A recent report from Machina said the predicted evolution of the internet of things (IoT) was being held back by a “mess” of standards efforts, up and down the IoT stack. There are certainly plenty on offer. Some are specific to one function or application, such as MQTT. Some seek to create ‘umbrellas’ which enable almost any standardized protocol or code to interwork, like Industrial Internet. And others are even more ambitious and aim to tie all those clouds of standards together with a common layer, like oneM2M.
The markets will make their choices as real world business cases evolve, but in the meantime, the various bodies have to succeed in the twin tasks of making their platforms fit for purpose, and winning the profile/support game too.
Google’s ownership of Nest, the company which is spearheading the Thread group, certainly helps significantly on the latter front, but there are also plenty of technology gaps to be filled in the 6LoWPAN-based protocol, if it is to achieve its goal. This is to leap ahead of Bluetooth Smart, its main rival in its key target market, the connected home, as well other contenders like Z-Wave. The other major option here, ZigBee, is based on 802.15.4 like 6LoWPAN and Thread, so could potentially unite itself with the new upstart, though its key backers have shown no signs yet of wanting to dance to Google’s tune.
However, there are plenty of companies which belong to several or all of these groups, or are keeping their powder dry so far, and waiting to be convinced by real performance and ecosystem. Hence the importance of a new beta program for Thread, which has been announced by Silicon Labs and will enable developers and backers to see the platform at work.
Skip Ashton, VP of software engineering at Silicon Labs, said in a statement: “We have developed the Thread networking protocol according to the latest draft specification and now have multi-node networks up and running at key customers using our existing EM35xx wireless SoCs.” The company claims that 500 companies have expressed interest in the beta program.
The Thread Group unveiled its protocol and software stack at Google’s Mountain View headquarters, and is looking to lure the 802.15.4 community, whether currently supporting ZigBee or 6LoWPAN, by convincing it that Thread is offering significant enhancements to those standards, and could in effect be ‘ZigBee 3.0’ or, as Silicon Labs ambitiously put it, “the low data rate, low power version of WiFi”. Current 802.15.4 products can be upgraded in software to Thread.
Silicon Labs, the analog and mixed-signal chip vendor – which is a Thread co-founder along with Nest, ARM, Samsung,Freescale,Yale Security and Big Ass Fans – is playing a critical role. Its software team wrote the spec for Thread’s new IP-based mesh networking stack for the connected home, which builds on the 6LoWPAN implementation already used in Nest devices, and which will underpin the new would-be standard.
Silicon Labs intensified its focus on IoT and mesh when it acquired Ember, a pioneer of ultra-low power meshing for sensors and M2M, in May 2012. However, Ember was firmly focused on ZigBee, and contributed significantly to that standard. Some of the ZigBee expertise which remains important in Silicon Labs will be useful to feed into the new standard, since Thread has made no secret of its desire to convert both the 6LoWPAN and ZigBee communities – an outcome which would have logic in terms of consolidating standards, and would address the notorious fragmentation of ZigBee, but which would put two open platforms effectively under Google’s thumb.
One of the reasons why Thread did not just adopt ZigBee was that it had limited mesh capability (32 nodes rather than 250 planned for Thread) as well as lack of harmonized native IP support. The leap forward in meshing which is promised by the new body indicates how far Silicon Labs has come since acquiring Ember, and how strategic a purchase that now looks to be, especially if the chip firm succeeds in providing the pivotal mesh technology for a major IoT standard.
The Thread Group will fast track its IPv6, 802.15.4, mesh-based system as a de facto standard but will also submit it to the ZigBee Alliance for approval.
In the end, if it really delivers something better than ZigBee, and enables ZigBee supporters to penetrate the smart home more quickly, it will be supported. One proof point will be its ability to beat Bluetooth LE (also called Bluetooth Smart), often seen as a shoe-in for the connected home because it is present in most smartphones, and those devices will be the natural central controller for all the home appliances and networks.
Silicon Labs, which also has BLE assets thanks to its 2013 acquisition of Energy Micro, believes the way forward is to work with the Bluetooth standard’s strengths. CEO Tyson Tuttle told EETimes that he envisaged using the smartphone’s BLE link to make the connection with the ZigBee home gadget, and his company is developing just such a technology – a system-on-chip which is programmable to support multiple radios including ZigBee and BLE, in various bands including sub-1GHz (where Thread is heavily focused because of the range and indoor penetration advantages). However, the Bluetooth community will argue that its technology can support both sides of the equation, especially with the mesh standards which are supported in its next release, and which are already present in the CSR Mesh platform from Cambridge Silicon Radio.
OneM2M specs to see light of day in December:
The industry will be able to see specifications from OneM2M, a global standards initiative for M2M and the IoT, for the first time in December, when the body holds live demonstrations at the ETSI M2M workshop. This follows the release of the first set of specs in August, targeting large-scale M2M communications within the internet of things.
Fran O’Brien, chair of the oneM2M steering committee, said: “The M2M market is undergoing rapid development and growth and as such requires a set of specifications that are going to work at the service layer to stitch M2M protocols and solutions together as one. Our first Candidate Release specifications are aimed at enabling such a solution and provide a common means for communications service providers to support applications and services.”
The initiative is really a supergroup bringing together many standards bodies and was formed in 2012. It aims to lay the foundations of a global M2M service layer, bringing together contributions from seven standards organizations – Japan’s ARIB and TTC; the US-based ATIS and TIA; the China Communications Standards Association (CCSA); plus ETSI from Europe and Korea’s TTA.
Additional contributors include the Broadband Forum, Continua, Home Gateway Initiative, the New Generation M2M Consortium of Japan and theOpen Mobile Alliance.
At its formation, the group said it was targeting communications services providers, enabling them to use a common set of technologies to deliver applications to many types of users – including smart grid, connected cars, e-health, enterprise supply chain, home automation and energy management, and public safety.