The AllSeen Alliance, a cross-industry collaboration to advance the Internet of Everything through the AllJoyn open source software project, has announced theHome Appliances and Entertainment (HAE) Service Framework, a standard AllJoyn-based interface for controlling and monitoring smart appliances and entertainment devices in the home.
The HAE Service Framework is an output of the AllSeen Alliance’s Smart Spaces Working Group, one of six working groups dedicated to advancingAllJoyn by focusing on critical, horizontal areas of the Internet of Things (IoT), the organisation says.
Major contributors to the HAE Service Framework include Electrolux, Haier, Honeywell, LG Electronics, Lowe’s, Panasonic, Sharp and Sony. These members have identified a minimum set of operations across devices to enable control and monitoring capabilities regardless of vendor. The HAE Service Framework will allow devices such as air conditioners, air purifiers, air quality monitors, ovens, refrigerators, robot vacuums, washers and TVs to be controlled by a common set of interfaces so that users can achieve a seamless and uniform experience across manufacturer and brand of their home appliances or devices, the Alliance adds.
The Allseen Alliance notes that industry reports estimate that 45 million smart home devices will have been installed by 2018 with market growth upwards of $40 billion by 2020. But the current smart home market is fragmented, with competing manufacturers developing disparate smart home systems and technologies. In addition, many smart systems available on the market today have complex interfaces that make functionality for consumers limited or challenging. To integrate devices across vendors in an efficient and cost effective way requires a standard interface and API.
The HAE Service Framework builds on top of AllJoyn to make it easy for appliances and entertainment devices to work together and with other AllJoyn-enabled products. When paired with existing and future AllJoyn service frameworks – such as the Lighting Service Framework – rich scenarios that address real world needs are possible. For example, an LG washing machine sending a notification to the screen on an Electrolux refrigerator to alert the homeowner the cycle is complete.
LG Electronics Creative Innovation Center head VP Taeg-il Cho said: “We need a common, open technology like AllJoyn in order to provide a truly connected experience for consumers. For devices like LG webOS TV to interact seamlessly with an Electrolux oven or Panasonic washer, we must all build upon a common framework. The HAE Service Framework enables us to collaborate with other companies in the smart home space and work together to overcome existing interoperability issues.”
Electrolux Global Technology Centre VP Roberto Dorigo added: “The HAE Service Framework is a testament to what can be achieved via collaborative development. Smart home device and appliance adoption will remain low if the industry can’t find a way to make communication of smart devices easy and seamless for consumers. The work being done in the Alliance’s Smart Spaces Working Group will revolutionize IoT in the home.”
