The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) released the Matter 1.0 specification and the opening of the Matter certification program on October 4th. Member companies that make up all facets of the IoT now have a complete program for bringing the next generation of interoperable products that work across brands and platforms to market with greater privacy, security, and simplicity for consumers.

Image courtesy of Connectivity Standards Alliance

As part of the Matter 1.0 release, authorized test labs are open for product certification, the test harnesses and tools are available, and the open-source reference design software development kit (SDK) is complete – all to bring new, innovative products to market. Further, Alliance members with devices already deployed and with plans to update their products to support Matter can now do so, once their products are certified.

Over 280 member companies — including Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, Samsung SmartThings, and Signify — have brought their technologies, experience, and innovations together to ensure Matter met the needs of all stakeholders, including users, product makers, and platforms. Collectively, these companies led the way through requirements and specification development, reference design, multiple test events, and final specification validation to reach this industry milestone.

More than just a specification, the Matter 1.0 standard launches with test cases and comprehensive test tools for Alliance members and a global certification program including eight authorized test labs that are primed to test not only Matter, but also Matter’s underlying network technologies, Wi-Fi and Thread. Wi-Fi enables Matter devices to interact over a high-bandwidth local network and allows smart home devices to communicate with the cloud. Thread provides an energy-efficient and highly reliable mesh network within the home. Both the Wi-Fi Alliance and Thread Group partnered with the Connectivity Standards Alliance to help realize the complete vision of Matter.

This initial release of Matter, running over Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Thread, and using Bluetooth Low Energy for device commissioning, will support lighting and other common smart home products, including electrical, HVAC controls, window coverings, and shades, safety and security sensors, door locks, media devices including TVs, controllers as both devices and applications, and bridges.

Read the full CSA announcement here.

David Shiller

David Shiller is the Publisher of LightNOW, and President of Lighting Solution Development, a North American consulting firm providing business development services to advanced lighting manufacturers. The ALA awarded David the Pillar of the Industry Award. David has co-chaired ALA’s Engineering Committee since 2010. David established MaxLite’s OEM component sales into a multi-million dollar division. He invented GU24 lamps while leading ENERGY STAR lighting programs for the US EPA. David has been published in leading lighting publications, including LD+A, enLIGHTenment Magazine, LEDs Magazine, and more.

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