BBC R&D has developed a universal control system API
that opens up a wide range of possibilities for interacting with
your TV across multiple devices.
The technology allows a network-connected device, be it a
smartphone, laptop or toy Dalek, to talk via the home network to a
set-top box that runs a particular piece of software. By doing
this, a connected device can obtain the information it needs to
synchronise things to the box, such as images or audio. The API
(application programming interface) that the software
implements is called Universal Control.
The idea is that a universal control system would be able to
unify devices regardless of the manufacturer -- whether it is a
connected TV, set-top box, mobile phone or laptop from any device
maker. Continue reading