News & Events

The Trace Center has released a set of open-source packages as beta versions, implementing various parts of the Universal Remote Console (URC) technology.  The released software, documentation and tutorials give developers of controlled devices, controllers and pluggable user interfaces a jump-start into the URC ecosystem.  The BSD-type license allows for almost unlimited reuse of the software in commercial and non-commercial projects.

The new software packages include:

• UCHj 1.0 beta2 - Universal Control Hub reference implementation for Java
• UCHe 1.0 beta - Universal Control Hub reference implementation for embedded systems (C/C++)
• UPnP AV Target Adapter 1.0 beta - Connects the UCH to the UPnP AV world
• GC-100 Targets 1.0 beta - Target Adapter for devices connected to the GC-100 master controller
• PlayIt 4.0 beta - Flash-based controller for UPnP AV systems
• DragIt 4.0 beta - Web 2.0 controller for UPnP AV systems
• Webclient 1.0 beta2 - A JavaScript library for URC-HTTP clients
• Satellite Box Applet 1.0 beta2 - A simulated satellite box target running in a browser for test purposes

Source code can be downloaded from SourceForge.net. Feedback and bug reports should be sent to Gottfried Zimmermann.

The URC Consortium has posted drafts of Technical Reports on their website. They are listed in the new “Technical Reports” section, at http://myurc.org/TR.

As listed, the URCC is seeking comments from its members and the public on the following new DRAFT TRs:

• URC Technical Primer 1.0, Draft Technical Report 2008-08-14
• Universal Control Hub 1.0, Draft Technical Report 2008-08-14
• URC-HTTP Protocol 2.0, Draft Technical Report 2008-08-14
• Resource Property Vocabulary 1.0, Draft Technical Report 2008-08-14
• Resource Server HTTP Interface 1.0, Draft Technical Report 2008-08-14

Comments should be sent to the editor of these drafts, Gottfried Zimmermann.

It is recommended to read the URC Technical Primer first, especially for readers that are not yet familiar with these drafts.

The standards on Universal Remote Console have been published as ISO/IEC 24752, and are now available for purchase at http://www.iso.org. The publication followed a recent vote among the national body members of ISO/IEC JTC1, in which the URC standards have been adopted by consensus.  It is a milestone towards making the URC technology available in every networked electronic and information technology products, which is a goal the Trace Center has worked toward for the past ten years.

ISO/IEC 24752 is in five parts, including an overview and detailed descriptions of the components of the URC framework. These components are: user interface socket description, presentation template, target description, and resource description.

The Trace Center has been instrumental in the development and standardization of URC technology from its inception. Trace is a member of the INCITS Technical Committee V2, the U.S. mirror group of JTC1 SC35, where the international version of the URC standard has been developed. Trace is also a founding member of the URC Consortium.

The Trace Center’s work on pluggable remote control user interfaces through the Universal Remote Console (URC) framework has resulted in a new series of demo applications. Short videos are now available for each application, demonstrating how it can remotely control a home entertainment center with digital media such as music, video and photos. PlayIt is a small Flash application running on a PDA; DragIt is a Web 2.0 application for Web browsers on PCs; and PickIt is a simple, task-oriented application running on Windows Mobile-based smartphones and PDAs.

The Trace Center has released new versions of two components of its open-source software suite on the Universal Remote Console (URC) framework. The URC Software Development Kit (SDK 3.2) has several new features, including the ability to use non-Java targets, and also includes new tutorial sections. The URC Simulation Environment 3.2 includes a simulated elevator target (written mostly in C) plus other improvements. The Simulation Environment runs a set of graphical simulations of URC clients and targets as Java applets from your Web browser, or as Java applications from your operating system. Source code and binaries of both URC software suite components are available free for download. Developers and researchers are welcome to use these tools as a showcase for the URC technology and for developing their own URC-compliant clients and targets.

The Trace Center has released version 3.1 of its open-source Universal Remote Console Simulation Environment. This Web-based simulation platform for applications based on the family of Universal Remote Console (URC) standards runs a set of graphical simulations of URC clients and targets from your Web browser (as Java applets) or operating system (as Java applications). Source code and binaries are freely available for download. Developers and researchers are welcome to use this tool as a showcase for the URC technology and for developing their own URC-compliant clients and targets. Trace is also releasing an update (version 3.1) of its open-source URC Software Development Kit.

The Trace Center has released version 3.0 of its open-source Software Development Kit for developers and manufacturers of Universal Remote Consoles (URCs) and Target devices. The URC Software Development Kit (SDK) is the first public Java code library based on the family of ANSI standards on URC. The code is based on JDK 1.5 or later. The SDK comes with a multi-part tutorial and sample code for how to use the SDK. URC and Target developers can now jumpstart into the URC technology, building their implementation around the SDK from Trace.

The latest drafts of the ISO/IEC standard on a universal remote console have been recently distributed to the members of the pertaining subcommittee, ISO/IEC JTC1 SC35 user interfaces, for final committee draft voting. If successful, this vote (closing in August 2006), will likely be the last vote on the subcommittee level. At that point, the draft standard will be passed on to JTC1 for final voting and publication as an ISO/IEC International Standard.

The pertaining schema files (for XML and RDF) have been posted on this site, as follows:

XML schema for UI Socket Description - there is also a more illustrative and table-like description of the schema.

XML schema for Presentation Template - there is also a more illustrative and table-like description of the schema.

XML schema for Target Description - there is also a more illustrative and table-like description of the schema.

RDF schema for Resource Description - note that this file won’t show in the browser since it has a MIME type of “application/rdf+xml,” so you need to save it and open manally with a text editor or browser.

The new Tools & Prototypes page now lists all publicly-known tools and prototype implementations of the Universal Remote Console framework. New projects include the Trace Universal Remote Console Software Development Kit (available for download, including source code), the Smart-Flow work at NIST, and the MedURC, UniTherapy and MUPAD work at Marquette University.

URC Consortium members held private demonstrations and discussions at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 5-7, 2006.

The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has adopted the five universal remote console standards developed by the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) V2 Technical Committee.

A web-based simulation is now available to help potential implementers gain a better understanding of the new standards. The URC Simulation Environment runs as a set of Java applets in any web browser (Internet Explorer or Mozilla with Java Plugin 5.0 or later). The user can launch a simulated TV, an alarm clock or a VCR, and control them through a graphical URC. The communication between the URC and the simulated appliances is based on the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) device architecture, which allows for launching them on different computers in a network.

More information: Press Release: Universal Remote Console Standards Adopted by ANSI

Five standards developed by the V2 Technical Committee were in public review through March 28, 2005. Obtain copies of the draft standards and information on how to submit comments. Comments may be submitted by any interested party.

Gregg Vanderheiden, Ph.D., presented at CES on Friday, Jan. 7 (session topic: Managing Complexity). His presentation featured a demonstration of how the V2 URC standard facilitates control of electronic devices through natural language interaction or a graphical user interface. The capability for natural language interaction (and, optionally, speech recognition) can be built into the Universal Remote Console, and does not have to be present on the device that is remotely controlled.

A new project on an international URC standard has been approved under ISO/IEC JTC1 SC35 on User Interfaces. This international standard will be based on the V2 standard (under ANSI) and is expected to eventually succeed the ANSI standard. In its Stockholm meeting in November 2004, SC35 created a new working group, titled "User Interfaces for Remote Interactions," for the URC project. Gottfried Zimmermann, Ph.D., International Representative of V2, was appointed editor for the international URC standard. SC35 is currently recruiting experts for this project, and interested organizations can participate through their national bodies to ISO/IEC JTC1.

More information: JTC 1/SC 35

The V2 Simulation Environment, an interactive Web-based application developed by the Trace Center, was made publicly available today. This simulation is intended to demonstrate the capabilities of the V2 URC draft standards for a Universal Remote Console framework, and to provide a hands-on simulation environment for people interested in the technical details of the draft standards.

More information: Press Release: V2 Simulation Environment