Everything from thermostats, light bulbs, and smartphones would be able to talk wirelessly with each other using a new software language that the makers of ZigBee, the popular wireless standard for linking household devices, revealed on Tuesday.
The new language, which is called dotdot, is the latest attempt at desegregating Internet of Things devices, which still have trouble talking to devices built by different manufacturers or with different radio technology. The software, or application layer, aims to be a universal language that all devices can understand, whether they use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, or other networks.
That contrasts with the current process of sending information through an internet gateway to the cloud, where it can be translated for different gadgets, like a Nest Labs security camera and a door lock developed with ZigBee. With a universal language like dotdot, the two devices could talk to each other directly.
The language is not completely new. It is just the latest brand for an application layer formerly known as the ZigBee Cluster Library, which has been used to connect the roughly 100 million devices shipped with ZigBee.
But the ZigBee Alliance behind the standard wants to make dotdot more generally useable. The application layer will include new specifications and a certification program. According to a statement, the first products are expected to be certified in late 2017.
“Recognizing the value of the evolving application layer that has been the core language of ZigBee devices for over a decade, market leaders within the alliance have come together to transform it into a universal language for the IoT,” said Tobin Richardson, the chief executive of the ZigBee Alliance, in a statement.
但是现在，除非被抛弃其他申请层，否则它将无法与其他方式合作。芯片供应商和设备制造商之间有许多竞争计划，以起草类似的普通语言。10月，全部联盟和开放式连接基金会 - 两个最大的标准团体与成员一样Intel,Samsung, andQualcomm.– said that they would create an industry standard under the name IoTivity.
It is also not clear what other wireless technologies it might work with eventually. A spokeswoman for the ZigBee Alliance didn’t respond to a request for additional information.
要开始，ZigBee Alliance正在努力在线程上提前实施，它使用与ZigBee相同的底层技术。当ZigBee Alliance同意与Thread组共享其软件语言库时，努力悄悄地始于2014年与许多同一成员建立。
The first results of that partnership are being displayed at CES, formerly known as the Consumer Electronics Show, in Las Vegas this week. The companies that will show dotdot products includeOsram Opto半导体,NXP Semiconductors,Schneider Electric, and硅实验室。
