IOTA Foundation, a non-profit foundation focused on distributed ledger technology (DLT) and permissionless ecosystem development, announced on Wednesday a new partnership with eCl@ss to standardize and simplify communication used across connected devices in the Internet of Things (IoT). This alliance is another milestone in the IOTA Foundation’s development of Industry 4.0.
eCl@ss has established standards for the classification and description of connected devices with a worldwide consortium of companies including Lufthansa, Siemens, Staples, PBS Network and Medtronic among many others.
The organization’s standardized catalogue allows companies to quickly introduce trusted identification and simplified communication between IoT devices, while simultaneously lowering costs associated with device management. By implementing a universal standard between devices, eCl@ss also enables organizations to develop new methods of machine-to-machine payments.
“After we first learned of IOTA and its Data Marketplace, the idea of a joint implementation between eCl@ss and IOTA was a natural fit,” said Gerhard Treitinger, senior expert product data management system and standardization at BSH Hausgeräte GmbH, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bosch Group. “Both eCl@ss and IOTA are key players in the development of the industrial IoT and digitized world, as the leading standard in their respective industries. By exploring several use cases, we found that a cooperation between eCl@ss and IOTA would be a win-win situation for both.”
eCl@ss and IOTA will also explore how IOTA’s Data Marketplace can be leveraged in combination with eCl@ss’ IRDI (International Registration Data Identifier) system to purchase product data across various IT systems, businesses and industries. IRDI is based on international ISO standards, and uses globally unique identifiers for every device to securely share data on its status and attributes.
The integration would allow organizations to collect a host of valuable new information on their products and other connected devices. For example, companies could collect data on the current and average power consumption of their microprocessors, to determine needed software updates and fixes for the next generation of the product.
Machines of different vendors could also request attributes of their peers, to directly identify compatible machine partners and their needs, such as current engine power consumption or whether certain modules / capabilities are present.
“We look forward to collaborating with IOTA towards the development of new standards of device communication and complex payment processes in the Internet of Things,” said Thorsten Kroke, general manager at eCl@ss. “In conjunction with eCl@ss, the IOTA Tangle offers a clear and standardized description for IoT devices and products, meaning that IOTA and eCl@ss can be used together for any industry transaction.”
“We are excited to team up with such a strong and trusted organization,” said Holger Köther, director of partnerships at the IOTA Foundation. “It is an exceptional opportunity to shape how the next generation of devices, across all industry landscapes, can communicate through data and micropayments, truly empowering a machine-to-machine economy for the Internet of Everything.”
