EnOcean Alliance brings battery-less communication to an interoperable Internet of Things at CES 2016

At the 2016 International CES (Las Vegas, January 6-9), the EnOcean Alliance will show off its advancements of a self-powered Internet of Things (IoT). This includes an industry-changing cooperation with the ZigBee Alliance and close partnerships with leading IoT associations. In the latter case, the non-profit organization demonstrates battery-less sensors, powered by the environment, directly communicating with household appliances and multimedia via IP. Thus, the EnOcean Alliance combines its expertise in battery-less, wireless smart buildings and smart homes with the approach of an interoperable, standard-crossing communication platform connecting everything.

Visitors to CES can learn more about the EnOcean Alliance’s IoT approach at the partner booths of the ZigBee Alliance (Sands, #71344), the AllSeen Alliance (Sands, #71836) and the Open Interconnect Consortium (Venetian Palazzo Hospitality Suites, Intel Corporation).

The EnOcean Alliance is one of the most established organizations in the field of smartly connected buildings. Its mission is to enable and promote intelligent buildings, smart home and IoT applications through the creation of a broad range of interoperable battery-less and wireless solutions. More than 400 member companies already have established a broad solution portfolio based on the EnOcean energy harvesting wireless standard. This enables devices to work without wires and batteries for a highly flexible and maintenance-free operation.

Way to a battery-less IoT

“Thanks to our cooperation with strong partners, we build the basis to directly connect battery-less sensor solutions to ZigBee 3.0 or the Internet and thus to open IoT platforms. The user doesn’t need to care about the technology used by the single components but can benefit of a seamless connectivity in his smart home – the main concept of the IoT,” says Graham Martin, Chairman of the EnOcean Alliance.

Visitors to the show can experience the EnOcean Alliance’s IoT approach at the following booths:

ZigBee Alliance (Sands, #71344): The ZigBee Alliance and the EnOcean Alliance joined forces to develop an open, global specification for energy harvesting wireless communication technology, which will help meet growing demand for interoperable, self-powered IoT sensor solutions. With their collaboration, the two industry leading organizations combine the benefits of EnOcean energy harvesting wireless solutions with ZigBee 3.0 for worldwide applications. The cooperation connects the two alliances’ advantages, synergies and track record of standards advancements to create an open, global specification that will extend energy harvesting wireless communication to a broader range of self-powered IoT sensor solutions.

AllSeen Alliance (Sands, #71836): The Smart EnOcean Gateway from Digital Concepts connects the EnOcean energy harvesting wireless standard with IP for integration into the AllJoyn communication framework. That way, users can control smart household appliances such as fridges, stoves, coffee machines, and multimedia directly via battery-less switches, sensors or smart phones. At the booth, Digital Concepts will show three networked smart home real-life demos – bathroom, kitchen and living room – integrating different household appliances controlled via several self-powered sensors and switches.

Open Interconnect Consortium (Venetian Palazzo Hospitality Suites, Intel Corporation): The Open Interconnect Consortium (OIC) and the EnOcean Alliance partner to deliver seamless, interoperable connectivity for the Internet of Things. The two organizations and its members work together to enable self-powered wireless solutions using the OIC interoperable specification framework for industry-crossing communication in the IoT. The OIC framework works horizontally across and between IoT vertical segments and will benefit companies that want to develop products to address these markets. Using the OIC standard will remove the various “island” solutions and instead provide a common solution for smart home, industrial, healthcare and more.

Self-powered wireless sensors

In addition to EnOcean Alliance’s presence, several of its members will be exhibiting at CES 2016 as well, including:

EnOcean (Sands, #70329): EnOcean, the inventor and world leader in energy harvesting wireless technology, will demonstrate “power for technology” at CES. In the Smart Home Marketplace, the company will show how wireless switches, sensors and actuators can be powered by energy out of motion, light and temperature. Thus, even visitors can activate wireless signals with their bodies as a source of energy when pressing a switch. The energy harvesting devices, rid of wires and batteries, enable highly flexible and maintenance-free applications for smart homes and cloud services on the way to the Internet of Things (IoT).

“Our energy harvesting technology can power different ultra-low power protocols for wireless communication and transmitting sensor data. This enables radio-agnostic self-powered sensors and switches for an IoT with consequentially much fewer batteries,” says Dr. Wald Siskens, CEO of EnOcean.

NodOn (Sands, #70544): NodOn will present its plug&play NodOn smart home portfolio based on the EnOcean standard. A new highlight is the In-Wall Module, a little device, which can easily be mounted behind an existing wired wall switch. Within just a few minutes, the switch can talk EnOcean radio thanks to the little module. Thus, a formerly classical wired switch can now be seamlessly integrated in an EnOcean-based smart home. Using the module, the switch can be connected to the NodOn Home Automation Gateway or to several battery-less wireless controllers such as the NodOn Soft Remote, Wall Switch or Card Switch. Even an additional toggle switch can be added in less than ten minutes without any needed construction work. Besides this, the NodOn portfolio also offers a Smart Plug that allows wireless control of electrical devices by using an EnOcean-compliant home automation gateway or a battery-less switch, and solar-powered Indoor Opening Sensors and Indoor Temperature Sensors.

Ubiant/Avidsen (Sands, #71060): Ubiant will demonstrate its self-learning cloud solution called hemis. It is based on artificial intelligence to minimize energy consumption in buildings while maximizing the residents’ well-being. The system’s core is a cloud platform that connects applications for lighting, HVAC or blind control, as well as battery-less, wireless sensors and actuators from Avidsen or mobile devices. The Quickmove standard allows users to install, move or remove all components of the smart home system using a NFC-enabled mobile phone or tablet. Part of the hemis portfolio, Luminion, a smart candlestick visualizing energy consumption and comparing it to the hemis community, was honored with a CES 2016 Innovation Award in the „Tech For A Better World“ category.

Additional members of the EnOcean Alliance exhibiting at CES 2016 include: Haier (LVCC, Central Hall, #12814), Honeywell International (Sands, #70931), MyFox (Sands, #70739), Texas Instruments (Westgate, Hospitality, Suite 371/373) and Zipato (Sands, #71055).

About the EnOcean Alliance

Leading companies worldwide from the building sector formed the EnOcean Alliance to establish innovative automation solutions for sustainable building projects – making buildings more energy-efficient, more flexible and more cost effective. The core technology of the Alliance is energy harvesting wireless technology for flexibly positioned and service-free sensor solutions. The EnOcean Alliance aims to internationalize the energy harvesting wireless technology, and is dedicated to creating interoperability between the products of OEM partners. Basis for this is the international standard ISO/IEC 14543-3-1X, which is optimized for wireless solutions with ultra-low power consumption and energy harvesting. More than 400 companies currently belong to the EnOcean Alliance. The headquarters of the non-profit organization is located in San Ramon, California.

Press Contacts

Angelika Dester
EnOcean Alliance
T +49.89.67 34 689-57
E angelika.dester@enocean-alliance.org

Valerie Harding
Ripple Effect Communications
T +1-617-536-8887
E valerie@rippleeffectpr.com