Microsoft Enabling Unified Standard For Home Control Networking

Microsoft Demonstrates Simple Control Protocol (SCP)Collaboration With GE, SMART, ITRAN, Domosys, Mitsubishi And Other Industry Leaders To Ensure Interoperability Between Existing And Future Home Control Standards

29-Jun-00

Microsoft announced they are working together with GE and other industry leaders to converge existing home control initiatives to enable a unified standard for home control networking. This collaboration represents a significant milestone for consumers and manufacturers of consumer devices. This convergence effort will enable product interoperability between existing and future home control products from Microsoft, GE and other leading consumer product manufacturers. The initiative will help accelerate the market for affordable and innovative home control products. In support of these convergence objectives, Microsoft demonstrated at the Home Automation Conference in Chicago, Illinois an early version of the Simple Control Protocol (SCP), a lightweight, royalty-free networking technology for devices such as smart appliances and home control products. SCP is optimized for devices with very limited memory and processing power and for networks with low bandwidth, like the inexpensive, ubiquitous power line carrier (PLC) medium. ""We are very excited about this first step toward convergence,"" said Jeff Goodman, Manager of Residential Products, GE Industrial Systems. ""Manufacturers such as GE have been awaiting a common standard for home control so we can offer exciting new products and services that will improve the lives of our customers."" SCP is a complimentary technology to Universal Plug and Play. SCP is designed to seamlessly extend the capabilities and usage scenarios for UPnP networks to networks and devices not capable of supporting TCP/IP networking, such as low speed PLC networks commonly used for home control. SCP, together with UPnP, will enable consumers to control their entire home from one logical network, including all device types; from the simplest smart devices, like light switches, to the most sophisticated consumer electronic devices. In addition, SCP devices will use standard UPnP device models, resulting in seamless interoperability between UPnP and SCP devices and services on networks of any media type. This close relationship between SCP and UPnP ensures that any SCP device is Internet ready.""SCP leverages the open, Internet-based UPnP strategy to very low cost devices,"" said Jon Devaan, Senior Vice President, Consumer Group. ""SCP is a market enabler that allows UPnP to encompass a complete spectrum of household products."" SCP, developed with feedback and collaboration of industry leaders, will enable convergence and interoperability of the existing CEBusÆ standard/ Home Plug & Playô specification. The CEBus Industry Council has voted unanimously to converge home control efforts with UPnP and SCP. In addition SMART LLC and Domosys Corporation, leading manufacturers of integrated home control products with considerable expertise in the CEBus standard and Home Plug & Play specification, will be key contributors in enabling convergence around SCP. ""SCP is a major breakthrough for the home control industry and will accelerate innovation of new and exciting products,"" said Herman Cardenas, President/CEO and Founder, SMART LLC. ""By converging existing standards into SCP we will remove confusion in the marketplace and provide our customers with greater confidence because CEBus products today will work with SCP products in the future.""ITRAN, Mitsubishi, and Domosys are actively developing SCP-enabled power line carrier networking chips. With SCP embedded in an inexpensive networking chip, manufacturers can rapidly build and bring to market devices with power line networking and the SCP protocol built-in. The first implementation of SCP will be available embedded in a power line networking chip, available next year. Domosys will also provide tools and support services to developers and manufacturers intent on integrating SCP and UPnP into their devices. For a list of SCP supporters, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/homenet/scp.

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http://www.microsoft.com/homenet/scp