New open standard for ultra-reliable, time-sensitive wireless connectivity targets industrial automation, smart cities, disaster response and more
Open Source Summit North America — The Joint Development Foundation, part of the Linux Foundation family, today announced the launch of the OpenSTX Foundation, a new community-driven initiative to support the development and adoption of Synchronous Transmission (STX)-based wireless networking as an open industry standard. By coordinating efforts under a vendor-neutral foundation, the OpenSTX community aims to foster the universal adoption of STX to power the next generation of industrial IoT, cyber-physical systems and more.
As demand grows for scalable, secure, and real-time wireless connectivity, enterprises need protocols designed specifically for mission-critical environments like smart factories, cities, and logistics networks. STX provides a breakthrough alternative to conventional wireless systems, enabling tightly synchronized transmissions with near-zero collision, interference, or latency—making it ideal for applications where timing, reliability, and power efficiency are critical.
The OpenSTX Foundation will unite industry leaders, researchers, and stakeholders to create an enterprise-ready open specification for STX. Backed by leading research institutions and innovative companies—including the Technology Innovation Institute, Fly4Future, Graz University of Technology, Imperial College London, SKF CNEA, University of Trento, Technical University of Darmstadt, and RedNodeLabs—the OpenSTX Foundation is laying the groundwork for a universal protocol that ensures deterministic, energy-efficient, and ultra-reliable communication across sectors.
“Wireless infrastructure is critical to the future of industrial systems, cities, and connected devices—but it must be built on open, reliable, and interoperable foundations,” said Jim Zemlin, Executive Director of the Linux Foundation. “The launch of the OpenSTX Foundation reflects the Linux Foundation’s commitment to advancing open, community-driven standards that deliver real-world impact across sectors.”
Potential use cases for OpenSTX include:
- Industrial Control and Automation: Factories and industrial sites can use OpenSTX for wireless control of machines and robots with ultra-reliable, real-time responsiveness.
- Smart Cities and Infrastructure: Urban networks of traffic lights, power grids, and environmental sensors require coordination at scale. OpenSTX can provide a stable, city-wide communication fabric where thousands of devices synchronize to share data instantly
- Disaster Response Communications: In emergency scenarios, ad-hoc networks built on OpenSTX could quickly connect first responders and sensors without requiring existing infrastructure.
- Asset Tracking & Logistics: From supply chain tracking to wildlife monitoring, OpenSTX-enabled networks allow large numbers of trackers to concurrently report their positions or status.
“OpenSTX is about more than a new wireless protocol—it’s about enabling resilient, time-sensitive communication in the environments that need it most,” said Dr. Michael Baddeley, Principal Researcher at TII and chair of the OpenSTX Foundation Steering Committee. “From factory automation to disaster response, STX brings determinism and reliability to use cases that demand both. By building this as an open standard, we’re ensuring interoperability, and broad accessibility from day one.”
The OpenSTX Foundation encourages enterprise leaders, researchers, developers, and interested community members to get involved and participate. Learn more at: http://openstxfoundation.org.
