Describe the following standards: (i) EnOcean (ii) DLNA
Answer:-
(i) EnOcean:
EnOcean is a wireless technology designed primarily for building automation systems, focusing on energy harvesting. It enables batteryless devices to communicate by utilizing ultra-low power electronics and energy conversion methods. The key components in EnOcean devices include wireless sensors, switches, controllers, and gateways, all of which rely on microenergy converters that harvest energy from sources like electromagnetic, solar, and other variations. EnOcean is characterized by:
- Low Data Rates: About 125 kbit/s for wireless packets.
- Energy Harvesting: Devices convert environmental energy (such as light or motion) into usable energy for wireless communication.
- Maintenance-Free Devices: The system is designed to operate without needing battery replacement.
- Wide Transmission Range: EnOcean devices can communicate up to 30 meters indoors and 300 meters outdoors.
- Standards: EnOcean was standardized under ISO/IEC 14543-3-10 for physical, data link, and networking layers.
The use of energy harvesting techniques ensures that EnOcean devices remain battery-free, making them ideal for IoT applications in industries, transportation, logistics, and homes.
(ii) DLNA:
The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) was founded in 2003 to create interoperability guidelines for sharing digital media across multimedia devices such as smartphones, smart TVs, tablets, and media servers. Its primary focus is home networking, enabling devices to communicate and share media content over wireless networks, typically using WLAN. Key features of DLNA include:
- Device and Service Discovery: DLNA enables devices to detect each other on the network automatically.
- Content Sharing: It allows media sharing across a wide variety of devices without additional add-ons or software, such as streaming videos or music between a smartphone and a TV.
- Digital Rights Management (DRM): DLNA incorporates a DRM layer to ensure content protection and prevent piracy.
- Broad Support: As of 2019, DLNA had over a billion devices following its guidelines.
DLNA outlines the following technological components for ensuring seamless media sharing:
- Network and Connectivity: Guidelines for communication between devices.
- Device and Service Discovery and Control: Allows devices to find and control each other.
- Media Format and Transport Model: Standards for how media is formatted and transmitted.
- Media Management, Distribution, and Control: Ensures proper management of media resources.
- Digital Rights Management and Content Protection: Secures media content during sharing.
- Manageability: Ensures that the system is easy to manage and maintain.