The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has announced the release of Matter 1.4, which is now available for device makers and platforms to integrate into their products. This update takes a significant step forward in the Matter ecosystem. Matter 1.4 introduces enhancements that allow device vendors and platforms to improve the multi-ecosystem user experience with Enhanced Multi-Admin, create more reliable and interoperable home networks with the introduction of Matter-certifiable Home Routers and Access Points, that will help users save energy with expanded energy management enhancements, and build new and better experiences with several new device types and core enhancements.

The evolution of the Matter specification in the 1.4 release reflects the support of hundreds of Member companies and the dedication of thousands of engineers and product experts globally. With Matter products now in millions of homes around the world since its launch in 2022, Matter Working Group members continue to bring their real-world experiences, innovations, and challenges into Matter’s ongoing development, to improve and grow the smart home. Matter 1.4 reinforces our commitment to delivering simplicity, interoperability, and new experiences across the IoT landscape.

Enhanced Network Infrastructure with Home Routers and Access Points (HRAP) 

Devices such as home routers and modems, access points, and set-top boxes can now be designed or upgraded to provide more robust support for Matter-based smart homes. Matter-certified HRAP devices provide the foundational infrastructure of smart homes by combining both a Wi-Fi access point and a Thread Border Router, ensuring these ubiquitous devices have the necessary infrastructure for Matter products using either of these technologies. HRAP devices also feature a secure directory for storing and sharing Thread network credentials. This standardized approach makes it easier for users to add new Thread devices, including Thread Border Routers, to their existing Thread networks, rather than creating new ones, realizing the benefits of a unified Thread mesh network and reducing network fragmentation.

Starting from this foundation, the HRAP roadmap will continue to add enhancements to improve smart home infrastructure including support for the improvements in Thread 1.4. (Note, the version numbers between this Matter 1.4 release and Thread’s 1.4 release are coincidental and unrelated.)

Enhanced Multi-Admin 

Multi-Admin is central to Matter’s vision of choice and interoperability, allowing users to connect Matter devices to multiple smart home systems. However, sharing each device individually when managing multiple platforms can become tedious and complex as users expand their smart homes. Enhanced Multi-Admin makes smart home management easier with single user consent, enabling existing and new devices to connect to multiple ecosystems automatically. Matter 1.4 and future releases provide developers with flexible approaches to implement this optional experience based on their applications.

Enhancements to Energy Management 

Matter 1.4 expands its energy management capabilities by adding support for new device types like solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and water heaters. These additions, along with improvements to the energy management and thermostat clusters, pave the way for smarter, more automated energy management within the home.

New Energy Device Types and Capabilities

Solar Power – Existing electrical power and electrical energy support in Matter has been extended to Solar Power device types, including inverters, individual and panel arrays, and hybrid solar/battery systems. 

Batteries – These include battery walls, storage units, and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), capable of discharging energy back into the home or grid, creating “virtual power plants.” Enabled by home energy management systems, they support load balancing, with any controller potentially serving as the management system.

Heat Pumps are an increasingly popular appliance for managing temperature in homes, with a growing number of incentive programs for their installation. With Matter’s energy management capabilities, these devices could forecast consumption and adjust usage during peak demand. Heat pumps can shift energy use to off-peak times, such as pre-heating the home, and some feature a “buffer tank” that functions like a battery. 

Water Heaters – Electric water heaters can be set to a preset temperature or percentage, letting users monitor hot water levels. A boost command, which enables rapid heating from multiple energy sources for situations where hot water is needed quickly, allows temporary overrides in the heating schedule, ideal for situations like hosting guests. This gives consumers more control and flexibility. Additionally, the new Water Heater Mode cluster provides users with the ability to easily toggle scheduling on and off, making it simple to adjust heating patterns when normal routines change.

Enhancements to Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE): EVSE support is enhanced by introducing user-defined charging preferences like specifying when they want their car to be charged, allowing users to choose optimal times for convenience and cost, building on the provisional features from earlier versions.

Enhancements to Thermostats: Thermostat clusters add support for scheduling and preset modes like vacation and home/away settings. Presets can be triggered through motion detection, integrated with other devices, and even automation based on calendar events.

Device Energy Management and Mode – With support for Device Energy Management, Matter 1.4 allows energy-consuming devices to adjust start times based on energy usage forecasts and power management needs. This feature is ideal for devices in optimizing their consumption patterns. The new Device Energy Management Mode cluster enables easy toggling between device-specific, local, or grid-wide energy optimization, providing greater flexibility and efficiency for managing power across the home.

Mounted On/Off and Dimmable Load Control

Matter 1.4 introduces two new device types designed specifically for fixed in-wall smart home devices that deliver electrical power to wired devices, such as in-wall switches for controlling lights, fans, and other non-smart appliances. Previously, these were typically modeled as lights, which could limit user interface or automation flexibility.

Enhancements to Occupancy Sensing

Enhancements to the existing sensor cluster now support sensing features like radar, vision, and ambient sensing technologies. The update also introduces customisable sensitivity settings and offers improved tuning for sensor and history reporting through event-based updates, providing a more precise and adaptable smart home experience. These updates serve as a foundation for future work to support new sensing techniques to enable capabilities like person detection and activity classification.

Enhancements to Battery Powered Devices

Matter 1.4 introduces core enhancements that optimise battery life and communication for Intermittently Connected Devices (ICDs) like switches, buttons, and sensors. Key updates include the Long Idle Time (LIT) protocol, which extends battery life, and a new Check-In Protocol to ensure reliable communication for low-power devices that require LIT. Additionally, quieter reporting of predictable attribute changes reduces network traffic, resulting in improved battery performance and network efficiency.

For More Information: https://csa-iot.org

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The Connectivity Standards Alliance (the Alliance) is pleased to announce a significant development aimed at advancing ultra-wideband (UWB) technology through collaboration with the FiRa® Consortium (FiRa). This partnership marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of UWB solutions, paving the way forward with reduced development and certification costs for industry stakeholders while promoting interoperability across various applications and strengthening the broader UWB ecosystem as a whole.

“In a rapidly advancing technological landscape, the collaboration between the FiRa Consortium and the Alliance stands as a beacon of progress,” stated Tobin Richardson, President and CEO, Connectivity Standards Alliance. “By prioritizing interoperability and efficiency, this strategic partnership sets the stage for innovative UWB applications, transforming industries and improving user experiences worldwide.” 

With a focus on aligning technical specifications and certification programs related to UWB MAC/PHY layers, the Alliance and FiRa partnership allows for the exchange of vital information, ultimately helping to identify opportunities in defining UWB MAC/PHY technical requirements and streamlining certification processes. These combined efforts enable both organizations to ensure a more cohesive development environment for UWB technologies. It’s a cooperative approach that not only encourages growth of UWB use cases, but also reduces development costs associated with multiple certifications.

“The growth of the UWB ecosystem is dependent on various standards organizations continuing to identify use cases, aligning where and when appropriate, and driving for consistency in test and certification to ensure interoperability for users,” said Clint Chaplin, Board Chair of the FiRa Consortium.

Looking Ahead

By harmonizing standards and certification processes, the Alliance and FiRa seek to create a more cohesive UWB ecosystem. This initiative will simplify the deployments across various applications, from smart homes to industrial IoT, enabling innovation and market growth. The potential for new use cases is vast with both organizations poised to lead the charge.

For More Information: www.csa-iot.org or  www.firaconsortium.org.

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Tobin Richardson is the President and CEO of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), leading a mission to simplify and unify the Internet of Things (IoT) through open, global standards. With over 695 member companies across 45 countries, CSA drives collaboration among industry leaders to create a more connected, accessible, and sustainable world. Richardson spearheaded the launch of Matter, an IP-based standard supported by major IoT players like Amazon, Apple, Google, Comcast, and Samsung SmartThings, aiming to break down IoT “walled gardens” and foster interoperability.

In an exclusive interview with Smart Home World, Tobin Richardson, President and CEO, Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), discusses ‘⁠Matter at One Year’, recent partnerships, and future plans.  

Can you briefly describe the mission and goals of the Connectivity Standard Alliance?

The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is an international community of more than 700 technology companies committed to open standards for the Internet of Things (IoT). Our wide-ranging global membership collaborates to create and evolve universal open standards for the products transforming people’s lives. With our members’ deep and diverse expertise, robust certification programs, and a full suite of open IoT solutions, the Alliance is leading the movement toward a more intuitive, imaginative, and useful world.

How does your organization contribute to developing and promoting connectivity standards in the industry?

Our organization is member-driven, we charter to provide a place where collaboration and important work can happen, on equal footing. We have mechanisms in place to allow for shared IP and a one-company-one vote structure. We have a member-led board of directors, member-driven leadership and technology committees, and various levels of participation available. Every company volunteers their time to the Alliance and its initiatives. 

We are always recruiting and expanding our membership to include full representation of stakeholders in all the areas we work in. We also engage with government bodies and regulators around the world, to align on priority areas and see where standards can make an impact – product security and data privacy are two of these new areas. 

Can you share with our professional readers the progress made by Matter, a protocol for smart home devices that was released by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (the Alliance) just over a year ago?

Matter’s roll-out has out-paced the typical adoption cycles of previous industry standards. Rather than taking years for users to replace hub hardware, software updates enable existing smart home hubs and devices to become Matter controllers. This has created a global market with up to hundreds of millions of homes ready to connect new Matter devices. 

There are Matter products from popular and innovative brands across all initially supported device categories, with products and apps in users’ homes, on their smartphones and tablets, and store shelves. These numbers are in the hundreds of millions, if not more. 

Since the release of Matter 1.0, we’ve had 24,600 downloads of the spec, more than 2,500 individual products – software, hardware, apps – certifications, nearly 33% growth in the number of companies who have joined the Matter Working Group, and the opening of an Alliance Interoperability Test Facility. There are 350 companies now participating in the Matter Working Group and over 4,700 individuals participating. We released two new updates to Matter in 2023, one in the spring with Matter version 1.1 and one in the fall with Matter 1.2

More than 280 companies, including vendors, are supporting the new Matter standard, and some are even innovating ⁠built-in Matter support and Wi-Fi sensing functionality to help operators continue to progress with Matter. Can share more details on the same?

This number has grown to 350 companies, almost double from when we announced the brand for Matter in 2021. We’re seeing companies joining the effort from all across the smart home and IoT ecosystem, and there continues to be unwavering support from our current members as well. Adoption is growing, and we continue to add new features, new device categories, and better and simpler tools for device and app makers. 

Another great thing about Matter is that it enables innovation on top of it. Matter unlocks new opportunities for companies and individuals to create new experiences that will benefit consumers and make the smart home experience richer. We’ve solved the interoperability problem while adding in common elements and language along with a high bar of security. Now it’s up to companies to create on top of it. 

On the Wi-Fi sensing part, I believe you are talking about presence sensors. These are a powerful use case for Matter as now people can use occupancy as a way to make their home smarter and more energy efficient. We’ve seen some great examples already coming to market from our members and see this as a big and important category moving forward.

What do you have to say about the recent report, ‘⁠Matter at One Year’, How will it help the industry?

The Matter specification along with the SDK, testing tools, and certification program are continuing to evolve with active participation from hundreds of leading smart home engineers and product experts. Their meaningful contributions and hard work demonstrate that Matter continues to gain momentum and that the overall experience for consumers and developers will continue to improve over time.

As users connect more of those Matter devices, member companies have actively engaged with each other about their experiences and initial challenges, and are continuing to make improvements in the specification to address them. We fully acknowledge that there is more work to be done in areas including interoperability, platform feature support, multi-admin, and Thread border router connectivity. We have teams actively working on making the experience better for developers and consumers alike and are confident that Matter will continue to evolve and get better over time. 

What are the current strategic initiatives that the Connectivity Standard Alliance focuses on to enhance its impact in the industry?

The Alliance transitioned a few years ago from a single technology focus (Zigbee) to an umbrella organization where member companies can come together to solve industry challenges and foster the adoption of technology through global, open standards. In recent years, we’ve introduced new efforts for the smart home with Matter, digital access with Aliro, product security, data privacy, health and wellness, sustainability, and green power. Each of these efforts takes collaboration and consensus and can come to life as new standards, new principles, or under the guise of existing standards within the Alliance. 

Product Security in particular is one that we are excited about and will have news to share about. This group’s mission has been to create a robust certification program, rooted in industry best practices, technical excellence, and adherence to existing product security regulations in countries around the world, serving as a beacon and ensuring the security of IoT devices. The aim is to improve the overall security of IoT products worldwide, with a mark recognized by regulators and consumers that confirms a product’s security meets requirements, which also makes it easier for device makers to certify once and sell anywhere.

Can you elaborate on any recent partnerships or collaborations that have been established to advance the mission of the Connectivity Standard Alliance?

We have strong relationships with the Wi-Fi Alliance and ThreadGroup and have been able to work in partnership with them to align on the technology stack that makes up Matter. As Matter is on the communication protocol level, we need transport technologies to enable full smart home control. That’s why Matter from the start has been IP-based and has used Wi-Fi and Thread as its core transport technologies. Many of our member companies are also invested in these technologies and are active in their development and direction. 

How does the CSA approach software releases for Matter, (version 1.2)? How are these updates focused on improving the out-of-the-box experience for consumers?

The matter is unique in the world of standards in that we made it a requirement that any products can be updated via software. This allows us to continue to improve the experience for consumers by solving issues that arise, maintaining a high bar for security, and adding new features and device categories over time. We have a bi-annual release schedule currently and have issued two updates to date, one last spring and one in the fall. These updates brought under-the-hood performance improvements in the first update, nine new device categories, and additional new features to expand on the experience. 

As far as future updates go, our priority first and foremost is in making the experience better for consumers, to ensure we deliver on the promises that we have made around interoperability, reliability, simplicity, and security. Matter specification releases are the result of commitments by member companies to multiple stages of authorship, implementation, and testing. 

We’ve already identified some fixes that can help make the experience better one year that we’ll roll into a future update. For new categories and features, we have active work happening on many different fronts at all times, and once we have a combination of consensus and participation, we can move forward with additions to the specification. New features and capabilities to look out for in 2024 include support for water heaters and heat pumps, EV chargers, routers, and access points, and potentially cameras, and also a standardized set of energy management features or principles. We’re still planning for two releases this year, one in the spring and one in the fall.

Considering the slowdown in the growth of the smart home market, how does Matter plan to contribute to market efficiency and automated network ecosystems?

One of the barriers to the broad adoption of smart home devices, and the evolution of the smart home experience overall, has been interoperability. It’s been hard for the industry to achieve scale when consumers have been locked into particular ecosystems or with a limited choice of devices that work with one another. Complex and inconsistent setup processes, connectivity issues, and security concerns, and reliability have also prevented the smart home from growing. 

We are still in the early days of Matter, but the unprecedented scale of what we’ve built, in collaboration with and support from 350 global companies, solves these many challenges through open standards and we hope to solve the rest. With the speed at which the adoption of Matter is happening and the innovation happening around it, we have the best chance yet to take the smart home to the next level, making it both mainstream and ubiquitous in our lives.

Smart Home-as-a-Service Model: a. With more companies introducing subscription services, how does Matter plan to adapt to the shift towards the Smart Home-as-a-Service model?

We see a lot of potential in the smart-home-as-a-service model, with companies that have experience in the space and also with carriers and operators. In both of these cases, a central hub in the home can be Matter-enabled and then be the brain for the home, delivering connectivity, local control and control, automation and intelligence, and even applications on the edge. Operators can then recommend Matter-enabled products through their channels, and through packages or recurring billing, and then layer on services on top of these. We have many of the top global operators as members of the Alliance with many more eager to join.

What are your plans for the Indian Market? 

The Alliance is a global organization, and India is an important market for the Alliance and our members. We have member companies from India and we see the potential to have a major impact in the market across our standards and technologies. From support and tools for device and app makers to align with these standards and technologies to leveraging the technology industry’s deep experience for insight and collaboration, to having a bigger on-the-ground presence, everything is on the table for India. We don’t have any specifics to announce regarding India at this time but will keep you and your audience updated when we do.

Click here to read full February issue – https://www.smarthomeworld.in/magazine-february2024/

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May 19, 2023 – The Connectivity Standards Alliance is delighted to announce the release of Matter 1.1, which marks a significant milestone in the ongoing development and progress of this evolving technology. This release is the result of the collective effort of hundreds of companies and individuals who are members of the Alliance, contributing to the advancement and success of Matter. Matter 1.1 introduces several improvements that empower developers and facilitate new user experiences, preparing the platform for the next phase of its journey.

The updates included in Matter 1.1 provide device makers and developers with an improved starting point for working with Matter and streamlining the certification process, enabling faster delivery of products to users. Furthermore, the release enhances support for battery-operated devices, a critical feature across a wide range of smart home categories.

A key differentiating factor of Matter is its publicly available specification and open-source software development kit (SDK), enabling developers to work from a common specification and code base. Taking into account valuable feedback from members and early developers, the Alliance has made clarifications and improvements to the specification, making it more user-friendly and accessible. The updates also provide better guidance for developers to contribute and add support for new device types to the Matter specification.

In terms of testing and certification, Matter 1.1 introduces new enhancements in automation, simplifying the pre-qualification process for device makers and ensuring successful certification. These enhancements also benefit Authorised Testing Laboratories (ATLs) by making testing more efficient and comprehensive.

Matter 1.1 significantly enhances support for Intermittently Connected Devices (ICDs), also known as `sleepy devices.’ These devices, including contact, motion, and temperature sensors, as well as door locks and switches, often rely on battery power and require efficient power management for optimal operation and lifespan. The improved support in Matter 1.1 reduces the likelihood of devices being reported as offline during user interactions, enabling developers to optimize their products and deliver better user experiences.

All these enhancements are now incorporated into the Matter SDK and API, underscoring the continuous commitment of the working group to improving Matter products and enhancing the overall Matter developer experience.

Since the launch of Matter 1.0 in October 2022, there have been significant engagement and adoption, with 17,991 downloads of the specification and 1135 new products certified by the Alliance. This growing momentum has attracted more than 60 new members to join the Alliance since the release of the specification. These statistics demonstrate substantial progress towards achieving the envisioned future for the Internet of Things (IoT), where Matter aims to address challenges related to security, connectivity, innovation, complexity, and trust.

Developers who are interested in exploring these enhancements can access the following resources:

Matter 1.1 Specification

Matter 1.1 SDK Release

Alliance Opens New Interoperability Test Facility in Portland, Oregon

In a further effort to accelerate progress towards the IoT future, the Alliance is pleased to announce the inauguration of its Interoperability Testing Facility (ITF) for Matter products. This state-of-the-art facility provides interoperability testing services to Alliance members engaged in the development of Matter products for certification. The ITF is equipped with an extensive range of Matter controllers, hubs, and end devices, specifically configured to simulate typical sets of devices and installation configurations found in residential settings.

Interop testing goes beyond the compliance testing conducted for certification purposes, allowing for comprehensive evaluation of product behavior and user experience in real-life settings. It encompasses various products, hubs, and controllers from different brands, operating across diverse network configurations, including mobile apps and controller interactions. The feedback generated from this testing process is invaluable for device, app, and platform developers, with the ultimate goal of enhancing product quality and improving the user experience.

The ITF, located in Portland, Oregon (US), is staffed by Alliance personnel. Alliance members have the opportunity to utilize these facilities by booking slots to attend in person, witness interop testing, or by sending their products for testing in their absence. To book a slot or inquire further, please email your request to interop@csa-iot.org. The ITF also offers a testing environment for Zigbee products.

Moving Matter Forward

With the release of Matter 1.1, the Alliance and its members have prioritized making Matter more user-friendly and expediting product launches. Additionally, the launch of the ITF underscores the Alliance’s commitment to continuously improving user experiences with Matter products.

Following the launch of Matter 1.0 in the fall of 2022, the Alliance set a goal of a biannual release cycle. Currently, work is underway for the next version of Matter, which will introduce new features and expanded device type support, expected to be released later this year.

As an open, industry standard, companies interested in bringing their ideas and device type support to Matter are encouraged to join the Connectivity Standards Alliance and the Matter Working Group. To learn more about membership, please visit www.csa-iot.org 

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Tuya Smart, a leading IoT development platform service provider affirmed its support for Matter. This is a commitment to ensure that Tuya’s customers and business partners can seamlessly join in the new smart home connectivity standard and provide users with a more convenient smart home experience.

Tuya customers and market-leading brands such as Calex and Geeni are all planning to launch new series of consumer products that will also support the Matter standard in 2022 when the new communication protocol finally launches. Introduced by Amazon, Apple, Google, Comcast, and the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), Matter aims to provide a unified smart home standard to allow interoperability between devices and smart home platforms.

As a member of the Board of Directors of CSA and one of the early members of the Matter Work Group, Tuya has been expanding its commitment to promote universal open standards that enable IoT products to securely connect and interact, providing technical support to the Work Group and working closely with major platform partners to ensure Tuya-enabled device work with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit, and Samsung Smarthings.

“Upon joining the Alliance, Tuya has worked to drive interoperability and accelerate the adoption of Zigbee technology. Most recently they are also supporting our Matter standards efforts and we are grateful for Tuya’s support and commitment,” said Tobin Richardson, President, and CEO of Connectivity Standards Alliance.

With over 446,000 registered developers and more than 1,100 product categories in the Tuya ecosystem. Tuya’s support for Matter will not only enable its ecosystem partners to be among the first companies to release Matter-compatible devices once the standard officially launches. Together with other partners across industries, Tuya aims for continuous innovation and transforming the future of connectivity.

About Tuya Smart

Tuya Smart offers a cloud platform that connects a range of devices via the IoT. By building interconnectivity standards, Tuya bridges the intelligent needs of brands, OEMs, developers, and retail chains across a broad range of smart devices and industries. Tuya solutions empower partners and customers by improving the value of their products while making consumers’ lives more convenient through the application of technology. For more information, please visit https://www.tuya.com/

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