OSGI APPLICATION EXAMPLES

As new Internet-based appliances are introduced over the next few years, the Open Services Gateway will directly benefit small businesses and consumers in many ways. Below are three real-world examples that illustrate the potential impact of the OSG initiative.

Energy Services

Power companies leveraging OSGi-based products can deliver not only energy measurement but also energy load management throughout the home. Consumers can buy services such as a specific daytime and nighttime temperature or balancing the load so that the HVAC systems do not operate at the same time as washers/dryers or other high-consumption equipment. This reduces service costs for the consumer and makes load management more intelligent for the utility, reducing peak loads and investments required to support these services.

Security Services

There are a variety of building systems you rarely think about (e.g., fire alarms, employee security and access systems, and in-building climate management). Many are monitored from remote locations but maintained through field visits. The OSGi specification allows providers of these systems to standardize the software gateway used to manage, upgrade, and administer these systems, while leveraging the Internet to connect them to the data center. So when the area code used to call the fire department changes, or when new security policies are implemented, the system can be upgraded via the Internet without requiring a field visit. Furthermore, home security systems will no longer require proprietary communications systems and you can buy services that let you know through your cell phone or pager if your kids did not return from school at the normal time. You can get a message to your cell phone or pager the minute your house is broken into—the same minute the alarm company or the police learn about it. Or, you can get a notification that the temperature in your home office has fallen below the freezing point.

Remote Home Healthcare Services

Consumers caring for an elderly parent or relative will be able to avail themselves of low-cost patient monitoring devices that continuously transmit critical care or emergency information through the services gateway to hospitals, physicians, or paramedical services, reducing costs and increasing the sense of safety and security. The likely services for this segment are monitoring and sensing devices (such as motion detectors), personal alarms, assistance tools (simplified Internet home shopping), and communication (e.g., e-mail and video conferencing).