Remember when we talked about SIRI vs ALEXA vs CORTANA vs GOOGLE ASSISTANT – Which Lady Is More Helpful? We ended the article with the prediction that voice assistant technology will continue to gain popularity and adoption, with a bright and promising future for IoT. And it is true!
What is this MATTER?
A forward-thinking industry alliance begins certifying smart home devices later this year using a network technology called “Matter” – new name for a smart-home alliance previously called CHIP (short for Connected Home over Internet Protocol). The technology allows users to control lighting, heating, home theaters, video doorbells, door locks and alarms through smart speakers. New Matter logo on products and packaging will signify the compatibility of the smart devices.
Who is involved?
Matter identifies itself as an “industry unifying standard” with a promise of reliable, secure connectivity—a seal of approval that devices will work seamlessly together, today and tomorrow. This collaborative breakthrough is built on proven technologies and guided by the Connectivity Standards Alliance – CSA (formerly Zigbee Alliance), whose members come together from across industries to transform the future of connectivity.
Over 350 companies across the globe, spanning the entire IoT value chain, are actively involved in the Connectivity Standards Alliance where Amazon, Apple, Google, Huawei and Ikea are some of the well-known names in the big leagues. Silicon Labs and Nordic Semiconductor are ready with Matter-capable chips and electronics boards for product design. Door lock company Assa Abloy will bring Matter to its Yale locks. Others planning Matter products include Comcast, Schlage, Schneider Electric and Huawei.
How does it actually work?
Matter is designed to lower barriers between different smart-home ecosystems, ensuring devices will work with any of those three main voice control systems. It should work even if you use more than one control system, whether it’s Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri and Google Assistant or other, so you don’t have to worry whether a new product will work within your smart home setup.
By building upon Internet Protocol (IP), Matter will enable communication across smart home devices, mobile app and cloud services and to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification. Matter makes it easier for device manufacturers to build devices that are compatible with smart home and all major voice assistants. The first specification release of the Matter protocol will run on Wi-Fi and Thread network layers and will use Bluetooth Low Energy for commissioning.
Pace up and brace yourself!!
The alliance’s certification process is more evidence of the rapid pace of change in the smart home, part of the internet of things (IoT) movement to digitize everything. Like smartphones, the smart home could quickly become central to your daily life. To succeed, the Matter allies also will have to convince us the technology is trustworthy, not just simple; helping you connect to and build reliable, secure IoT ecosystems given that privacy is a top priority nowadays.