The company responsible for drafting theZ-Wavehome networking standard has made certain parts of the technology publicly available.
In an attempt to lure hardware and software developers to the standard,Sigma Designslast week released apublic versionof Z-Wave’s interoperability layer, which ensures that devices ranging from door locks to security cameras can share information.
The company has added the software to Z-Wave'sopen-source library。代码代表了“语言”来定义how devices from different manufacturers talk to each other, said Raoul Wijgergangs, vice president of Sigma Design’s Z-Wave business. That makes it easier for home owners to connect devices with an internet gateway and control them remotely using a phone, computer, or tablet.
Z-Wave is also a wireless technology for creating mesh networks. In these networks, every device acts like a repeater that bounces wireless signals around a house or building. That method of skipping wireless signals between devices results in low power consumption, allowing devices to work for years without needing to replace batteries.
Sigma Designs also released a pair of APIs for making internet gateways, so that devices can send information – whether you left your garage door open, for example – with the cloud. The full specification behind Z-Wave’s security software is also available to the public, the company said.
With the code’s publication, software developers and hobbyists can teach devices the Z-Wave language with fewer restrictions. They are no longer forced to sign nondisclosure agreements with the Z-Wave Alliance, the industry group that maintains the standard, or buy a Z-Wave development kit.
Sigma Designs is the latest company to release public software in an effort to lure developers to its particular brand of home automation. Z-Wave contends with a wide range of other technologies for connecting devices to each other and the internet. But if the public version hits the mark, it could increase the number of devices using Z-Wave.
Z-Wave有一个健康的开始。Z-Wave Alliance的认证已有1,500多个设备，其中包括350家公司，包括Honeywell和Bosch，其中包括其成员。
但是其他无线技术并不是坐在场上。蓝牙和Wi-Fi正在不断发展，以减少功率并创建网络网络，而Home Automation（如Thread和Zigbee）所独有的其他标准也已获得接受。
There has been much talk in the consumer electronics industry about how closed standards are stunting the growth of smart appliances and other household devices. And attempts have been made to remedy that fragmentation: The Allseen Alliance and Open Connectivity Foundation have both released software for linking smart home devices. In May, the smart home division of Google parent Alphabet, Nest Labs, turned outa public version线程网络网络协议的。
