Proposed Vision of Echonet ECHONET is designed to control home appliances directly and will connect to home electronics devices through a gateway. This design will enable industry participants to develop a variety of systems having different communication speeds and levels of technological sophistication while maintaining optimum cost performance.   Use of Electric Wires and Wireless Technology as Transmission Media   The use of wireless technology and ordinary home electric wiring eliminates the need for special rewiring and allows the network to be used in existing homes as well as new housing. Implementation of a Multi-vendor Environment   Equipment built by different manufacturers can be interconnected and controlled. Plug & Play Functionality   The incorporation of plug & play functionality enables new devices to be easily added to the network. Open System Architecture   The Consortium will also prepare middleware, publish specifications, and provide development and support tools to encourage the development of highly reliable application software and network-compatible devices. Connections to Systems Outside the Home   The network will provide advanced services by connecting to external systems via communications lines and by working in cooperation with outside organizations.