Device Working Group Committee
The USB Device Working Group ("DWG") enables and promotes increased interoperability and reliability between USB products through documents that augment, enhance and extend USB specifications.
Device Working Group
USB-IF Board of Directors
The USB-IF board has responsibility for all aspects of USB promotion, compliance and specification development in support of the core specification. It sets policy and procedures for all DWG activity and has final approval prior to release of all DWG specifications.
DWG
The Device Working Group is an oversight group for monitoring processes and specification development for committee activity under its scope. This scope generally includes specification development activities that support the Primary USB specifications and define the way that specific devices are used in USB.
Membership is open to all USB-IF members in good standing and is required for membership in any of the working groups within DWG. Membership in subcommittees that create specifications will require that an IP agreement specific to that specification be signed by an officer of the participant’s member company.
DRB
The Document Review Board (DRB) is chaired by the DWG chair and is made up of working group chairs and USB-IF board members. The DRB has responsibility for administering the DWG and ensuring that proper processes are followed by the working groups. They also support the USB-IF board by offering recommendations on approval of specifications, new work items and other board decisions.
Audio
The Audio Device Class Working Group is chartered to develop specifications that define how digital audio devices, including MIDI devices, will operate over the Universal Serial Bus. Currently this group is focusing on enhancing the Audio Class specification to include low-power headsets suitable for battery-powered OTG hosts.
CabCon
The CabCon Working Group (CCWG) is open to any DWG members, and has responsibility for USB connector standard activity. They make recommendations on new connector work activities, write change requests to improve connectors defined in the existing USB 2.0 Standard and assist the USB-IF Compliance subcommittee with connector compliance issues.
Comm WG
The USB Communications Working Group (CWG) is open to any DWG members, and has responsibility for organizing development activity in the networking and communications area. The CWG has created multiple specifications:
- Communications Device Class 1.2 - 2008 (includes ATM, CDC, ECM, ISDN, and PSTN)
- Wireless Mobile Communications 1.1 - 2008
- Ethernet Emulation Model 1.0 - 2005
There are two subgroups that require IP agreements to participate:
- Communications (CDC) has completed its assigned task and is now inactive -- not accepting new members
- Network Control Model (NCM), to create new networking subclass(es) – see below
The CWG reviews any proposals for new USB communications subclasses.
NCM
The USB Networking Control Model (NCM) subgroup is developing new Communications Device subclass specifications for high speed network adaptors, including new wireless media types:
- 3G/4G cellular
- WLAN (802.11)
- WMAN (802.16)
- Ultra Wideband (Ecma-368)
The work may produce two subclasses:
- One focused on IEEE 802-style layer 2 (e.g. Ethernet) frames
- One focused on Internet Protocol (IP) datagrams
Membership in this group requires signature of the corresponding IP agreement.
Human Interface Device (HID)
The Human Interface Device Working Group is open to any DWG members. Since there is no active spec development they do not meet at DWG face-to-face meetings. There is however, activity on the reflector on an as needed basis to review and process new requests for extensions to the HID tables. Members interested in creating new HID usages should present their proposals to the HID reflector to ensure that any HID code usage is known to the USB community at large.
Mass Storage
The Mass Storage Class Working Group is open to any DWG members and addresses issues related to using hard drives, flash media, optical devices and other types of mass storage devices over the Universal Serial Bus.
Mass Storage UASP
The Mass Storage USB Attached SCSI Protocol (UASP) working group is chartered to develop a highly efficient Mass Storage protocol that is suitable for use on SuperSpeed USB. The new protocol will also improve efficiency when used at traditional USB 2.0 speeds.
USB-IF Members who are USB 3.0 Contributors may join this group after executing the IP Agreement corresponding to the specification under development by this group.
Mass Storage Compliance Test
Mass Storage Compliance is an open sub-group of the Mass Storage Working Group and handles distribution of and feedback concerning the Mass Storage Compliance testing software integrated into USBCV.
Engineering releases of the Compliance Test software will be available here for testing before public release. Interim releases and enhancements may also be available here between public releases.
Note that these non-public releases are subject to their own license agreement. The license agreement is provided as part of the .zip file containing the software. Be sure to read the terms of that agreement.
The sub-group mailing list can be used for feedback and technical questions regarding the software, and discussion of how the software implements the Compliance Test specification, as well as discussion of the specification itself.
Media Transfer Protocol
The Media Transfer Protocol Group is chartered with developing a specification to define the control and object exchange (sync) mechanism over USB to be used by multimedia portable devices such as cell phones, portable music players and digital still cameras.
USB-IF Members may join this group only after executing the IP Agreement corresponding to the specification under development by this group.
Battery Charging
The Battery Charging Working Group is chartered with creating a specification that will define a means for devices to draw current in excess of the USB specification when connected to wall chargers and specific hosts that know how to indicate that they can supply additional current. The specification will cover wall charger requirements, device requirements, and host charger requirements. The mechanisms will be fully backward compatible with all legacy hosts and devices.
Work toward a 2.0 version of the specification is aimed at developing protocols that will enable hosts to appropriately manage the power of battery charging devices.
DWG Members may join this group only after executing the IP Agreement corresponding to the specification under development by this group.
Serial Link-Phy Interface
The Serial Link-Phy Interface (SLPI) group is chartered defining a minimal pin-count electrical interface between Links and Phys that works for hosts, peripherals and OTG products. The interface will leverage the HSIC specification.
DWG Members may join this group only after executing the IP Agreement corresponding to the specification under development by this group.
Video
The Video Class Working Group is open to any DWG member and is intended for video-related discussions on compliance and other topics that are not governed by IP agreements.
Video Display
The Video Display group was created specifically to build upon the USB Video Class by defining mechanisms for the display of content, originating from PCs or mobile devices, on USB capable video displays.
DWG Members may join this group only after executing the IP Agreement corresponding to the specification under development by this group.
