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TheImportanceofOpennesstothe
InternetofThings
ByJackM.Germain
Sep10,20145:57PMPT

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Consumerstodayareinanawkwardposition.Personalprivacyisbeingwiped
outbytheInternet.Atthesametime,newtechnologiesthatinterconnectour
deviceswithourhomesandofficeenvironmentsareofferingstupendous
advantages.
WelcometotheInternetofThings'newworldof
openness."Openness"meanssomethingdifferent
dependingonwhetheryou'rebaskingintheconvenience
ofallthingsconnectedorcontributingtothemonetized
cashflowthatconnectedproductpurveyorsgetfrom
yourpersonalinformation.
Inthisworld,opennessispittedagainstprivacy.Thatis
thepriceconsumerspayfortheconvenienceoflifewith
theInternetofThings.
Let'ssetasidetherealitythatconsumerprivacymustgivewaytocontrolled
opennessforIoTtechnologytowork.Fromatechnologystandpoint,let'sshift
thefocusfromconsumerprivacytotheneedtoshareprotocolsamongproduct
makersintheinterestofIoTinterconnectivity.
Thatistheagreementnotquiteworkedoutyetamongmanufacturers.Perhaps
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thereisadoublestandardinvolved.Productmakershavelittleworryabout
monetizingthepersonaldetailsofusersoftheirconnectedproducts.However,
thosesamemanufacturersarenotyetfullycommittedtothelevelofopenness
theIoTneedsinordertoallowproductstogetalong.
"Iamseeingalotofneedintheindustryforagreeingtoasystemofopenness
butIdonotseemuchcooperationsettingin,"saidRiccardoMazzurco,headof
strategyandbusinessdevelopmentforLinkYourThings.
"Muchofthisproprietaryinfightingistheresultofindustrialpolitics,"hetold
LinuxInsider.

NoAgeofCooperation
FortheIoTtoadvancetothenextlevel,productmakersmustaccepttheneed
forinteroperabilitytotakedominanceoverprotectingproprietaryinformation.
Otherwise,onemanufacturer'sblackboxwillnotinterconnectwithsomeother's
whiteorgraybox.
Takeproductinventoryforhomeautomation.Consumerswanttoremotely
controllights,interiorclimatesettings,entertainmentcontrols,andhousehold
alarmsandsensors.Ifconsumersmustdealwithmanufacturerlockin,how
likelyisitthatproductswillmoveoffshelves?
Justtoturnadeviceonandoff,youneedaccesstotheapplicationprogramming
interfaceandthecloud.Thatinvolvesmachinetomachineprotocols.
"Theprocessofswitchingalightonoroffremotelybecomesacrazyproblem.
Thenumberofcombinationsisalmostinfinite.TheprocessofturningonanIP
camerainvolvesreplacingasimplecableconnectionwithhundredsofEthernet
protocols.Thiscreatesamess,"Mazzurcosaid.

GrowingMarket
Homeautomationproductsmightbeoneofthemostconsumersoughtproduct
linestodayforuseovertheInternet.Consumersalreadyaresoldontheconcept
ofusinganapptocontroltheirlivingenvironmentsovertheInternetviaa
smartphone,tabletorlaptop.
SmarthomesarenottheonlyareapluggingintotheInternetforremoteaccess
andinterconnectability.Smartgrids,smartmetersandconnectedcarsare
becomingsynonymouswiththeInternetofThings.Consumers'appetitesforall
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thingsIoTarebecominginsatiable.
Therearemorethan2.5billionconnecteddevicestoday,Gartnerestimated.By
2020,therewillbesome28billionmore.Ifmanufacturersdonotagreeto
sharingtheirsecrets,consumerswillfeedelsewhere.
"Marketsdecidethestandards.Whenthemanufacturersplaytoomanygames,
themarketdecides,"saidMazzurco.

SmartStuff
Thesmarthomeproductlineisnotanewmarket.Automationhasbeena
thrivingmarketfor25yearsforthosewhocouldaffordit.
LinkYourThingshaswhatcouldbecomeasolutionforproprietaryinfightingon
theIoThighway.ThecompanyrecentlylaunchedALYT,anewsmarthome
managementdevice,throughIndiegogo.Theplatformisbuiltontheopen
Androidoperatingsystem.
Theproduct'sdevelopersseethisnewlineasanopportunityforthewhole
developermarket.TheirplanistobuildanALYTstoresimilartotheApple
storeconceptsothatdeveloperscancreateandsellappsfortheplatform.
Beingopenmakesiteasyfordeveloperstotakeadvantageoftheconcept.Ease
ofintegrationwiththisAndroidbasedsystemalsojustledtoanewpartnership
withEGlas,whichoffersavoicecommandsystemsothatdisabledpeoplecan
livesafelyandindependentlyintheirhomes,accordingtoMazzurco.
Thesystem,integratedwithALYT,alsowillbeofferedtoretirementfacilitiesto
keeppeopleasindependentaspossibletheretoo.ALYTisthefirstAndroid
based,doityourselfsmarthomemanagementplatform.

TheOpennessOverture
AnothermanufacturerbuyingintotheopennessmovementisDataArt.The
companydevelopscustomsoftwareforselectindustries.Itrecentlyannounced
itsopensourceM2MframeworkDeviceHive.
Theframework,whichisanIoTcommsplatform,isdesignedtoallowdevelopers
tofocusonbuildingIoTappswithouthavingtofocusonthefoundationlayer
technology.Thatwillencourageinnovation,enablingtheIoTtomoveforwardat
afasterclip.
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"DeviceHivewillbeabletoenergizetheIoTbydecreasingprototypingand
developmentcostsfornewdevices,"ArtyomAstafurov,chiefinnovationofficer
atDataArt,toldLinuxInsider.

HelpingtheCause
Essentially,developerswillnothavetoredoanyplumbing.Fortheusersofthis
solution,thisismakingthedevelopmentprocessmoreagile,Astafurovsaid.
Theprocessallowsthemtoputtogetherdifferentpiecesoftechnologythatsolve
specificproblemsinlesstime.Thislowersthebarrierstoentryfornewplayers
inthemarket,heexplained.
"Forexample,ifyouwanttoborrowanideafromthenextbigthinginwearables
andswitchitovertochasingthesuccessofNestThermostatusingDeviceHive,
theunderlyingcommunicationsandprotocolswouldessentiallybethesame,"
notedAstafurov.

SecuringanOpenIoT
Suchbusinessventurescouldgoalongwaytowardbringingaboutopennessin
theIoT.ThataddstotheIoT'spotentialtocreatenewbusiness,aswellasboost
productivityandconvenience.
Thatsaid,opennessalsoisneededtohelpITprofessionalskeeptheIoTsecure.
AnotherrealityisthatonceadeviceisconnectedtotheInternet,someonewill
trytohackit.
Withnewdevicesproliferating,itistimetotakeadifferentapproach.Defensein
depthistheonlywaytofullysecuretheIoT,JoergHirschmann,CTOofNCP
Engineering,toldLinuxInsider.
"DefenseindepthfortheIoTincludesimplementingtechnologiessuchasVPNs
virtualprivatenetworks,whichhavebeeninstrumentalinsecuringM2M
communicationsforsometimenowencryption,keymanagement[and]
accesscontrol."

NotWideOpen
TheIoThasthepotentialtotransformpeoples'lives.However,IoTequipment
andsoftwarehavetobedesignedfromthestartwithsecurityinmind,
Hirschmannsaid.
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Thattransformationwillnotoccurifsecurityislefttoindividualproductmakers.
Thatapproachhasnotworkedwellsofar,withcurrentmobiledeviceand
Internetsecurityefforts.SecuringtheIoTwillrequireacommitmentto
opennessamongmanufacturers.
Productmakershavetoconsiderhoweachcomponentisbeingused.Theyalso
mustconsiderthetypeofdatathatwillbecommunicatedandwhichconnections
willbemade.Lastly,manufacturersmusttakeintoaccountwhowillhaveaccess
tothedata,saidHirschmann.

OpenbutApart
Obviously,everymanufacturerispushingforproprietarystandardsbutthere
isnoreasonforhavingyourhomecontrolsdifferentfromyourphone,Mazzurco
said.
Forexample,onyourphoneyouneedanapptodosometask.Youvisittheapp
storeandmakeaselection.Youchoosefromsome20possibilitiesthatareuser
rated.Youknowhowmanypeopledownloadedit.Youcanreadthereviews.
"Theprocessshouldnotbedifferentforasmarthome,"suggestedMazzurco."It
shouldnotbebasedonhavingaparticularphone.Theproblemisthemarket
mentality.Itneedstocatchup."

RipeforNonCooperation
Thehomeautomationmarketisagoodexampleofhowopennessquicklycanbe
shutout,warnedMazzurco.Forexample,GoogleandAppleprobablyarelooking
attheIoTmarketanddiscoveringthatmaybe90percenthavenoautomation.
Theyarerealizingthatitisahugemarket,andtheywanttobethereevenif
theyarenotwanted,heobserved.
GooglehadvoicedsomeinterestinanAndroiddeviceforthehome,butthatdid
notmaterialize.Applehaswhatisbasicallyablackboxthatisnotopen,
Mazzurconoted.
"Toomanycompaniestryingtoopenthemarketarepushingtheirown
platforms.Itisnotopentechnologytoeveryone.Theproductsarestillinthe
proprietaryrealm,"hesaid.

ABetterWay
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Creatinganecosystemthatwillallowallconsumerstoconnecttoanyhome
automationproductistheconceptLinkYourThingsispromoting.Usersofany
smartphoneplatformcanaccessanappthatwillconnecttowhicheverblackbox
isinstalledintheirhomeautomationproduct.
"Itisalittlebitcomplicated.Itlookslikewearesellingabox,"saidMazzurco.
"WeneededanAndroiddeviceandanAndroidapp,butitwasnotavailableon
themarket."
Withinoneyear,LinkYourThings'applicationwillbecopiedfiveor10times,he
predicted.ItisbuiltonAndroidandwillhaveanormalizationlayerorAPIatthe
leveloftheapp.Thatiswhatthecompanywillsellasaservicewhenever
manufacturersmakeanAndroidcompatibledevice.
"Thismeansthatyouwillnothaveoneremoteboxforeachhouseautomation
task:heat,lights,A/C,alarms,etc.Youwillhaveonesingledevice.Youwill
downloadthecontrolappsfromtheappstoreforwhatyouneed.Thiswillenable
peopletocreateanynumberofhomecontrolservices,"Mazzurcoexplained.

BreakingtheMold
Wheretheindustryisrightnowonlyallowsconsumerstobuyallofthese
proprietaryislandsofproductsforallofthedifferentautomationproducts.
Changingthatisessentiallythemissionofthevariousalliancesthataretryingto
getcooperationamongtheproprietaryproductmakerstousecommon
standards,saidHirschmann.
"Otherwise,productswillonlyworkoncertainplatforms.Weneedacommon
systemusingthesamegroundlevelprotocols.Otherwise,youcannothaveone
controlconsolethatwillhookupallofthedisparateautomationsystems,"he
said.
Manufacturersmustforgeopennessthatwillallowconsumerstosecurely
connecttotheInternetofThings,Hirschmannmaintained,but"Ithinkwestill
havesomedistancetogothere."
JackM.GermainhasbeenwritingaboutcomputertechnologysincetheearlydaysoftheAppleIIandthePC.He
stillhashisoriginalIBMPCJrandafewotherlegacyDOSandWindowsboxes.Heleftsharewareprograms
behindfortheopensourceworldoftheLinuxdesktop.HerunsseveralversionsofWindowsandLinuxOSesand
oftencannotdecidewhethertograbhistablet,netbookorAndroidsmartphoneinsteadofusinghisdesktopor
laptopgear.YoucanconnectwithhimonGoogle+.

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