic of the underlying communications technology, and simply provides the means by which smart objects can advertise their presence and discover other objects, as well send notifications to each other.
The Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) brings key technology leaders Samsung, Intel and Cisco together to address interconnectivity of ‘things’ across multiple markets. The list provided on its website leaves no stone unturned – consumer electronics, automotive, home automation, industrial, enterprise and wearables, though the current membership list is a bit thin on major household names. Like AllJoyn, the aim is to be independent of the underlying communications technology and provide all the tools for connected devices to discover and connect to each other. However, according to a report in the New York Times’ Bits blog, its genesis can be attributed to the fact that “many of the other chip companies did not trust Qualcomm to fully part with its intellectual property,” a claim which in turn has been strongly disputed by Qualcomm. Recently Broadcom left the OIC, allegedly for issues pertaining to licensing of intellectual property.
Sharing of the spoils or winner takes all?
So what is the likely outcome of this race? Comparisons with the Betamax vs VHS or Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD standards are misplaced. In those cases, the use cases were limited to recording and viewing a video, and there was a significant investment in hardware and intellectual property required to produce a single unit. This time round, there are a multitude of scenarios that need accommodating, from relatively cheap locks, alarms, clocks, thermostats, to more expensive home appliances, TVs and sound systems. The main competing standards are implemented primarily in software, meaning that other than licensing costs, there should be (relatively) limited incremental cost in supporting more than one standard. It is entirely feasible that the more complex devices such as home routers, TVs and appliances, as well as smartphones and tablets will support multiple standards, allowing for coexistence for a while.
At the moment the AllJoyn standards appear to be more mature than those pushed by the OIC, and the AllSeen Alliance also has the lead in terms of home appliance support. I therefore expect to see 2015 usher in home security and control applications from Nest and others based on Thread and a strong showing in home appliances and home entertainment from the likes of Sony, Panasonic and LG using AllSeen. When OIC-based systems are ready, they will be able to rely on Samsung’s scale, but its success will depend on whether it manages to attract significant other major household names to the fold, either as members of the Consortium, or as licensees of the technology.