Back in 2017, Firefox creator Mozilla, announced that it was working on a software and services to bridge the communication gap between connected devices.
For users with smart homes, they're probably familiar with the struggles of getting their connected devices to work nicely together. For example, a thermostat that works on one protocol, with a light switch that communicates with other protocol.
This fragmentation is common for IoT devices because there is no single standard for how these devices should talk to each other.
Each vendor typically creates a custom application that only works with their own brand. And this fragmentation has becoming an increasing concern that can affect people's decision in purchasing those devices.
Here is where Mozilla's 'Project Things' is meant to solve.
Using IoT hub called 'Things Gateway', Mozilla has released a Raspberry PI with Mozilla's software where users can control their smart home devices through voice- and browser-based interface. The feature uses the microphone in users’ computers, and provides a URL that can be accessed from anywhere its users are in the world.
Here, users can also use logics, like "if this, then that" to make their devices perform certain actions when conditions are met.
Users can also set a floor-plan view to lay out their devices, create additional device type support, create an all-new add-on system for supporting new protocols and devices, and create authorization using third-party apps.
Previously, Mozilla's Project Things has only been really accessible to those with a good amount of technical knowledge. But with this release, Mozilla is making it easier for anyone to get started on building their own Things Gateway to control their devices.
This feature works an all supported IoT devices.
"We have continued to engage in open and collaborative development with a community of makers, testers, contributors, and end-users, to build the foundation for this future."
With the feature, Mozilla is positioning itself as a helping hand for users in controlling their IoT devices, which have become popular in recent years.
Mozilla believes that the future of connected devices should be more like the open web, where things are decentralized. The power to control should be in the hands of the people who purchased and own those IoT devices. "This is why we are committed to defining open standards and frameworks," said Mozilla.
People can get involved with the project by joining the #iot channel on irc.mozilla.org, and participate in the development on GitHub.