Sina Science and Technology News Beijing time on the evening of December 18, according to foreign media reports, Amazon.Com Inc、 Alphabet Inc-CL CAnd Apple IncThe company reached a rare partnership on Wednesday to create new standards for smart homes that make it easier for consumers to use.

At present, Amazon.Com Inc, Alphabet Inc-CL C and Apple Inc are all actively competing for smart home users, but the competition itself has brought confusion and trouble to consumers and manufacturers of smart home products. because consumers have to buy products compatible with their smart home systems.

According to data released by IDC in September, the number of smart home devices worldwide will reach nearly 815 million this year, an increase of 23.5% over the same period last year, and the number will rise to 1.39 billion in 2023. To achieve this market size, and to keep consumers sane, we need some kind of standard that allows all smart products to interconnect.

This is why the three major competitors Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc-CL C and Amazon.Com Inc have joined forces. Today, you may need to buy a smart lock, but first make it clear whether the lock is compatible with Amazon.Com Inc Echo (using the Zigbee standard), or with Google Home or Apple HomeKit.

The same headache extends to companies that make smart devices. They need to decide from the beginning whether their products support the Zigbee standard or the Apple Inc or Alphabet Inc-CL C standard. After making a decision, they need to be constantly updated throughout the life cycle of the device to ensure that it is safe on all platforms. This time, the new standard that Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc-CL C and Amazon.Com Inc are going to jointly create is to solve the above problems.

The collaboration, known as the IP-based connected Home Project (Project Connected Home over IP), aims to create a new standard for smart homes so that people can know when they buy products that are compatible with smart systems at home, and that these products are safe. In the future, a Logo will be printed on the package of smart home products to let consumers know whether it is built and supported by the IP-based connected Home Project.

"the project is based on a common belief that smart home devices should be safe, reliable and seamless," the three companies said in a press release. Based on the Internet Protocol (IP), the project aims to enable communication between smart home devices, mobile applications and cloud services, and to define a specific set of IP-based network technologies for device authentication. "

In addition to Apple Inc, Alphabet Inc-CL C and Amazon.Com Inc, ZigBee Alliance will also join the partnership, including Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Signify (Philips Lighting), Ikea, NXP Semiconductor and Resideo.

The alliance will initially focus on physical security smart home devices such as smoke alarms and carbon dioxide sensors, smart door locks, security systems, electrical plugs, curtains and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) controls, and then expand to other types of devices and commercial solutions.

The alliance plans to release a draft specification and preliminary open source information later next year, and it is not clear when the first products will be released. (Li Ming)