A Nest Labs Inc. thermostat is displayed during an event in San Francisco, California, U.S (Photo : Getty Images/Bloomberg)
Google's subsidiary company Nest Labs has open-sourced OpenThread to connect it to more Internet of Things devices other than its own smart Thermostat. This could be an attempt to get a bit of the Google Chirp project.
Nest Labs is a Google owned company that is supposed to be Alphabet's worthy moonshot project maker, but since the company was acquired in 2014, it has proven to be quite a disappointment. Now Nest is vamping up its efforts to bring Amazon Echo rival called Google Chirp to life.
Google Chirp, reportedly a cylindrical sibling of OnHub with the awesomeness of Amazon Echo's connected devices capability, is Google's secret project that is going to fight the Echo's market demand with Alexa like digital assistant and OpenThread integration.
The purpose of open-sourcing OpenThread is an attempt to snap more IoT partners, TechCrunch reported. Nest Labs had previously requested to join Google Chirp project, but was denied any participation due to lags in its performance, this new development could raise its chances to get involved.
OpenThread is not Nest's invention but a more altered version of Thread, which a wireless networking protocol partnered by tech giants like Samsung, Qualcomm and Nest Labs itself. While Thread was aimed at bringing a more efficient protocol that could replace WiFi and Bluetooth, OpenThread is more customized to needs of Nest products like Nest Thermostat.
The Thread is based on IPv6, with hardware specs derived from ZigBee devices. According to Nest Lab, open sourcing OpenThread will benefit millions of devices that are already available in the market. However, they must first upgrade to Thread first.
Head of the Nest Platform Greg Hu told TechCrunch that Thread is progressing at a fantastic pace and people will see more Thread based devices expected to ship this year. He also said that Nest Labs was looking to get more partners to join OpenThread.
Nest Labs has waited long enough to make its OpenThread technology good enough for its future partners. With the announcement of its open-sourcing on May 11, Wednesday, the company finally seemed to have reached that level.
The wireless devices can be updated to Thread to benefit from Nest Labs' OpenThread, as long as they support 802.15.4 wireless standards, The Verge reported. This introductory video about Amazon Echo could hint what Google Chirp may look like.
