A coalition of Internet of Things (IoT) leaders have are launching the OpenFog Consortium to accelerate the deployment of Fog technologies through the development of an open architecture, core technologies including the capabilities of distributed computing, networking and storage as well as the leadership needed to realize the full potential of IoT.

The coalition—comprised of ARM, Cisco, Dell, Intel, Microsoft Corp. and the Princeton University Edge Laboratory—was formed to solve some of today’s most common challenges, such as high latency on the network, support of endpoint mobility, loss of connectivity, unpredictable bandwidth bottlenecks and distributed coordination of systems and clients.

According to the consortium, the OpenFog architecture brings seamless intelligence from the cloud to the IoT endpoints using an open, standardized approach. Founding members will build initial frameworks and architectures that reduce the time required to deliver the end-to-end IoT scenarios.

Fog computing technology distributes the resources and services of computation, communication, control and storage closer to devices and systems at or near the end-users. The goal is to have an infrastructure in place where data produced by IoT can be stored or processed in part by devices themselves or a remote data center between the device and the IoT.

The OpenFog nonprofit global consortium is looking to drive industry and academic leadership in fog computing architectures with white papers, test beds and other deliverables that demonstrate best practices for interoperability and composability between cloud and edge architectures. By utilizing existing standards and proven approaches, the consortium seeks to reduce the time required to deliver the end-to-end IoT scenarios (technologies, architectures, test beds and business development) the market is demanding.

The OpenFog Consortium says it is committed to focusing on:

-Developing an architecture framework

-Facilitating a forum to share ideas regarding open fog computing

-Creating educational material about fog research and development

-Branding and promoting open fog computing implementations

-Influencing standards development through strategic partnerships

-Setting up a technology test bed at Princeton University

-Hosting “plugfests” with educational tracks to expand the open fog computing community and promote innovation.

The OpenFog Consortium will be building the initial framework and architecture through early 2016, with additional announcements expected at the IoT World Forum in Dubai, December 6-8, 2015.

More on the consortium can be found at www.openfogconsortium.org.