March 1, 2000

Taking control

Home-automation and -control are regularly cited as compelling convergence applications. But the deployment of such technologies has been stalled due to the lack of an accepted home-control interface or network. Perhaps that's changing, as Echelon continues to snag endorsements for its LonWorks technology.

At January's Consumer Electronics Show, Sun CEO Scott McNealy used a connected cell phone to control the Sun ".com Home" demonstration, which was based on LonWorks. Coactive Networks recently introduced a fourth-generation multiprotocol router that links LonWorks and IP (Internet Protocol) networks. Toshiba recently signed on for 10 more years as a LonWorks IC manufacturer.

In Finland, three influential organizations—covering technology, the building industry, and consulting firms—tapped LonWorks as the preferred home-networking technology. (In case you missed it, Fortune magazine says Finland is "the most wired—and wireless—nation on earth.")

Finally, on the commercial front, Honeywell signed a three-year agreement that standardizes its building-control systems around LonWorks, and real-estate-developer Harwood International, renowned for its energy conservation, is using LonWorks in its latest "smart building."

Despite these endorsements, Echelon still must drive prices down before LonWorks becomes a serious candidate for widespread deployment.

—by Maury Wright