UK unveils interoperability standard for Internet of Things
Summary
The HyperCat specification aims to allow machines to easily work together over the internet, and for applications to discover and make sense of data automatically without human intervention. Over 12 months, and with the help of £6.4 million in funding from the UKs Technology Strategy Board, development teams from major companies - including ARM, BT and IBM - have worked alongside UK start-ups, local authorities and university departments to find the solution. “Previously, applications were vertically-integrated, working only with specific services, which confines data to narrow vertical silos. "HyperCat enables apps to discover data across all services, freeing machines from the human programmer bottleneck, and allowing a many-to-many relationship to develop, which is the key to IoT.” Justin Anderson, CEO of IoT company Flexeye, said: “As new entrants to the IoT market strive to deliver revolutionary solutions at an extraordinary pace, HyperCat will help ensure that these players can securely speak a common language. TSB recently announced a Launchpad programme for companies wanting to get involved in IoT development.