AUSTIN, TX, August 3, 2011 - The Wi-Fi Alliance is hosting its inaugural Wi-Fi Smart Energy Forum this week in Chicago. The opening day of the event featured the first large-scale interoperable demonstration of Wi-Fi SEP 2 implementations. In addition, Dr. George Arnold, national coordinator for smart grid interoperability at U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), delivered a keynote address on Tuesday morning.
"There is tremendous momentum in the Wi-Fi industry around smart energy applications, so this event was designed to enable industry players and stakeholders to come together and see Wi-Fi SEP 2 in action," said Edgar Figueroa, CEO of Wi-Fi Alliance. "It's exciting to see how quickly the industry is progressing toward a future where people are able to use Wi-Fi in a wide array of appliances and energy management solutions."
More than 100 people from 65 companies and organizations are in attendance at the event, representing the broad smart energy ecosystem - silicon and device providers, software and networking vendors, as well as utilities and government officials. Guest speakers at the forum reflect a range of categories including utilities with representation from Duke Energy, Pennsylvania Power and Light and Consumers Energy; automotive with representation from Ford Motor Company; and consumer appliances with representation from Whirlpool, LG Electronics and A.O. Smith. The conference sessions have addressed topics ranging from Home Network Architecture and Neighborhood Networks and Advanced Metering Infrastructure to Utility Perspectives and Industrial Applications.
The highlight of the event's opening day was the first ever large-scale demonstration of SEP 2 over Wi-Fi involving multiple vendors from various industries. This demonstration also showed SEP 2 operating across an integrated Wi-Fi/HomePlug configuration, and featured direct Wi-Fi connectivity to an iPad SEP 2 customer application. Companies participating in the demonstration included:
- Aclara
- Aruba
- Elbrys Networks
- GainSpan
- Grid2Home
- Intwine Energy
- Oak Tree Consulting
- Qualcomm Atheros
- Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI)
- Ubilogix
"We are proud to see so many great companies participating in the Wi-Fi Smart Energy Forum SEP 2 demonstration," said Wi-Fi Alliance technical director Greg Ennis. "As Wi-Fi continues its momentum in smart energy applications, this demonstration is a testament to the industry's readiness for commercial deployment and the technology's suitability for a wide range of smart energy implementations."
Video from the event, including keynotes and panel discussions, will be available online August 8 on the Wi-Fi Alliance YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/wifialliance.
About the Wi-Fi Alliance
http://www.wi-fi.org/
The Wi-Fi Alliance is a global non-profit industry association of hundreds of leading companies devoted to seamless connectivity. With technology development, market building, and regulatory programs, the Wi-Fi Alliance has enabled widespread adoption of Wi-Fi worldwide.
The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ program was launched in March 2000. It provides a widely-recognized designation of interoperability and quality and it helps to ensure that Wi-Fi enabled products deliver the best user experience. The Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 10,000 product certifications to date, encouraging the expanded use of Wi-Fi products and services in new and established markets.
Wi-Fi®, Wi-Fi Alliance®, WMM®, Wi-Fi Protected Access® (WPA), the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, the Wi-Fi logo, the Wi-Fi ZONE logo and the Wi-Fi Protected Setup logo are registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™, Wi-Fi Direct™, Wi-Fi Protected Setup™, Wi-Fi Multimedia™, WPA2™, and the Wi-Fi Alliance logo are trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
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Contact:
Karl Stetson
Edelman for Wi-Fi Alliance
karl.stetson@edelman.com
206-268-2215
