Penultimate version of IoT specification points way to the future of M2M communications
13 November 2012
Weightless, the organisation delivering a royalty-free open standard to enable the Internet of Things (IoT), has released version 0.9 of its machine-to-machine (M2M) specification.
Professor William Webb
Weightless enables M2M systems featuring a chipset cost of less than USD$2, a range of up to 10km and a battery life of 10 years. The announcement comes in the wake of growing support and momentum for the standard, with the appointment of ARM, Cable and Wireless Worldwide, CSR and Neul to the Board and Promoter Group.
With the release of version 0.9 the Weightless Specification moves within a single step of a final, stable v1.0 release due towards the end of Q1 2013. Version 0.9 is now complete with significant additions made to the MAC, Security and Applications sections.
On the MAC, significant detail has been added to areas such as handling of alarm events, initial network selection and the entire set of channels has been re-grouped and re-named in a more logical and consistent way. On security all aspects of encryption have been detailed and the setting of Master and Subsidiary keys has been fully defined along with details of their storage and transport.
On applications a complete protocol for application to MAC interfacing has been produced and linked carefully into MAC features and requirements. The specification is now over 300 pages long and provides all the detail needed for developers to fully understand and model it.
“This is another very important milestone for the Weightless SIG” commented Professor William Webb (pictured), CEO of Weightless. “Coming fast on the heals of the significant announcement of the formation of the board and support from key international companies we are readying the Standard for a high profile launch early next year.” Webb continued “Version 0.9 of the Specification is available to download from the Weightless SIG website”.
Work will now concentrate on validation of the specification including consistent use of terminology, glossary terms, cross referencing, use of diagrams, etc. in preparation for ultimate submission to an accredited standards body.
Weightless technology has been optimised to specifically address the unique requirements of machine to machine communications and is provided as a royalty-free open standard. This brings a common set of standards that uniquely deliver the key requirements for sustainable M2M communications not possible with traditional legacy cellular based technologies.
Weightless is the Special Interest Group (SIG) and the name of the wireless wide area global standard for machine to machine short to mid-range communications.