Overview

The adoption of broadband internet and the proliferation of wifi-connected devices such as smartphones, web tablets, and netbooks has resulted in the computer network becoming a standard feature of the modern home. However, there are a number of ways in which the modern householder is yet to receive the benefits of this home networking revolution.

OpenHome is an independent body committed to resolving this through the design, implementation, and promotion of open standards. It stimulates innovation by transforming the home network into a rich environment for applications that fit in with the way people live.

ohOs

The modern user of a personal computer or portable computing device is familiar with the process of installing applications according to their own personal taste or need. But there are a number of types of application that do not fit neatly into this pattern of deployment and use.

The OpenHome Operating System, ohOs, fills this gap by providing a place to deploy software that can be used not only by a single individual but by all the members of a household. And in doing so ohOs opens the way for applications that:

Allow householders to access and control a wide range of domestic appliances, such as lights, media players, and security cameras, organized from the perspective of the home as a whole.

[Illustration of someone controlling lights using an iPad]

Allow householders to view, share, and maintain structured information that is meaningful to the home as a whole, such as a calendars, family address books, or photo albums.

[Illustration of someone putting doctors appointment into family calendar]

Provide opportunities for creativity and fun within a shared family or domestic setting.

[Illustration of more than one person jointly doing a crossword?]

Provide a secure domain for archiving and messaging with all data preserved within the boundary of the domestic network.

[Illustration of someone]

ohOs is described in more detail here.

ohMedia

UPnP AV is the most successful non-OpenHome open standard that attempt