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Led By Nest, 'Thread' Might Be Most Promising IoT Initiative Yet
An anonymous reader writes Nest, Big A%@ Fans, Yale door locks, ARM, Freescale, Samsung and Silicon Labs launch the Thread Group, a standards initiative for using 6LoWPAN-based network technology with mesh capabilities optimized for home automation. Because it blends IPv6 with low-power 802.15.4 radios, a layer of security, peer-to-peer communications, and other special sauce for whole-house connectivity, Thread looks extremely promising in an increasingly crowded field. Plus, millions of units of enabled products are already deployed by way of Nest's little-known Weave technology.
There's a press release. Thread is based on open technology, but it's not clear that the protocol specifications will be available for non-members. No hardware changes are required for devices with 802.15.4 radios, and the group claims the new protocol fixes enough flaws in existing standards (mostly ZigBee) to be worth the software upgrade. Promises include increased reliability (mesh network with multiple routing points), lower power use (by not requiring sensors to wake up for traffic from other sensors), and easier bridging between the mesh network and Internet (thanks to using IPv6).
Would someone like to translate the summary into english?
" and other special sauce "
Is this open sauce or propriety like whats on KFC
http://www.bigassfans.com/
They are actually quite a successful and respected company.
The 'insecure-device-to-internet-attachment-protocol' field is crowded with nominally standard and/or standards-based flavors, generally not the sort that play well together, each with its own acronym soup, optimistic vender coalition, and lofty promises. Does this one have anything going for it aside from the installed base of Nest thermostats?
Seriously? There is a business called 'Big Ass Fans'?
I don't want to live on this planet anymore.
Some donkeys get quite hot - they're filling a niche
One protocol to supervise them all, One mesh to find them
One protocol to bring them in, and in the darkness bind them.
In Mountain View, where the Shadows lie.
(Hey, sorry. It's early.)
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
The fact that there IS a business called "Big Ass Fans" actually makes me want to live on this planet - at least for a little longer.
Obligatory really old XKCD: http://xkcd.com/37/
I'm all for automation and I think it looks promising.
What I don't want to see are solutions that are dependent on outside resources (for example SIRI on the iPhone, it has to use a connected server to do what it does), I prefer to see solutions that are autonomous, inclusive and complete without the need for Internet or an outside server (unless you choose to do so)
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
...have you seen their fans? http://cdn2.bigassfans.com/images/BAF-Dairy1.jpg
I don't think there is another accurate way to describe them. other than, 'whoa, that is a big ass fan!'
The basic sleazeware produced in a drunken fury by a bunch of UCBerkeley grad students was still the core of BIND. --PV
This isnt an article summary, its a cry for help. Clearly op is choking on a viscous combination of scrabble letters and entropy from /dev/random
also...its Slashdot. im fairly certain the word "Ass" is probably the most welcoming explitive most of us will have the privilege of experiencing this afternoon.
Good people go to bed earlier.
The press release and the website talk about banking class security, and things like Thread closes identified security holes found in other wireless protocols and provides worry-free operation.. But what I see is that every product in this wireless mesh network is a potential point of access from outside, and must be up-dateable if you are going to maintain a current "best practices" of threat mediation - which IMHO is going to be a security maintenance nightmare. So what am I missing?
And that's not even considering things like a DOS attack by firing a high-powered radio signal at your target.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
http://xkcd.com/927/
I use UPB (kinda like X10 v2). It's still wired, but every device serves as a repeater, so signal strength shouldn't be an issue. It's pretty easy to program (I had an app turning lights on and off in about an hour).
The "Internet of Things" is a giant clusterfuck of proprietary "standards" that change with almost every hardware generation, and devices that talks to outside servers whether you want them to or not. It makes home entertainment remotes look good in comparison. I for one won't be buying any of this stuff until that's sorted out.
"When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
"He knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake,
he knows when you will leave the house, so make sure your jewels are fake."
Google Claws already has your data - no need to "access from outside"
Nest sends it to the server at home cloudbase so the server can crunch the data to tell Nest what to do.
Just one bad elf out of the list with access to that data, and it will be sold to grinches everywhere.
Oh and that list includes Google as well as NSA elves.
exactly why use a perfectly good standard when you can create a new one that only you and your closest friends can exploit (for a while)
The nice thing about a LoWPAN network is that it can effectively stay up forever within its confined area. The problem with it is that it can go rogue if it comes in contact with a green-eyed girl, and it is quite susceptible to attacks from wisecracking truckers, and any hacker with access to a seven-demon bag.
There's a big ass fan at a local BBQ joint - Buz & Ned's. The thing is monstrous.
Tiller's Rule: Never use a word in written form that you've only heard and never read. You will end up looking foolish.
One flaw is the lack of standards on the device level: how do light switches, dimmers, thermostats, locks, etc work together? Z-Wave defines a high level protocol for this and has a certification programme to ensure that devices work nicely together, but even so, interoperability is still hit and miss, especially for anything that goes beyond basic on/off stuff. ZigBee is starting to address this shortcoming, with the LightLink standard for instance, but there's still a long way to go.
One thing I am extremely suspicious about is the remark about the need for a central hub being a weakness. For one, you need a hub in order to add any sort of intelligence to your home automation setup. Without a hub you are not building a smart home, you're just doing remote control. Then, they mention the fact that existing technologies such as Zigbee and Z-wave are not easily married to the Internet. Well, with a hub you do not really need them to; for remote access, you tunnel into the hub or you use a gateway service that you can more or less trust.
Having/needing a hub is not a weakness, it ensures that you retain control over your local network. My fear is that for Thread there somehow will not be a local hub; it'll be in the Cloud, and subject to being raped for data 6 ways from Sunday.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Pricey, what do they offer in terms of real-world savings? $990 for a house fan is going to be a steep hill to climb in the Lowes/Home Depot retail space.
Better not tell him about the coca-cola cocaine name connection, he might jump off a bridge.