Internet of Things
How the Matter standard is making smart easier
By Sujata Neidig, director of marketing for wireless connectivity at NXP Semiconductors I
n 2022, over 10 billion smart home devices were working through the Internet of Things (IoT) networks. Those devices were manufactured by thousands of companies, all with different types of compatibility within the industry. It is incumbent on the manufacturers to try and unify those devices, creating a standard that can allow those billions of devices to work in a seamless, simple, and functional way with each other. The Matter standard does just that: device manufacturers and ecosystem providers have already adopted the standard. In this article, the Matter standard is laid out in terms of its impact on the smart home industry.
What is Matter?
The Matter standard is a common language for devices to speak to each other. It started as the Connected Home over Internet Protocol (CHIP) Project, in December 2019, backed by well-known companies such as Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, and SmartThings. The technology was then branded as Matter, and Matter 1.0 was released in October 2022. Matter is a royalty-free standard, created for the smart home and owned and managed under the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). Matter leverages market-proven technologies such as Wi-Fi, Thread, and Ethernet to connect devices to each other and Bluetooth Low Energy to commission a device onto the network. As a common language, Matter creates compatibility and interoperability, so that smart home devices work with each other, across both brands and smart home ecosystems. Although Matter is new, it doesn’t obsolete the millions of smart devices in homes today. Many of these devices can be upgraded with an over-the-air firmware update to support Matter if they already use Wi-Fi or Thread as the network transport. Devices that use other technologies such as Zigbee or Z-Wave can be bridged into the Matter network by adding Matter bridge capability to a corresponding hub, again as a simple over-the-air firmware update. Matter devices can use Wi-Fi, Ethernet,
36 March 2023
or Thread to connect to the network. As IP technologies, Wi-Fi and Ethernet offer flexible connectivity options that allow smart home devices to communicate directly with each other on the local network. Wi-Fi and Ethernet also allow communication directly to cloud services over the internet, using networking infrastructure already in most homes today. Wi-Fi and Ethernet support various smart home applications today, including traditional smart home categories like lighting, switches, sensors, and locks. These technologies support high bandwidth and real-time applications like streaming media from speakers, cameras, and doorbells. Thread is a wireless mesh network technology built on the same IP technology as Wi-Fi and Ethernet. However, it is designed for lower-bandwidth use cases with long-range, resilient, and low-power applications. Thread is ideally suited for low bandwidth applications, which reduces latency and power consumption and provides an extended range. This low power consumption significantly extends the battery life of devices like door locks and sensors and improves the performance of power-constrained devices like thermostats and HVAC controls. An important capability of Thread is the Border Router. Like an access point does for Wi-Fi, a Thread Border Router
Components in Electronics
from any brand can connect all Thread devices to the home network, eliminating the need for proprietary hubs or bridges. Border routers can be built into existing devices, such as smart speakers, home routers, and even televisions or streaming boxes.
Matter also raises the bar on security with built-in requirements to protect against cyberattacks. Matter requires a process called device attestation, which means that when a device is added to a Matter network, it must first prove its identity and authenticity as a Matter-certified device before joining via a secure session. Once on the Matter network, the device uses encrypted data only. Again, Matter uses proven technologies to facilitate this process: device attestation is based on public key infrastructure (PKI) and uses X.509 certificates to authenticate Matter products and device vendors.
One of the key differentiated capabilities of Matter is a feature called multi-admin. Multi-admin means that devices provide for simultaneous operation in multiple smart home systems. This breaks down the walled gardens that have been part of the smart home industry and creates more opportunities for consumers, device manufacturers, and the industry as a whole.
What does this mean for the consumer?
Matter brings an unprecedented level of flexibility, choice, and reliability to consumers. Before Matter, devices from different manufacturers did not always work together and were limited in how they could be controlled, i.e. specific apps, mobile phones, smart speakers, etc. Consumers had to do their own detailed and time-consuming research when selecting smart home devices to see which ones would work with their existing smart home devices and control methods or otherwise have frustrating experiences when setting up and using newly purchased smart devices in their homes. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and SmartThings have already announced their support for Matter through upgrades to their smart home platforms, apps, and products. And device manufacturers have demonstrated and announced support for Matter, across the full range of device types that Matter 1.0 supports.
For consumers, Matter means they can select smart devices based on their features, rather than on compatibility, or being part of a specific ecosystem. Matter allows the consumer to take a leading role in the choices they make, and experience a smarter home that meets their personal needs.
What does this mean for the product manufacturers and developers? Matter eases the interoperability bottlenecks that have existed in design and retail situations. This means that device manufacturers no longer need to build multiple stock-keeping units (SKUs) to support multiple ecosystems. They can build one SKU to support them all and have an expanded available market. Because of this, companies can now offer more products that work together with other off-the-shelf products and the major smart home platforms that consumers are familiar with today. Designers have more options when developing smart home products with Matter and can focus
www.cieonline.co.uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62
