On December 8, Wed., the ECHONET Consortium co-hosted an ECHONET symposium with the Platform Design Lab of the Keio Research Institute at SFC (KRIS) and W3C/Keio at the Keio Mita Campus. 200 persons from companies and universities attended in the symposium. At the symposium, an invited speech was made by Mr. Yohei Matsuda, Deputy Director of the Information Economy Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). Entitled “Policies for realizing smart communities,” his speech covered government moves on smart grids, international affairs, situations in Japan, possibilities offered by smart communities, policies for promoting smart communities, prioritized policies on HEMS and BEMS, task force action for HEMS standardization, etc.
Additionally, a panel discussion entitled “Growth of smart housing and ECHONET” was held, with Prof. Umezima of the Platform Design Lab acting as a moderator. There was an active discussion from the viewpoints of information infrastructure establishment, manufacturers and the ECHONET Consortium.
Representatives of the housing and car industries also spoke with excitement of their innovations in smart housing and expectations for ECHONET Lite.
