Nest, Samsung Create Low

Nest and six other manufacturers including Samsung announced on Tuesday it is launching a new wireless network called Thread that will allow smart gadgets to talk to each other as a greater part of the smart home revolution.

Thread is an IP-based wireless networking protocol that will connect products in the home, with no hardware required. In addition to Nest and Samsung, Thread was formed by ARM, Big Ass Fans, Freescale, Silicon Labs and Yale. The program will open to new members by the second quarter of 2015.

Similar to how you don't pay for Bluetooth - manufacturers just build the technology into devices and consumers can use it to connect things together (like a smartphone app and a fitness tracker) - Thread aims to be another key ingredient that will be baked into future products.

Unlike existing networking technologies, Thread enables IPv6 communications - the latest version of the Internet Protocol that will replace IPv4, which takes up about 96% of Internet traffic - for products and is focused on not draining batteries quickly.

Because the industry is entering a new wave of connected products, there is a greater need for a low-power network, in addition to Wi-Fi in the home. One of Thread's key differentiators is that it supports battery-operated devices as part of a home network, so items like thermostats and lighting controls don't require constant charging.

'Many existing networks drain batteries quickly, and 'hub and spoke' models dependent on one device - if the device fails, the whole network goes down,' said Chris Boross, who is leading the project at Nest and is serving as president of the group.

The network will be compatible out of the gate with 250 products - and a version of Thread is already running on Nest thermostats. Products will be labeled as Thread-compatible on its packaging, so consumers will know if it can be seamlessly added to the network and ultimately, help more items within the Internet of Things to work together.

The Internet of Things refers to things that are web-connected - everything from smart thermostats and garage doors to toothbrushes, tennis racquets and even your bed. They collect data about how you use them, learn your habits, typically connect to an app and give you feedback to improve your lifestyle (or your racquet swing, for example). Eventually, these objects will create a small network that will work together to create a 'smart home'.

Although Gartner Research predicts 'smart home' technology will add $1.9 trillion to the global economy by 2020, there are still some major challenges in its way. For example, a Samsung fridge can't talk to your Sony TV because every brand prefers to use proprietary technology that isn't compatible with another company's.

However, Thread doesn't see the newly-formed Open Interconnect Consortium as a competitor - which is made up of companies like Dell, Intel and Samsung (once again) to take on a vendor-neutral approach with the help of open-source software and collaboration development. It also doesn't see Apple's HomeKit or Bluetooth technology as a competitor.

'We don't see those as the same as Thread,' Boross said. 'This would compliment those frameworks. For example, from what little we know about HomeKit, it's trying to solve something different and will likely act as the hub. We want to be the network.'

Boross said the effort pre-dates the Google acquisition of Nest: 'We've been working with a lot of industry players long before the Google acquisition,' he said.

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