The CECED Convergence Working Group has defined a new platform, called CHAIN (Ceced Home Appliances Interoperating Network), which defines a protocol for interconnecting different home appliances in a single multibrand system.
It allows for control and automation of all basic appliance-related services in a home: e.g., remote control of appliance operation, energy or load management, remote diagnostics and automatic maintenance support to appliances, downloading and updating of data, programs and services (possibly from the Internet).
References
CHAIN (industry standard) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA