On September 29th, the Wi-SUN Alliance announced the addition of the Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University and Purdue University to the Alliance as Contributor Members.
Wi-SUN technology is an essential part of Smart Utility Networks around the world. The smart grid promises a dramatic transformation of the world's electricity infrastructure. Smart grid deployment has been taking place at a rapid pace for the electric utility industry. Over 300 million smart meters have been deployed worldwide, with more than 50 million in North America.
Phil Beecher, Chair of Wi-SUN Alliance states: "Wi-SUN brings standardization and interoperability to a wide variety of Smart Utility and Smart City network application areas. These will play a significant role in The Internet of Things." He adds: "The contributions of world-class educational institutions, such as the Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University, and Purdue University, to the Alliance demonstrate our global role."
Professor Toru Sato, Dean of the Graduate School of Informatics at Kyoto University states: "Our Graduate school emphasizes education, research, and development on The Internet of Things and machine-to-machine communications. We are delighted to be one of the first university members launching a Wi-SUN Alliance program." He adds: "Experience to propose research results on The Internet of Things from our university to the Alliance and participate in the Alliance's working group discussions for the development of standards is quite beneficial from the viewpoint of strength of global human resource development."
Douglas Comer, Distinguished Professor of Computer Science at Purdue has taught classes that include wireless mesh networks and is now planning to incorporate wireless sensor networks in future courses. He states: "We at Purdue expect The Internet of Things to be widely adopted over the coming years and are excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the creation of protocol standards and reference implementations." He adds, "Closer involvement with Wi-SUN and protocol development along with the ability to expose our students to this new and fast growing area of networking is a vital part of our educational mission here at Purdue University."
Wi-SUN Alliance members include international companies helping to build Smart Utility Network infrastructure on five continents. The growth of Smart Grid markets and products is taking place on a world-wide basis, and on a fast track in Asia, Australia, Europe, North and South America. The inclusion of educational institutions in Wi-SUN further signals this growth.
About the Wi-SUN Alliance
The Wi-SUN Alliance is a global non-profit industry association of leading companies devoted to the proliferation of Wi-SUN technology across devices and market segments. With technology development, market building, and certification programs, the Wi-SUN Alliance has enabled widespread adoption of Wi-SUN worldwide.
The Wi-SUN CERTIFIED(TM) program was launched in January 2014. It provides a widely-recognized designation of interoperability and quality, and it helps to ensure that Wi-SUN enabled products deliver the best user experience. The Wi-SUN Alliance product certification program will encourage the expanded use of Wi-SUN products and services in new and established markets.
