Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (LON:BC94) (KRX:005930) and Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) and other major tech firms have formed a new organization called the Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) to create a standard for connecting the billions of devices in the Internet of Things (IoT), says a press release. The consortium is aimed at developing a smooth data flow between devices irrespective of the type of OS, device or wireless communication technology.
Intel, Samsung, Dell and others come together
The consortium will offer open-source code to developers to write common software stacks for communication and notifications for all sorts of devices, handsets, remote controls, wearables and appliances. The consortium will check to see if the connectivity, discovery and authentication of devices and data-gathering instruments in “smart homes,” consumer electronics and enterprises are compatible with the standard before proceeding, according to Gary Martz, product line manager at Intel.
The OIC is keen to offer its services to sectors such as automotive and health care, where devices and communication technologies are different, according to Martz.
Doug Fisher, vice president and general manager of the Software and Services Group at Intel, said that around 212 billion devices will be interconnected by 2020, underlining the necessity of standards for the IoT.
The OIC platform will provide a “clean” way for the transfer of information, and will help in overcoming limitations related to wireless data transport, authentication mechanisms, security technologies and OSes.
Common IoT interface planned
There are other IoT standard groups. The AllSeen Alliance was joined was established by Microsoft last December. The OIC wants to offer similar service by establishing a common software framework for discovery and connectivity between devices. One of AllSeen’s pillars is AllJoyn, which is a Qualcomm software platform used for interlinking smartphones, smart watches, tablets and PCs.
Martz said that OIC will share specifications and code with other groups to set up a common IoT interface. The exec added that OIC will approve devices that comply with the standards, and the group will work with the standards set for wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee and NFC (near-field communication).
Atmel, Broadcom and Wind River have also joined OIC. OIC is also targeting the electronics makers, and more members will be announced by the end of this year.
