Mozilla Announces Project Thing

Mozilla, the maker of the popular Firefox web browser, wants to get its foot into the door of IoT. With this in mind, the not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 by members of Netscape, has announced Project Thing, a gateway system that will allow a community of makers, testers, contributors, and end-users to effectively create their own private Internet of Things and to control devices and machines directly from the web.

On its blog, Mozilla points out that the lack of a single standard for connecting various devices in a major roadblock on the way to successful IoT implementation. The author writes: 2 If the future of connected IoT devices continues to involve proprietary solutions, then costs will stay high, while the market remains fragmented and slow to grow. Consumers should not be locked into a specific product, brand, or platform. This will only lead to paying premium prices for something as simple as a ‘smart light bulb’.”

Mozilla’s solution is to provide a decentralized network using open standards and frameworks, allowing almost anyone to build a Things Gateways using such popular device as the Raspberry Pi, small single-board “general purpose computer” designed in the United Kingdom and widely used in areas such as robotics. The setup process provides a secure URL that can be used to access and control your connected devices from anywhere. The system now offers the ability to use the microphone on your computer to issue voice commands, as rules engines and a floor-plan view to lay out devices on a map of a home or factory.