News

Inaugural Developer Forum Event for Z-Wave Alliance: Over 40 New Products Included From Top Manufacturers (29/7/2005)

Z-Wave Alliance, the consortium of leading home technology manufacturers, conducted its first European Developers' Forum in an effort to further solidify Z-Wave as the global standard in wireless home control technology.

New products from over a dozen manufacturers were showcased in the event in Copenhagen, Denmark. Product manufacturers included industry leaders such as Advanced Control Technologies, Inc.; Cooper Wiring Devices; Danfoss; Intermatic; Leviton; and Wayne Dalton Corp.. The Forum's interoperability meeting featured more than 40 products and prototypes from a variety of home control manufacturers. The success of the event and the growing membership of the Z-Wave Alliance further confirm the maturity of the Z-Wave platform for wireless home controls.

During the interoperability portion of the event, tests were conducted between pairs and larger groups of manufacturer's products. Interoperability was achieved between multiple products, multiple applications and multiple releases of the Z-Wave software. No critical issues were uncovered, underlining the high level of maturity and true backward compatibility of Z-Wave's technology. Interoperability between vendors, applications and versions of the wireless platform is a key requirement to achieve widespread market adoption and is a prime aspect of any open home control standard.

"The success of the Z-Wave Alliance Developers' Forum clearly demonstrates that the technology and the Alliance members are beyond achieving basic interoperability between radios and applications", commented Graham Williams, Vice President R&D Universal Electronic. He continued, "Universal Electronic is committed to the Z-Wave Alliance and being one of the leading manufacturers of universal remote control devices."

The Developers' Forum also showcased the seamless use of wireless devices of one application type to route the traffic of devices of another application type. This inter-device routing is a key property of the Z-wave mesh network and eliminates the need for dedicated router devices to extend range in Z-Wave installations.

Discussion sessions and the interoperability event brought forth opportunities for vendor collaboration on standard practices and user interfaces. The coordination and collaboration at the vendor application layer will serve to further improve the homeowner's experience; not only for device interoperability but also for a uniform human experience across wireless devices and applications.

"Based on the positive feedback from Z-Wave Alliance members, we are going to conduct additional Developers' Forums in Europe and the United States on a regular basis," Mark Walters announced, Director of Business Development, Leviton Manufacturing and Chairman of the Developers' Forum. "Not only do these events provide significant value for Z-Wave Alliance members but they also speed the product development process and increase chances of a true global standard in the home control market."

www.z-wavealliance.com