New MediaTek technology allows hardware sharing across devices

With the Internet of things (IoT) on the rise and an alarming number of devices in your household already connected to the web out daily tech drivers are becoming increasingly more interconnected. Naturally at some point this gets a little bit confusing and MediaTek, among others have realized this fact.

Mobile devices are quickly becoming the main hub for information and multimedia for most people, due to sheer convenience in not anything else. And while there are plenty of ways to push content around smart tech, borrowing hardware is a whole different concept. The Chinese chip manufacturer has set its sights to bridge this gap. Their proposed solution is called CrossMount - an open-source standard, part of the well-known and universally established Universal Plug and Play (UPnP).

What it actually does is quite ingenious. It lets supported devices seamlessly borrow hardware component from one another, just like sharing files. This could, for example, allow you to use you phone's camera for video calls on a smart TV or a PC. Why not attach you phone's or smart band's hear-rate sensor to a smart piece of fitness equipment. The possibilities are endless.

Now this all sound very enticing, but like most tech innovations it all comes down to third=party involvement and support, MediaTek might be pushing the standard, but they can only do so much in enforcing what is essentially an open-source code. A few major manufacturers, like Changhong, Hisense, Lenovo and TCL have reportedly welcomed the CrossMount standard and should be on board in its future development. Sadly major players like Samsung, LG and HTC might opt for proprietary in-house solutions, as is usually the case when market shares are at stake.

The good news is that we, the users, do have a certain say in the matter. If open cross-platform hardware sharing standards is what the market truly wants, then manufacturers will have to deliver sooner or later. So here's to hoping the whole thing picks up.

Source | Via