 Mr. Reiji Sano As we move into an era of advanced communications and information, rapid advances in digital and multimedia technology are driving use of the Internet and other information technologies, leading to hopes of new applications business. However, we have yet to see a corresponding penetration of the information appliances and home networks that represent the basis of all communications within the home. Further, global environmental problems and the aging of society are driving a need for energy management, security, and healthcare systems within existing homes. The Echonet Consortium was created to promote the joint development and standardization of a next-generation home network system capable of meeting the needs of society in the 21st century. Echonet is an acronym for Energy Conservation and Homecare Network. It symbolizes our goal of developing a home network that will promote a society that is both environmentally conscious and people-friendly. Further, it symbolizes the "echo" of responding to the needs of its users. The beginnings of this Consortium can be traced to a research project sponsored by MITI in 1996 entitled "Committee for Research on a 21st Century Home Network System." This committee submitted a proposal for the development of a next-generation home network system. Members of this committee were the driving force behind the preparations that brought us to today. In December last year, the Consortium was established around the four founding member companies of Toshiba, Hitachi, Mitsubishi Electric, and Matsushita Electric Industrial. In February this year, we held an explanatory meeting to explain our goals in establishing the Consortium and call for participation from a broad range of companies. As a result, we gained 47 new members, making it possible to hold today's general assembly. I would like to thank everyone, and particularly MITI's Machinery and Information Industries Bureau and the Information Technology Promotion Agency Japan, for their assistance in making the Consortium's creation and development work possible. The Consortium is unique in that its members consist not only of technology developers but also the "user" companies who will provide network services, related appliances, and other products. This will enable us to develop the necessary technologies with a firm grasp of user needs while presenting development specifications early on, resulting in the fast, efficient development of a truly useful network system and applications. To this end, we have established a Technical Committee and a Promotion Committee. In the Technical Committee, Category A members will develop the key software and hardware necessary for Echonet. Meanwhile, the Promotion Committee will serve as a conduit with user companies, presenting them with development standards and providing forums and working groups to give the Technical Committee a solid grasp of user needs. We believe that close coordination of all of these activities will enable us to build the foundation for a network system that is truly useful. We believe that utilization of Echonet will result in closer ties between home and external systems and in the development of a wide range of new applications. To enable the efficient development of related applications and devices and assure reliability, the Consortium will develop and publish specifications for middleware that facilitates use of network features by applications. It will also provide tools to support the development of highly reliable applications and network-compliant devices. We would therefore like to ask user companies to help us make this an effective program by providing advice and concrete assistance. For the time being, we will focus our efforts on establishing key Echonet technologies by the end of FY 1999. In the future, however, we hope to promote widespread adoption and propose an international home networking standard while enhancing compliance with a wide range of applications and improving infrastructure functions. Through these development and promotion activities, the Consortium aims to contribute to a 21st century society characterized by abundance and a harmonious balance between man and the environment.  |