Eight companies including electronics firm Matsushita Electric Works and the Internet Research Institute in Japan have formed a consortium that will promote and propose standards for this sensor network, which will be based on IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6).
The IPv6 Sensor Networking Consortium could pave the way for devices to become more aware of environmental conditions and communicate with one another, the Nikkei Business News reported.
According to the report, such industry alliances will help to build a common platform to help fuel the adoption of IPv6.
"For example, air conditioning or lighting systems in a building are connected by IPv6 to be on a network and become under cooperative control, and as a result, electric power consumption will be conserved," the report said.
The group is reportedly looking into the systems specifications to make this possible and will seek cooperation from IT companies and firms in the construction industry.
This announcement is part of a concerted push by Japan to push for IPv6 adoption. Despite growing debate over the urgency for such a move, Japanese authorities have mandated an upgrade to the new technology by 2005.
IPv6 is the much-touted successor to IPv4, the current standard behind all Internet communications today. In light of explosive growth of Internet-enabled devices ranging from cellular phones to automobiles, some network equipment makers feel IPv4 addresses could soon be exhausted and firms should start considering migration to IPv6.
However, other industry bodies such as APNIC, the authority in charge of allocating and registering Internet resources in the region, feel the doom and gloom is "misinformation" and there could be still a decade or now before the shortage actually occurs.
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