Amazon, Google, Apple participation, smart home common standard formulation - what will happen to Japan?

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Incompatibility Hindering the Popularization of Smart Homes

Home appliances and lighting that can be operated from smartphones and PCs and automatically controlled according to the temperature and sunlight are the introduction of smart home technology. realizable. Devices that can be accessed via the Internet can also make life easier, such as automatically turning on the air conditioner just before you get home.

Such a smart home lacks technology that can be called standard. There are only several proprietary technologies from major vendors that are widely used. Due to the incompatibility between these technologies, some smart home appliances cannot be controlled from this smart speaker, or they have trouble setting up to be able to operate them. This is an obstacle to the spread of smart homes.

If industry-standard communication standards and APIs are established and many vendors support them, this problem will be solved. However, it is difficult in reality because every vendor wants to surround themselves with their own technology and acquire a large market share.

On the other hand, there is a movement to remove the barriers between each technology and ensure the interconnectivity of smart home products. A working group "Project Connected Home over IP" was launched. Participating members include the Zigbee Alliance, a standardization organization for communication standards for IoT devices, as well as companies such as Amazon, Google, and Apple, which have great power in the smart home market. This is likely to become a driving force for the standardization of smart home-related technologies.

Working Group for Interconnection

Let's take a look at Project Connected Home over IP.

What is the purpose of the activity?

According to the Zigbee Alliance press release, Project Connected Home over IP aims to develop standard specifications for open smart home devices. It is trying to define rules for interacting with various smart home-related devices, applications, cloud services, etc. on the IP of the Internet protocol.

Once these standards are complete, compatible devices and services will be easy to connect and work with. Manufacturers will not be tied to a specific vendor, making it easier to develop their business. Consumers will be able to build smart homes without the hassle of checking compatibility. Google likens the ease of connectivity through compatibility to "plug and play, like USB."

There is no doubt that this is a big advantage for the smart home market.

Open Source, Royalty Free, Security

Development of standard specifications will proceed in an open source manner. Also, the completed specifications will be provided royalty-free, which should be helpful when providing devices and services for smart homes.

In addition, it is said that the specifications will be formulated with security in mind from the beginning. Since it is a smart home that is pointed out to be lax about security, it can appeal to those who want to introduce it if this weakness is eliminated, and it will gain momentum.

Outline of the specification in late 2020

No detailed development schedule has been made public, but we hope to release a draft specification in late 2020 and provide an early implementation example. and

According to the CNBC report, the specific application range includes fire alarms, carbon monoxide (CO) sensors, smart doors, smart locks, security systems, electrical outlets, window shades, air conditioning, etc. , targeting home security. After that, the company plans to expand to other fields and commercial solutions.

The starting point is an existing technology that has already been put into practical use

The working group will start with an existing technology that has already been put into practical use, make necessary improvements, and formulate specifications.

Based on technologies from Amazon, Google, and Apple

As existing technologies, they plan to use technologies for smart homes from Amazon, Google, Apple, and the Zigbee Alliance, which have already proven themselves in the market. Of course, compatibility with voice assistant functions such as Amazon's "Alexa", Google's "Assistant", and Apple's "Siri" will also be ensured. It also leverages data models used by existing systems such as Amazon's Alexa Smart Home, Google's Weave, Apple's HomeKit, and Zigbee Alliance's Dotdot.

However, it does not use the "Zigbee 3.0/Pro" protocol, it is based on IP. And enable communication via wireless LAN (Wi-Fi), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and mobile networks. As a vendor-specific network technology, Google's low-power mesh network protocol "Thread" is also mentioned.

Source: Google / Project Connected Home over IP

Technologies of member companies

Project Connected Home over IP is joined by a number of prominent companies such as Amazon, Google, and Apple. Other companies include IKEA, which provides smart home appliances, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), Samsung SmartThings, Legrand, and NXP Semiconductors, which makes semiconductors for smart home appliances. (NXP Semiconductors, formerly Philips Semiconductors) and Schneider Electric were mentioned.

Although not specifically mentioned in the press release, there is a possibility that the existing technologies of these member companies will be incorporated into the specifications.

Source: Project Connected Home over IP / Project Connected Home over IP

Expectations for the smart home market continue to grow

Project Connected Home over IP brought together leading companies because of the high expectations for the smart home market.

The global market will exceed $100 billion in 2019

According to an IDC study, global shipments of smart home-related devices in 2019 were just under 815 million units, up 23.5% year-on-year. % increase. It is predicted that the market will increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.4% until 2023, exceeding 1.39 billion units in 2023.

In addition, consumer spending on smart home-related hardware, services, and installation services will reach $103 billion in 2019 and $103 billion in 2023, according to a survey by Strategy Analytics. 157 billion dollars (approximately 17,175.8 billion yen), with a CAGR of 11% during that period.

Source: Strategy Analytics / Global Smart Home Market to Surpass ＄100 Billion in 2019

In this way, the smart home market is expected to expand rapidly in the future.

A dark cloud over the domestic smart home market?

Looking at the companies participating in Project Connected Home over IP and the underlying technologies, there are major vendors that have already captured a large share of the smart home market. It seems that the purpose is to standardize the company's existing technology and solidify the foundation of the current situation.

What bothers me is that I can't find the name of a Japanese company. Since standard specifications are formulated based on existing technology, it is difficult for Japanese companies that did not participate at the time of the launch to reflect their advanced technology in the specifications. Companies developing smart home devices and related services in Japan may follow Project Connected Home over IP member platformers. If specifications that do not match the housing situation in Japan are decided, even expansion of the domestic smart home market cannot be expected.

In addition to collecting information to keep up with the movement of Project Connected Home over IP, it is necessary to take measures such as participating in activities at an early stage.