Machine-to-machine communication technology
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), an open community internet standards body, has recently published a standard developed by Xavier Vilajosana, UOC's researcher, Wireless Networks (WiNe) research group leader. His project, which he has been working on over the last four years, provides a standard for a control plane for low-rate wireless networks, for use in industrial settings. "This standard lets us control communications between different machines used in industry, ie their data exchanges. For example, a device monitoring a water flow can tell another device to start doing something," Vilajosana explained.
IETF standards are open and international, meaning that the knowledge and specifications are not influenced by the interests of any particular industry or group. Vilajosana went on, "Because they are internationally recognized, approval of these standards means they are recommended in the industry and their use becomes widespread; for example, this is what happened with Wi-Fi, where different devices made by different brands all base their technology on the same standard."
The standardization process involves hundreds of individuals, from industry, research centres, government institutions and universities. The standards are accepted based on consensus following lengthy periods for reviews, revisions and deliberation. Since the IETF was created in 1986 over 3,000 standards have been approved.