There are many well-known smart home communication protocols, such as Zigbee, Thread, 6LowPan, Wi Fi, Z-wave, Bluetooth Mesh, and so on.
But in the past decade, there has been no standard protocol that can unify smart home communication protocols, nor can there be a standard protocol that can truly achieve interconnectivity between different brand products.
With the vigorous development of short-range wireless communication products and the tremendous changes in low-power embedded processors, as well as the continuous iteration and progress of chip technology and the deepening exploration of application scenarios, sufficient preparation has been provided for the new development of smart homes. Now, the market needs a new protocol and ecosystem to achieve wireless connectivity for smart homes.
Background of the Matter Agreement
Different communication protocols are like different "languages", with a wide variety of communication protocols mainly designed to meet different product concepts. Some focus on link stability, some emphasize low power consumption, and some emphasize compatibility. Different concepts result in the inability of "languages" to communicate with each other and devices to interconnect. At the same time, the ecosystems of different brands are highly exclusive for their own data security and ecological share, which makes it difficult for the smart home industry to break through due to the dual reasons.
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In late December 2019, led by smart giants such as Amazon, Apple, and Google, over 200 companies and thousands of experts from around the world joined forces to establish a working group aimed at creating more links for devices, simplifying manufacturer development, increasing device compatibility, improving user experience, and driving breakthrough development in smart homes. This led to the development of a standard protocol called "Project Connected Home over IP" (Project CHIP).
According to the original plan, CHIP standards will be released by the end of 2020 and new products will be launched in 2021. However, due to various factors, the CHIP standard did not arrive as scheduled. In May 2021, the Zigbee Alliance was renamed the CSA Connectivity Standards Alliance, and the CHIP project was also renamed Matter. In August of the same year, the CSA Alliance announced that it would postpone the release of the Matter agreement until 2022.
Until the National Day holiday this year, the CSA Alliance officially released the Matter 1.0 standard and announced that the certification program is now open. This means that smart home brands can conduct relevant testing and certification on their products, and once certified, companies can start selling devices with the Matter logo.
What is the 02 Matter Agreement
The Matter protocol is a smart home interconnection protocol based on the IPv6 protocol. The problem that the Matter protocol aims to solve is the "mutual understanding" between different smart devices, enabling smart devices from different brands and ecosystems to break down barriers and achieve interconnectivity. The Matter protocol simplifies the smart home operating experience, making it easier for consumers to add smart home devices to their homes.
Matter is also a certification system, and devices certified by the Matter Alliance can smoothly achieve interconnectivity. You can call out "Tmall Genie", turn on the Tongshida air purifier, and ask "Xiaoyi classmate" to set the air conditioning to 26 ° C.
--Matter 1.0 supports three protocols: Wi Fi, Thread, and Ethernet, and supports Bluetooth for network distribution. Although it supports multiple platforms, users must choose the voice assistant and application they want to use. Matter does not have a central application or assistant.
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03 Matter Protocol Features
1. Open source code
2. Only establish standards for interaction with the application layer
3. Communication protocols for local area networks
4. Make it easier for device manufacturers to manufacture devices compatible with smart homes and voice services
5. The underlying communication technologies currently supported include Wi Fi, Ethernet, and Thread
04 Matter Protocol Applicable Equipment
Some devices can work with Matter after firmware updates, but some are not yet compatible, such as security cameras, doorbells, robot vacuum cleaners, etc., which may be gradually covered and improved in future protocol updates.
In the Matter1.0 standard, currently only certain categories of equipment are covered, such as:
1. Light bulbs and switches
2. Smart socket
3. Smart lock
4. Intelligent blinds and sunshades
5. Garage door controller
6. Thermostat
7. HVAC controller
05 Connect Matter device
As mentioned above, the Matter protocol only supports local control within the LAN and does not have the concept of cloud. So, similar to the usage of previous gateway devices, the main network connection methods can be divided into three types:
One is to support Matter's Wi Fi and Ethernet devices to directly connect to LAN routers;
Secondly, Thread and Zigbee devices that support Matter must first be connected to a gateway device that supports the Matter protocol, and then connected to the home router by the gateway device;
Thirdly, sub devices that do not support the Matter protocol must first be connected to the Matter Bridge, and then the Matter Bridge device can be connected to the home router through protocol conversion, similar to previous edge box products.
Taking the operation of Wi Fi and Ethernet devices that support Matter as an example, when a user needs to add a Matter device, they can open any APP application that supports the Matter protocol, align it with the QR code on the Matter device, scan and pair it to add. After successful addition, the device will enter the local area network, and the control panel will be displayed in the APP application to achieve control. If it is a Matter device from the three major brands of Amazon, Apple, and Google, it is important to add their own voice assistant speaker to the app before connecting and pairing the Matter device.
06 Adapting to the Matter Protocol for Building a New Smart Home Market
For smart lighting companies, the launch of the Matter 1.0 standard will be a market that presents both opportunities and challenges.
The new standard protocol has weakened the brand binding of smart products, broken down the barriers of brand ecological environment, and provided users with more choices between products and brands, thus bringing huge growth to the smart home market. This is a rare and visible opportunity for the stable smart home industry in the past decade.