This story begins when Mike Markkula was sitting in his closet, wondering what to do next. Already a well-known technologist and investor, Markkula had already helped found Apple Computer. At the time, venture capitalists were playing for high stakes: big risk, big gain. According to Mike, on that fateful day, he was sitting and thinking: “Wouldn’t it be great if all my lights and switches could talk to each other? And in fact, what if all the electronics in my house could talk directly?”
This thought led to the understanding that a new protocol was needed – one that was independent of the environment and would work with any application. And to implement such a protocol, a new microprocessor was needed that would be inexpensive, compact, but powerful enough for the protocol and a small application. Mike recalls thinking: “But this is not difficult at all…”. How wrong he was!
And the LON technology was born
Then everything was as usual in Silicon Valley: a research group was created to prove the “emptiness” of the idea. However, in reality it turned out that the idea works. A new company was founded with headquarters in Los Gatos (California, USA). A new business plan was developed for the new company. Thus began the incarnation of the company “Echelon”, which is now headed by Ken Oshman and Bea Yormark.
Mike's original dream of a multi-million dollar home automation market with thousands of products and manufacturers using Echelon's one dollar Neuron® chip was put on the back burner. The decision was made to make practical money first and build a successful company.
Running with a Big Idea
The idea behind LON technology was simple: a collection of electronic devices with embedded intelligence performing one or more functions, interacting with each other and acting as a network. If the protocol and architecture and applications were designed correctly, the benefits of these applications would be significant, not just in terms of revenue, but also in terms of societal benefit. Such networks (regardless of their size) represent a great deal of value, although we cannot yet predict all the possible applications beyond the obvious: home automation, industrial control, and building automation.
The developers at Echelon envisioned many uses for LON technology (some successful, some not so successful). It became common wisdom within Echelon and among many engineers who began using the technology that LON was more than a quick wonder or a one-time success: it was a robust platform that could potentially deliver value for decades. There are not many such “inventions” known today – for example, the Internet (or, in general, the IP protocol).
Time passed… Over the next decade and a half, the Internet developed. The cell phone became the norm. Connectivity became not just a concept, but a daily reality of life.
LON technology has found many applications during this period. As you know, the building automation industry has quickly embraced networking technologies and used even more advanced technologies for building management systems: from ventilation and lighting to elevator and automatic blinds control. It is only natural that business interests, protection and growth of markets have divided players into several camps supporting certain network technologies. LON technology, directed by LonMark® International, plays a significant role today in its application in commercial buildings.
You already know a lot about the construction industry, but is this the limit of possibilities? Remember, we talked about the diverse application of technology? And did you know that…
– More than 900 maternity hospitals around the world use RFID tags for mothers and newborns to prevent the possibility of babies being swapped or stolen?
The electronic tags are constantly monitored, and if a child's tag moves toward the exit without a corresponding (nearby) tag of its mother, the security perimeter is activated, the duty post is notified and security is called. The system works so well that within the first week of its installation, a father was arrested at Morton Hospital (USA) trying to take his son out of the ward to show him to relatives.
– Are manatees (sea cows) in Florida (USA) safe thanks to LON technology?
Sensors are installed in the locks and keep them open if a manatee is close enough to prevent the animal's life from becoming a danger.
– 25% of passenger ferries in Europe have black boxes and ship monitoring systems based on LON technology?
– many high-speed trains around the world rely on control and monitoring systems that are also based on LON technology?
– singer Celine Dion uses LON-based audio spectrum splitter and sound distribution technology when performing in Las Vegas?
– does the car manufacturer Audi paint cars at some of its plants using automated systems that are based on LON technology?
– another auto giant (Volvo) uses LON for an automated component handling system?
– is the technology also widely used to equip hospital beds and prison cell doors?
Here's another idea that I hope will one day be realized. Imagine if the building's systems automatically detected the controller or joystick of a motorized wheelchair as part of a network, and when the chair approached the door, the controller could temporarily control the door or call the elevator.
LON's open, interoperable technology allows one controller to communicate with many subsystems, and when installed correctly, everything in the building becomes part of a single network. No other technology can match LON in this regard.
Today, LON technology is changing the way public utilities operate, helping cities save enormous amounts of energy. LON technology powers many of the world’s most automated buildings, making them more modern and efficient. For 15 years, companies and organizations have had the idea of “What if we could just talk to a device and it would…” and every time, LON technology has made it possible.
The simple idea has proven to be resilient. Today, LON is a robust and promising technology with great potential for use in society, commerce, and the environment as a whole.
The Special Value of Networks
Building management means saving energy. As you add smart devices to an automated building, the applications that control the building become more powerful. Metcalf’s Law states that a network becomes more powerful as the number of nodes squared. So, each additional node added to the network increases the network’s power.
Such power is only achievable in a peer-to-peer network. Properly built LON networks work with products that have received the LonMark International interoperability certificate. This is the basis for creating a single-tier architecture of network devices that have the flexibility and ability to become extensions of programs that control such important applications as: energy optimization, security, water leakage control, gas concentration monitoring in mines, etc.
The application is the Network
LON-based management networks, thanks to the peer-to-peer principle, virtually dissolve into the context of the application that controls them. For example, an energy management application that cuts peak energy consumption in a building becomes much more powerful if devices respond individually to the application's commands. If every device in the building is on the management network, then the application itself becomes the network.
This concept is true for any application built on the peer-to-peer principle in a LON network.
Expert Systems
Data systems are only as good as the data that makes them up. The old adage “garbage in, garbage out” is a platitude when it comes to data systems.
Minimizing the abstraction layers between the control network and the expert system is essential. Single-tier open LON networks are unique in the control network world in that individual device data can be directly exposed to expert systems using XML and Web services. This seamless data transfer works in both directions, allowing LON networks to provide near-perfect sensor data and accept application instructions from the enterprise directly at the device level.
Information from sensors and control networks helps to bypass the human factor associated with the creation of “garbage” at the input – the Achilles heel of data systems. Expert systems using control network data have more extensive and, more importantly, more accurate information to perform calculations, which ultimately leads to better business decisions.
In conclusion
LON technology has been on the market for over a decade and a half and continues to thrive. New applications are emerging in new industries. Among them: street lighting control, smart metering and even the home automation market is ready to take off. What once began as an idea is now simply necessary in promoting business and is making significant changes in work and life.
For reference: Before joining Echelon, Steve Nguyen was engaged in sales of computer equipment and consumer goods. He has an MBA (Carroll School of Management, Boston College) and a diploma from Brandeis University.
He joined Echelon in 1992, and since 2001 has held the position of Director of Corporate Marketing. He leads work in various areas, including: public relations and online services, and oversees work in the field of data systems and tools for marketing and sales (including automated sales systems, customer accounting and technical support).
Today he represents Echelon in the Continental Automated Building Association (CABA) and the Business Council for Climate Change (BC3). He takes part in the work of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group.
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