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World's Smallest IPv6 Stack By Cisco, Atmel, SICS

Posted by timothy on from the is-beautiful dept.

B Rog writes "Cisco, Atmel, and the Swedish Institute of Computer Science have released uIPv6, the world's smallest IPv6 compliant IPv6 stack, as open source for the Contiki embedded operating system. The intent is to bring IP addresses to the masses by giving devices such as thermometers or lightbulbs an IPv6 stack. With a code size of 11 kilobytes and a dynamic memory usage of less than 2 kilobytes (yes, kilobytes!), it certainly fits the bill of the ultra-low-power microcontrollers typically used in such devices. When every lightbulb has an IP address, the vast address range of IPv6 sounds like a pretty good idea."

4 of 287 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Lightbulb on the internet? by stoanhart · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So your standard $50 DVD player can dim the lights in your living room when a movie starts?

    That's just one example of hundreds of little features that become trivial when everything in your house (not just bulbs) has a data connection.

  2. Lightbulb? by EdIII · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Not everything needs an IP address. That's just silly.

    There is still the rather big issue of security. I don't think it has been addressed to anyone's satisfaction yet. Certainly not mine.

    Right now the worst somebody could do is take out my computer. I could deal with that, given enough time and resources. However, dealing with the loss of my computer requires "light" and "coffee". You take that away from me and I am really screwed. Without my computer I am bereft of all the wonderful porn on the internet. Of course, I have a backup plan that involves a rather large library of tapes and magazines. Once again, I still need light!

    Put IP addresses in light bulbs and other appliances and you risk a natural disaster creating a large population of pissed off men in the dark unable to "relieve their stress".

    How's that for a "Ripple of Evil"?

    1. Re:Lightbulb? by cavtroop · · Score: 4, Interesting

      How about more nefarious things, like home heating/cooling systems. Power outlets that heart monitors are plugged into. Space heaters, electrical closets.

      Kill the power to the fridge. Damn, there goes $400 worth of food. Turn on someones microwave while they are on vacation, and they come back to a $500 electric bill.

      Not to mention the worry about botnets. Right now, they number in the millions. If every appliance can suddenly participate, it'll be billions.

      No thanks, you can keep my appliances/lights/furnaces/toiletpaper off the net. Thanks, k, bye.

  3. Actually that's a pretty good idea by wandazulu · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Laugh if you will, but a light bulb with an IP address would be a good idea for an environment which has thousands and thousands of them. Any industrial plant, stadium, etc., would probably benefit from being able to generate a report based on pinging each bulb to see which responded and which didn't, and to change the ones that didn't.

    One place I think this could really be useful is an airport...think of all those lights everywhere, scattered about the runways and taxiways.