Today, we’re announcing a new initiative to evolve the smart home around Internet Protocol-based standards. Working with Amazon, Apple, Google and many other prominent Zigbee Alliance members, the Connected Home over IP is a Working Group that aims to simplify IoT device development for manufacturers and increase product compatibility for consumers. This is the first step in a monumental undertaking and the reward will be shared by consumers and developers in the smart home industry.
The future of the IoT is here – and innovative companies are putting their hands in to help shape this new direction. The Connected Home over IP project will simplify IoT device development for manufacturers and increase product compatibility for consumers as they continue to explore and embrace the smart home.
Next year will be another period of time where manufacturers and standards leaders survey the best avenue for all, with the goal to complete a draft specification by late 2020 that focuses on making smart homes “just work.” The message today to everyone already invested in current standards is to continue designing and bringing your products to market. We’re here to support our flagship standards – including Zigbee – and address advancements as they develop.
For now, we invite companies within and outside the IoT space to join our charge as connectivity seeps into once-static areas of the home to bring wonder to everyday items not previously touched by technology. A great example of markets transformed by tech is in retail, and how a home furnishing leader like IKEA can combine design and imagination to deliver smart home living to everyone.
Attracting companies to the Alliance such as IKEA, Amazon, Apple and Google is a testament to the important work that’s being done as organizations choose to collaborate and work alongside each other for the betterment of the industry – and more importantly, the consumer. Life only gets better with good connections.