Thread, a new networking protocol for household appliances initiated by Google's Nest Labs, looks to compete with the ZHA (ZigBee Home Automation) standard, but there is a possibility for the two technologies to integrate together as they share some basic standards, according to Digitimes Research.
Meanwhile, the shift from Bluetooth 4.0 to Bluetooth 4.1 as announced by the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) in December 2013 was also aiming at the growing IoT (Internet of Things) market. But the chance is low for Bluetooth, Thread and ZHA to be blended together due basic technology differences.
Since members the new Thread Group include Samsung Electronics, ARM Holdings, Freescale Semiconductor and Silicon Labs, this indicates that the cooperation between Samsung and Google will go beyond Android devices and Chrome PCs to digital household appliances and IoT devices, Digitimes Research commented.
The Thread Group is open to business members earlier than scheduled and plans to officially launch Thread 1.0 in 2015 as well as to begin offering verification of Thread-compatible devices.
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