SCP inches closer to reality, but potential implementers are noncommittal

Well, it looks like the Simple Control Protocol is really going to happen. Although the Microsoft-inspired standard was absent on the CES show floor, behind the scenes it attracted quite a crowd.

In a suite at the Hilton, Microsoft Connected Home product manager Larry Buerk demonstrated a PC-based home automation system managing SCP-enabled lights and motorized drapes—all over the hotel’s powerlines. When the SCP devices were plugged into AC outlets, they appeared automatically on the Windows XP computer, ready to be controlled--as if they were printers, Ethernet cameras, wireless access points or other peripherals that are automatically discovered on a Windows (especially XP)-based network.

“It just works,” said Buerk, who gave a similar demonstration at the Security Industry Association (SIA) Forum in early February. There, executives from leading premise-security manufacturers saw the first viable alternative to X10—today’s leading powerline-control technology for the security industry.

SCP, initiated in mid-2000 by Microsoft, General Electric’s GE Industrial group, SMART, Itran, Domosys and Mitsubishi Electric, has been touted as an ideal protocol for extending the benefits of Universal Plug and Play to devices with limited memory and processing power—light switches, thermostats and sensors, for example.

SCP harnesses the useful device descriptions that UPnP provides, allowing the lightweight, peer-to-peer protocol to benefit whenever new definitions are added to the UPnP database. A UPnP software bridge would enable SCP devices to tap into a full-service UPnP network.

In contrast to UPnP, says Buerk, “SCP messages are small and don’t access the network unless they absolutely need to.”

If you believe in home automation, then SCP should be a slam dunk. Even though enthusiasm for automation has waned since the sexier “networking” movement took hold a couple of years ago, no one can deny the potential of the smart-device market.

Research firm Cahners Instat predicts that the number of smart nodes in the house will increase from about 8.6 million units in 2001 to 94.7 million in 2005, with annual growth rates increasing from roughly 54 percent (2001-2002) to 118 percent (2004-2005).

That compares to a declining growth rate of high-speed networking nodes from 50 percent annual growth (2001-2002) to 20 percent (2004-2005). In real terms, that’s 8.2 million high-speed nodes in 2001 and 28.4 million in 2005.

In pursuit of these numbers, relatively small companies are forging ahead with their own protocols. Last year Domosys pulled out of SCP, developing its own version called PowerBus. “SCP is not coming out fast enough,” said Domosys CEO Evan Price back then. “We’ve got our own chip, we’ve got our own protocol, and we’ve got some of the sharpest technical minds in the industry. It’s all ready to go. We’re going for it.”

Another company Powerline Control Systems, which sells advanced lighting control systems based on X10 technology, has recently come out with its own two-way powerline control protocol dubbed Universal Powerline Bus. PCS itself will migrate to the new platform, and is hoping to license the technology to other manufacturers as well.

Sage Systems, which is apparently in the process of being acquired (see story, page 17), has tried for years to license its proprietary powerline-control technology—to no avail.

Then there are all the RF low-rate protocols that are emerging (more on these in the next issue of HNN), although SCP can ride on an RF network as well.

So SCP better hurry. Itran Communications, whose IT800 powerline transceiver was selected for the first implementation of SCP, is ready ship IT800/SCP evaluation kits; however, Microsoft is not expected to ship its SCP device-development kit until April.

The earliest and most aggressive SCP deployment was expected to come from General Electric, whose Industrial Systems unit owns a big chunk of SMART, a manufacturer of CEBus-compatible lighting and automation systems.

But GE Appliances, which initially took a strong interest in SCP, now seems uninterested in networked white goods. James Cosgrove, manager of innovation for GE Appliances, says, “I don’t think right now we’re extremely committed to anything,” in regards to SCP or home networking in general. “We’re still watching the market, still doing market research…. We’re following real closely what Microsoft is doing.”

Understandably, GE Appliances can’t seem to figure out how to make money from networked white goods; therefore, GE’s involvement in SCP appears to be limited to its stake in SMART, at least for now.

Meanwhile, SMART has continued to develop CEBus-based powerline technologies, which SCP is supposed to replace. But now the company is focusing more heavily on audio/video systems than control applications.

For its part, Mitsubishi has been quiet as far as SCP is concerned, but is expected to be a second source of co-processors for Itran’s IT800/SCP chip.

Regardless of the stops-and-starts associated with SCP, Microsoft is absolutely committed to the protocol, and will build SCP-based applications as part of its eHome initiative. "There's no question we're committed to SCP," says Buerk.