Comments on: One-Net Open Source Software Ready For Wireless Home Automation

By: VCs Hope to See Wi-Fi Everywhere - GigaOM

VCs Hope to See Wi-Fi Everywhere - GigaOM — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:14:51 +0000

[...] The number of Wi-Fi chips sold is expected to top 1 billion this year, up from more than 200 million sold in 2006, according to data from ABI Research. Beyond computers, WiFi-enabled televisions, set-top boxes and cars are entering the market. That’s good news for those backing the standard, but it could pose a problem for the multiple startups betting on different wireless standards for connecting computers to peripherals, transmitting wireless video and managing home-automation networks. [...]

By: Neil Cherry

Neil Cherry — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:56:18 +0000

Sorry for being late to the party and I have to keep this short as I'm in the middle of sever things.

First let me say that the Linux Home Automation project isn't based on X10 as much as were stuck with X10. X10 is a terrible protocol (it hasn't aged gracefully) and today we need a lot more from out home automation protocols. On the power line side we have Insteon and UPB. On the wireless side we have Z-Wave, ZigBee and I really hope we see Open-Net. I have some nice TI ez430 dev boards that I may attempt to implement using Open-Net. Also I'd like to add that Bluetooth may have it's place in all this mess and may not overlap the other wireless protocols (though there are a lot of areas where it does).

I think we'll always see a mix of wired protocols (power line technology and wired ethernet) and wireless protocols (WiFi, Bluetooth and ZigBee).

By: Vanessa

Vanessa — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:53:28 +0000

I think cheaper wireless networking product would be a sure hit. In the future even traditional items that are wired would become unwired. The reason is simple. People tend to depend on machines more on their healthy limbs. If the whole house gets automated, I don't have to leave the chair to turn of the TV, open the door, turn on the microwave...you think anybody would refuse that? If people can afford it, they are sure to welcome it.

Vanessa @ Future trends in automation

By: Gp

Gp — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 16:24:14 +0000

have you heard about established X10 protocol(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X10_(industry_standard)) which is a industry standard has numerous products and open source projects based on it like Linux Home Automation and others http://sourceforge.net/search/?words=X10&type_of_search=soft&pmode=0&words=X10&Search=Search

By: Pat Hurley

Pat Hurley — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:55:30 +0000

I agree, Stacey, that it's quite possible none of the existing standards will be widely adopted. I'd say, however, that energy management is a big driver in this market that COULD make or break one of these standards -- if a critical mass of PUCs, utilities and related vendors (like thermostat manufacturers) actually follow through on their many stated plans to install "smart" meters, thermostats, etc.

If this doesn't happen, I'm not sure that the home automation market will get past the fractured lack of standards that has hampered mainstream adoption of these products for what seems like forever...