News

Echelon Announces UPnP Summit to be Held with the LonWorld Exhibition and Conference (6/8/2004)

Echelon Corporation (Nasdaq:ELON), the creator of the LonWorks(R) device networking platform, today announced that the first ever UPnP(TM) Summit in China will be held in conjunction with the LonWorks developers conference at the 2004 LonWorld(R) Exhibition and Conference in Shanghai, China on October 20-21, 2004. The sponsorship arrangement with the UPnP Implementers Committee, organizers of the Summit and the non-profit corporation that promotes the adoption of UPnP technology by manufacturers of hardware and software products, has created a unique opportunity for manufacturers, integrators, and end-users in the commercial and home automation industries to learn more about UPnP and LonWorks technologies in one event. Attendees of either the UPnP Summit or the Conference at the LonWorld event will receive a joint Summit/Conference pass that grants them access to the LonWorld exhibit space, a LonWorld Conference pass, and UPnP Summit pass.

"There is tremendous synergy between the target services for UPnP networks and LonWorks based home automation applications," said Vijay Dhingra, Echelon's director of product marketing and UPnP Forum Steering Committee member. "We believe that making the automation functions contained in LonWorks device networks available as services within a UPnP environment can deliver outstanding value to consumers -- enabling a seamless connection between the computing, audio-visual, and control devices within a home." Echelon's prototype UPnP to LonWorks bridge has been successfully demonstrated at a number of UPnP events. The bridge exposes the information and control functions of LonWorks devices as a UPnP service for use by other UPnP enabled computers or devices.

"We're very excited to be able to offer this great opportunity to our Summit attendees," said Rob Ranck, the UPnP Implementers Committee's executive director. "The LonWorks device networking platform is complementary to the functionality offered by UPnP technology and is already a de facto standard in buildings, transportation systems and homes. Holding the Summit at the LonWorld 2004 event will give UPnP developers a great perspective on the opportunities created by these two technologies." The UPnP architecture offers pervasive peer-to-peer network connectivity of wireless devices and PCs of all form factors. The UPnP architecture is a distributed, open networking architecture that leverages TCP/IP and the Web to enable seamless proximity networking in addition to control and data transfer among networked devices in the home, office, and elsewhere.

The LonWorks platform is an open standard that enables everyday devices such as appliances, elevators, lights, thermostats, air conditioners, electric meters, water heaters, and security systems to be made "smart" and to communicate with each other and across the Internet to improve the way we work and live. The LonWorld 2004 event is the world's leading annual forum for the LonWorks industry, allowing hardware and software manufacturers, specifiers, integrators, value added resellers, consulting and design engineers, distributors, facility managers, energy managers and executives, and buyers of "smart" products to see and learn firsthand about new products, applications, and technological advances in networking everyday devices. It will be comprised of two parts: an Exhibition featuring company exhibits and a LonWorks Conference featuring educational, technical, and business sessions. The LonWorld 2004 event is being co-organized by Echelon and LonMark(R) International.

www.upnp.org
www.lonworldexpo.com