Articles and whitepapers

The Future of Automation with Web Services for Devices (WSD) (3/1/2008)

By Peter Brown, Life|ware

You've very likely been hearing about the 'new day in home automation' for a number of years now - the promise of a digital lifestyle in which not only could you enjoy any digital content on any device from anywhere within your home, but also a home that can intuitively react to your presence and instinctively optimise the performance of your climate control systems, lighting, security systems and more.

That day is in fact here, and home automation is rapidly progressing and maturing as more companies and product categories add their digital, networkable devices to the home equation. Implementation of these systems will only accelerate because of a new push towards open protocols and standards-based systems. Home automation and entertainment has long been a proprietary play, but now that open systems such as my company's Life|ware platform are gaining in prominence, the options for installers and end users in terms of what brands, models and categories of products they can connect and get to communicate with each other, are more plentiful than ever before.

Life|ware display for lighting control throughout the home.

I like to think of a system such as Life|ware, as software for the well-considered life. Because it is standards-based, it is flexible and scalable enough to dovetail with each homeowner's individual lifestyle. As such, it isn't technology informing the homeowner's actions, but rather the homeowner's actions are informing technology.

Web Services for Devices (WSD)

The Web Services for Devices standard makes this possible. You've probably heard something about Web Services, which is currently the predominant computing paradigm that runs Internet powerhouses such as e-Bay and Amazon. The Device Profile for Web Services applies the benefits of this lightweight protocol to devices controlled over Ethernet. Not only do Web Services provide direct, simple control of devices, but it also makes these dynamically discoverable. Plug a Web Services-enabled lighting system into the network, for example, and systems such as Life|ware can see it instantly. As a result, installers spend much less time than ever setting up systems in their clients' homes. What's more, the systems can be supported and maintained remotely, meaning fewer callbacks, fewer truck rolls and more peace of mind.

Web Services for Devices also lets installers focus on setting up systems exactly as customers want them, to deliver on their 'well-considered' choices. The doorbell rings? Up come the security cameras. More than a quarter-inch of rain? Cancel the morning watering. Leave for work at eight? Dial the heat down at that time. Get an email or text message at work when the kids get home from school and disarm the security system. Any system event can be used to trigger any other. The variations are limitless.

Life|ware display showing climate control in the living room.

Web Services for Devices enables Life|ware to control an incredible number of products and systems - at last count, more than 158 models from 52 vendors spanning the full spectrum of cost and complexity, including market leaders in every category. We began by writing device bridges that translated whatever (usually proprietary) protocol a device used, into a standard Web Service Device. Today, we help companies build Web Services directly into their products. And with Web Services for Devices natively supported in Windows Vista, there is critical mass behind the movement.

The Windows Media Center platform

A natural extension of our embrace of openness comes from the fact that our software resides on the Windows Media Center platform, which is a far more ubiquitous platform than any home automation and entertainment system has ever before leveraged. We believe a homeowner's digital entertainment should be readily accessible from the same interface as their home control is. In a truly digital lifestyle, entertainment and automation/control are one and the same. Through Web Services and Windows Media Center, Life|ware is able to provide all of the homeowner's digital content on demand, with complete home control, on multiple devices - a complete system, designed, installed and implemented with speed.

Windows Vista music library display.

It is exactly this kind of innovation that's possible when you live in an all-digital world. The number and variety of ways we can serve up zeroes and ones is limited only by our imagination, and with an elegant architecture underlying a robust system, we achieve the optimal balance between power and grace. We've taken a compelling idea, built it with real standards, and are poised to deliver the long-awaited promise of digital living to your home.

Conclusion

Tying homeowners into a branded, proprietary solution not only does them a disservice, but also slows the pace of innovation in the industry. Web Services for Devices enables us to integrate hardware from as many manufacturers as we can in order to give homeowners more choices than they've ever had. Let them choose the lighting systems, security systems, thermostats, audio switchers and so on, that they want, and give integrators a simple, easy way to tie it all together.

Peter Brown is Director of Communications for Life|ware. Life|ware provides a complete range of digital entertainment and automation solutions.

www.life-ware.com