The companies have teamed up to create a new connectivity standard, which should make it a lot easier to link up your smart gadgets in the future.
Dubbed ‘Project Connected Home over IP’, this new super-group will pool its resources to create a standard that’s both open-source and royalty-free. This should mean that developing and using smart tech at home gets a lot easier.
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One of the main issues with the current generation of smart gadgets in the home is that different brands don’t always play nicely together. For example, Nest lightbulbs aren’t going to work well with a Hive hub any time soon, and vice versa.
It can be pretty frustrating for consumers when they have to confine themselves to one brand for this reason – but it’s also difficult for developers to create things that will work with every single smart gadget out there. This new project is hoping to change all that.
In a statement on its blog, Google said “Developers and consumers will benefit from this new universal smart home connectivity standard. For developers, it simplifies product development and reduces costs by giving them one standard for building their products. You will then have the power to choose how you want to control your homes, independent of which smart home technology you choose.”
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When it’s up and running, the connectivity standard will be compatible with all platforms, so you should be able to use whichever voice-activated assistant you prefer.
The group will be managed by the Zigbee Alliance – an open standard foundation – and joined by its big-name board members, which include IKEA, Samsung SmartThings, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting) and Silicon Labs. At present, the group is welcoming device manufacturers, silicon providers, and other developers to help build the new standard.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
