IPSO Alliance Welcomes New Members, Interoperability Testing, Standards Helping Drive "Internet of Things"

Approval of RPL routing standard and Completion of 6LoWPAN-HC Demonstrate Increasing Demand for Internet Protocol for Smart Objects

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., June 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The IPSO Alliance, the leading organization defining the Internet of Things (IoT), today announced four new members, its intent to begin a series of interoperability tests, and the approval and completion of two new standards. This demonstrates significant demand for Internet Protocol (IP) for smart objects, which allow items ranging from appliances to factories to cars to communicate as individuals do over the Internet.

New members to the IPSO Alliance include:

• GreenWave Reality, a global innovator in energy management and demand response systems, providing an affordable, easy-to-use, standards-based home energy management solution that includes intelligent lighting has joined IPSO as a Promoter member.
• Corporative Intelligence Laboratory S.L. of Spain (Cilab), the company behind Green Asset Management (GAM), which is a platform based on distributed computing, focusing in the optimization of the way we use resources at an urban/community scale; ElectroTest Sweden AB, a Sweden-based company that works for IPv6/6LoWPAN interoperable and standard products for energy conversation in buildings; Sensus, a leading utility infrastructure company offering smart meters, communication systems, software and services for the electric, gas, and water industries have all joined as Contributor members.

"Sensus is proud to take a leadership role in helping to further the use of IP for networking solutions," said David Ayers, vice president of engineering at Sensus. "As the foremost network layer protocol for enabling multiple applications, IP further secures the role of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) networks as a key component of the smart grid."

Over the course of six months, IPSO will be conducting a series of interoperability tests at the IP layer, running both within a single PHY/MAC as well as demonstrating interoperability across multiple PHY/MAC layers.

Standards Approved: RPL routing protocol / 6LoWPAN-HC

The IPSO Alliance welcomes the publication of a new routing standard – RPL. RPL, an IP routing protocol designed for IPv6 smart object networks, has been approved by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as an official international standard.

RPL is the result of three years of hard work from a number of IPSO members and routing experts in the field, including Dust Networks, Ember, Sigma Design and Cisco. Several months ago, Cisco, Sensinode, SICS and Watteco all IPSO members— successfully conducted interoperability tests on an early version of the protocol that was instrumental in the course of the standardization performed by the IETF.

"This is a key milestone for the IPSO Alliance and for the future of the Internet of Things," said JP Vasseur, Cisco Fellow and chair of the IPSO Technology Advisory Board. "RPL is a significant component today for IP Smart Object networks, including smart grid infrastructure."

The IETF has also completed the draft of the 6LoWPAN-HC, a header compression format for highly efficient IPv6 packet delivery over IEEE® 802.15.4 low-power wireless personal area networks (WPAN).  This is key to connecting smart objects such as meters, sensors or control devices, and smart appliances over the Internet. The IPSO organizations that participated in the early testing of 6LoWPAN-HC include Atmel, Cisco, NXP, Sensinode, SICS, Sigma Designs and Watteco SAS.

About IPSO Alliance

The IPSO Alliance is the primary advocate for IP networked devices for use in energy, consumer, healthcare and industrial applications. The IPSO Alliance is a non-profit association of more than 50 members from leading technology, communications and energy companies. Their mission is to enable the foundation for a network that will allow any sensor-enabled physical object to communicate to another, just as individuals do over the Internet. Membership is open to any organization supporting an IP-based approach to connecting smart objects. For more information, visit www.ipso-alliance.org.

About Sensus

Sensus is a leading utility infrastructure company offering smart meters, communication systems, software and services for the electric, gas, and water industries. Sensus technology helps utilities drive operational efficiency and customer engagement with applications that include advanced meter reading, data acquisition, demand response, distribution automation, home area networking and outdoor lighting control. Customers worldwide trust the innovation, quality and reliability of Sensus solutions for the intelligent use and conservation of energy and water. Learn more at www.sensus.com.

To follow Twitter updates from Sensus, please visit http://twitter.com/sensussmartgrid.

About GreenWave Reality

GreenWave Reality is a global innovator in the emerging Home Energy Management market. The company provides an affordable, easy-to-use, standards-based platform that allows utilities to strengthen their relationship with customers and better balance energy on the grid while consumers can conserve energy and enhance their lifestyle by easily monitoring and controlling their appliances, lighting, and high-load devices. GreenWave Reality is also a member of the IPSO, ZigBee and Z-Wave alliances.  The company was awarded the Danish Green IT Innovation Award by the IT Industry and Science Ministry of Denmark in 2010. GreenWave Reality's funding is led by Craton Equity Partners with additional support from the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). GreenWave Reality has offices worldwide including Irvine, Copenhagen, and Singapore. Visit us at www.greenwavereality.com.

Media Contact:
Shannon Mayette
IPSO Alliance
602.882.4733
[email protected]
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SOURCE IPSO Alliance