Technology firms form 'OIC' to promote interoperability

Samsung, Intel, Atmel, Broadcom, Dell and Wind River have been listed among firms which have decided to form a development group with a plan to improve interoperability and to define the connectivity requirements for the billions of devices that will make up the Internet of Things (IoT). The group to be known as Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) aims to define connection standards that will ensure interoperability of devices including PCs, smartphones, wearables and industrial appliances. In a release by Samsung Electronics today, the group said "The OIC is focused on defining a common communications framework based on industry-standard technologies to wirelessly connect and intelligently manage the flow of information among personal computing and emerging IoT devices, regardless of form factor, operating system or service provider." The specifications could make it simple to remotely control and receive notifications from smart home appliances or enterprise devices using securely provisioned smartphones, tablets or PCs. Possible consumer solutions include the ability to remotely control household systems to save money and conserve energy Member companies will contribute software and engineering resources to the development of a protocol specification, open source implementation, and a certification program, all with a view of accelerating the development of the IoT.