Cisco, Bosch and ABB are to join forces to set up a joint venture that will develop and operate an open software platform for smart home devices and applications. Bosch revealed in a statement that the aim of the platform is to enable the simple exchange of data between different manufacturers' devices. In addition, the planned platform will make it possible to provide a range of services related to household devices in areas such as energy management, security technology and entertainment. The three companies said the joint venture would begin operations at the start of 2015 and that they would be inviting appliance makers, home automation vendors and service providers to take part in the development of the software platform.
