HP FutureSmart firmware
HP FutureSmart firmware is a single codebase of embedded software for Hewlett-Packard LaserJet printers and (Flow) MFPs. HP FutureSmart represents HP’s cumulative knowledge and experience with imaging and printing technologies and provides a framework for creating new intelligent devices well suited for web and mobile technologies.
Background
Historically, HP LaserJet firmware development was bound to product development life cycles. In other words, device firmware was device specific. As the office printing markets matured and a plethora of devices existed at customer sites which required support and maintenance resources, device specific firmware became problematic and costly. HP FutureSmart firmware is a relatively new generation of device firmware that is decoupled from hardware platforms and managed much like a desktop client operating system. When HP FutureSmart firmware is enhanced, current HP FutureSmart devices can be upgraded with new functionality that can effectively extend a product’s original life expectancy.
Design goals
HP developed HP FutureSmart firmware in order to meet specific design goals pertaining to current and future market conditions. Specifically, HP created new device firmware for HP LaserJets and (Flow) MFPs that:
- Reduced product development life cycle costs
- Unified functional testing across fleet of devices
- Reduced customer support costs
- Simplified project management
- Reduced software development risks
- Provided a framework for accelerated feature development
- Enhanced connectivity and security features
- Improved interoperability and adherence to standards
HP FutureSmart technologies
HP FutureSmart firmware is a single codebase that can be scaled from a desktop device to a centrally managed enterprise device. This is accomplished with a componentized architecture which allows HP developers to pick and choose the components required for specific device functionality. HP FutureSmart can be used across HP’s range of enterprise imaging and printing devices.
HP FutureSmart also includes numerous HP embedded technologies and standard protocol support that allows HP devices to support traditional printing scenarios as well as mobile computing trends and web application development.
HP FutureSmart incorporates HP LaserJet printing technology. This includes support for standard printing languages including PCL5, PCL6, and Postscript and a software development kit (SDK) for custom language development. HP FutureSmart also provides an accelerated print engine interface for rendering pages. The primary role of the interpretive languages is to consume I/O data and convert it to a display list format that the print engine can use to render pages into a bitmap format for actual printing.
HP FutureSmart provides an operating system to effectively manage simultaneous programs and processes running on an HP device.
Web services for devices is another critical component of the HP FutureSmart architecture. Web services allows HP LaserJets and MFPs to provide remote access to device specific services (printing, scanning, digital sending, etc.) using standard web protocols including HTTP, SOAP, and XML. HP has also implemented a web application development framework called HP Open Extensibility Platform (HP OXP) that is based on the web services specifications for devices.
To accomplish these interoperability tasks HP FutureSmart devices leverage HP Jetdirect technology which supports numerous networking, security, and device management protocols. Refer to Figure 1 for a list of current protocols supported.
Other components of HP FutureSmart include embedded web server technology (httpd) and an embedded web browser (xhtml, JavaScript, AJAX). Essentially a Webkit-based browser with a few proprietary extensions, HP devices can be controlled via managed application software (HP OXP workflow applications) remotely. End users interact with the remote workflow applications via the device control panel, i.e. the embedded web browser.
Current use
HP FutureSmart is used the following third party companies who have developed software that uses FutureSmart to communicate with HP MFPs:
Summary
Together the technologies and components of HP FutureSmart create an adaptable office device that is prepared to deal with current IT issues as well as future ones. Other printing and MFP vendors are deploying similar solutions and this represents a real shift in the industry; the old less intelligent peripherals of the past are being replaced with intelligent network devices designed to support traditional printing models as well as web services-based models of the future.