Matter is the name of the new smart home standard that Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, SmartThings and the Connectivity Standards Alliance have now agreed on. The working name was “Project CHIP” (“Project Connected Home over IP”).
The first products with the certification are expected at the end of the year.
We wrote about the project in April
“The goal of CHIP is that you do not have to worry about whether a new device will work with the devices you already own. The technology replaces older smart home protocols such as Zigbee and Z-Wave and is designed to work with any voice assistant - unless it ends up as another alternative standard.
Furthermore, we reported that:
“The company expects to be able to start certification of smart home units by the end of 2021, which means that we can expect to see standardized products on the shelves before Christmas. The first wave includes things like lighting, blinds, HVAC controls (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning), TVs, door locks, garage door openers, security systems, Wi-Fi routers. ”
Over 180 companies are involved
IKEA, Legrand, NXP Semiconductors, Resideo, Schneider Electric, Signify, Silicon Labs, Somfy and Wulian are also part of the new standard - more than 180 companies have agreed to support this.
Matter is a unified IP-based connectivity protocol built on proven technologies that help connect and build reliable and secure IoT ecosystems. The new technology is a royalty-free connection standard enabling communication between a wide range of smart devices. Mats are also an approval stamp that ensures that any device built to this standard is reliable by nature, secure in design, and scalable-compatible ”.
The group points to the following benefits: