Mozilla, the organization behind the Firefox web browser, yesterday formally unveiled Project Things, "an open framework for connecting your devices to the web."
Created with the goal of building a decentralized IoT, Mozilla initially announced its intent to build a Web of Things framework last year. According to the organization, "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."
In an effort to push back against proprietary solutions, Project Things includes a Things Gateway that anyone can use to set up a private IoT network using popular devices like the Raspberry Pi.
The Things Gateway sports a variety of functionality, such as the ability to use a computer's microphone to issue voice commands and a rules engine for configuring "if this, then that" logic for connected devices. Once set up, the gateway offers a secure URL that users can access to control their connected devices anywhere they go. The advantage of this is that users won't have to rely on multiple mobile apps to control each of their devices.
Mozilla says that significant technical knowledge was previously required to use earlier incarnations of Things Gateway but now "we have made it easy for anyone to get started on building their own Things Gateway to control their devices."
A tutorial for building a private smart home is available on the Mozilla Hacks blog.