IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July 2018 - 86

Bits Versus Electrons

Got API?
By Bob Frankston

f your home-control product doesn't
have an open application program
interface (API), then it's a niche
product and not part of the future of
connected devices. With that in mind,
when I headed out to the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this
past January, here's what I planned to
ask every exhibitor: Got API?
I wrote the first draft of this column
as I prepared to attend CES, where I
expected to see a raft of home-automation products. In 2017, those tended to
be products such as lights controlled by
apps on smartphones using Bluetooth
as well as Zigbee and Z-Wave protocols. This year, I anticipated that Amazon's Alexa would dominate that niche.
The smart home is something we can
all relate to; although, the principles
also apply to smart cities and the larger
landscape of the Internet of Things.
The plan at CES was to ask exhibitors whether there was an open interface (or API) that would allow people
to use their products for more than the
original use case. Devices that provide
open APIs, like Google's Nest and
Samsung's SmartThings, expand their
market. They allow the products to be
integrated with other applications. For
example, a stand-alone window shade
that opens in reaction to sunlight is
more than just a smart shade if it can
also be integrated with other applications that use the shade as a resource
and, likewise, draw from other sources.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MCE.2018.2816178
Date of publication: 13 June 2018

86 IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine

July 2018

reduces the possibilities for unanticipated innovation. Though few people
will create shareable applications, the
few who do can create entirely new
uses or hardware and services and possibly open up new markets. The products that are open will benefit from
their enthusiasm.

AdditionAl Benefits of An APi

Having to use a separate application
for each device is like having to use
one remote control for the TV power,
another to change the channel, and yet
another for the volume. However, for
digital systems, the scenario is worse,
because each user must have the full
complement of applications and maintain them. The "smarts" are embedded
in the device, but I can't add my own
(or buy) smarts with software. I need
access to an API to integrate the device
into larger systems. Limiting the API
to only channel partners and Alexa

A stand-alone window
shade that opens in
reaction to sunlight is more
than just a smart shade if it
can also be integrated with
other applications that use
the shade as a resource.

An open API has additional benefits. It
forces good design by separating the
hardware functions that slowly change
from the software interface that can rapidly improve. This prospect is even better
if those capabilities are available to
browser-based (HTML5) applications
using web APIs. The browser tools allow
for a much richer interface than simple
panels, and the browser app can take
advantage of other sources, such as recipes when controlling an oven. In the
future, there may be markets for different
front ends for appliances.
We're at the earliest stage of a new
frontier, such as when small computers
were dedicated to a single purpose like
word processing. When Dan Bricklin and
I chose to build VisiCalc (http://VisiCalc
.us) on personal computers, we gave
them a platform to do so much more. I
applied this lesson to home networks
with generic connectivity. This is why we
are increasingly seeing a shift to Wi-Fi for
connected devices rather than specialized
protocols such as Zigbee and Bluetooth.
We will see a shift from cloud-based
interfaces to devices such as cameras and
light bulbs, which have their own APIs
that are often HTTP based.

http://rmf.vc/gotapi http://VisiCalc.us http://VisiCalc.us

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - July 2018