OT: RE: Smart Homes.
What do you think of this stock? Been around for 12 years now. Pie in the sky?
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(from Wall St. Journal last week)
Echelon Corp. said Italian utility Enel SpA has tentatively agreed to a far- reaching deal that could place Echelon's networking technology in every home and business in Italy.
Under a memorandum of understanding, Echelon said, Enel would pay $300 million over three years to deploy Echelon's technology, which allows remote meter- reading and a range of other communications functions over electrical lines. The Italian utility also would buy three million newly issued shares of Echelon's stock, or about 9% of its shares outstanding, for more than $100 million.
Assuming the parties reach a definitive agreement, the deal would more than double the annual revenue of Echelon, a long-struggling company that has never turned a profit in 12 years of operation. Even more important, however, is the possibility that Enel's move will accelerate the use of technology that ties all manner of appliances and business machines to each other and the Internet.
"I have always said that there is going to be an earthquake along the way that is going to change the whole landscape," said Kenneth Oshman, Echelon's chief executive officer. "I believe this is that earthquake."
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Echelon Utilizes Networking Experience to Connect the Internet
Echelon, a leader in networking devices, are another company that are focused on the power of the Internet and its application to everyday living. They want to "Bring the Internet to Life," and they have the experience and thochie enabling technology to do so. Their corporate information reads like a promotion for the latest science-fiction film: "Are you ready for the future of the Internet? An Internet dominated by billions of everyday devices.
A world where everything is smart. Everything is connnected - light switches, appliances, assembly line robots, thermostats, gas pumps, motion sensors, air conditioners, vending machines etc etc." Echelon has been working on this for ten years and believe that they are bringing the Internet to life via their Lonworks platform and the iLON Internet server.
Echelon's Lonworks networking system has been around for some time and has been adopted by thousands of device and system manufacturers. "Echelon is a networking company, very much the same as Cisco, but our focus is connecting everyday devices," said Ken Oshman, president and CEO.
Many buildings, factories, transport systems and other applications have been networked for some time via Lonworks. The Lonworks network is also recognized as a de facto standard by a number of industry associations including the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) and Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). It is the introduction of the iLON 1000 Internet server that will be the catalyst for connecting everyday things to the Internet.
The server allows Lonworks devices to be accessed with industry standard Web browsers on PCs, mobile phones and set-top boxes. Information can be managed via devices embedded in buildings, factories etc, allowing remote access and control or monitoring. "The power of networking all these everyday devices is enormous, and they can be accessed anywhere, anytime. The Internet adds remote connectivity, " said Oshman.
The company has formed alliances with Cisco, Microsoft and Sun Microsystems to ensure seamless integration with the Internet and other technologies including Microsoft's Universal Plug and Play, Sun's Jin and Java, and the Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi).
Echelon targets four market segments: intelligent buildings, industrial automation, transportation and home networking. According to the company they have thousands of OEMs and system integrators in these four segments as customers.
Internet Connection Adds Value
The server completed extensive field trials in February and shipping was scheduled to commence at the end of March. Some examples of how the server can be used are: 1) allowing a home owner to control the home security system and appliances from a remote location; 2) linking the heating, cooling and lighting systems on different floors using an Ethernet backbone and; 3) sending information from retail stores to head office via the Internet. The combination Lonworks and iLON allows existing networked environments to be controlled via the Internet without any re-engineering.
Merloni Elettrodomestici, a European home appliance maker has built networking into its digital line of washers, dryers, microwaves, ranges and ovens. They communicate with each other over power lines to coordinate power usage and lower energy costs. Being connected to the Internet, according to Echelon, offers a host of value-added services, including remote monitoring of equipment, preordering of replacement parts before the appliance breaks down, one click downloading of receipes and more. In Korea a series of six 11-story apartment towers is entirely automated, managers of the site can remotely monitor and adjust the mechanical services to over 1,000 apartments.
Oshman believes that appliance manufacturers will have new opportunities to become more service orientated and pricing will be based on service and not commodities. "Intelligent and networked applications will drive the market." For this to become a reality he believes two things need to happen - companies need to manufacture "smart" products, which has begun; standards need to be introduced so that everything can talk to everything else - which Lonworks can do. "I see many possibilities for integrating existing data/service with controlling networks."
The server supports both peer-to-peer and master-servant network communications, allowing remotely located devices to communicate over IP networks in the same way that they would if they were co-located. It has a 32-bit RISC processor, 4 Mbytes of Flash and 16 Mbytes of RAM. The networks can run over power lines, phone lines, wirelessly or on Ethernet or any other network cabling.
In February Honeywell Home and Building Control decided to use Lonworks in all their buildings as well as using Echelon's infrastructure products, including installation tools, routers and network interfaces. "Applications are only limited by the mind, everything is up for grabs."
by Vicki Williams, Silicon Valley |
