Matter: operation, compatible connected objects … All about the new universal standard of connected objects

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The Matter universal protocol finally arrives in version 1.0 to simplify your home automation installation

The connected house finally has its standard. Matter, the protocol supposed to simplify the management of home automation objects, has finally just been born in version 1.0 after many delays.

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It had become a real technological Arlesian. The Matter protocol, which aims to simplify the installation of connected objects via a universal communication standard, has finally arrived in version 1.0. In negotiations since 2019, the certification of this protocol was to take place at the end of 2021, then in early 2022, before being pushed back to the end of 2022.

A finally standardized protocol

This time, more false hopes: the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the organization responsible for Matter’s development, published the characteristics of the protocol and took the opportunity to launch its campaign to certify compatible products. “Companies now have a full program to put on the market the next generation of interoperable connected products, operating independently of brands and platforms, with more confidentiality, security and simplicity for consumers”, she welcomes herself.

Concretely, connected objects sporting the Matter logo should soon be enthroned on store stalls. Likewise, software publishers will finally be able to offer applications capable of controlling all objects of home automation installation. Apple and Google are already on starting blocks since Ios 16.1 officially supports the standard, just like the Google Home app. Google had also confirmed earlier in the year than most of its connected gadgets would be compatible Matt.

News: Connected object
Matter: Philips Hue products will be compatible with the new wireless connection standard

Philips already announces Matter’s arrival in its Hue range. The new universal wireless connection standard for the house.

The protocol brings several significant advantages in the connected house. In addition to it allows most home automation objects to communicate with each other and to be checked with a single interface (no need for an app per gadget), it requires communications encryption and the possibility for all compatible accessories ‘Be managed via the local network. Thus, even in the event of an internet breakdown, or if the manufacturer disconnects its servers (Tel Holî), the Matter gadgets should keep part of their features.

Matter limits

Not everything is rosy. Version 1.0 of the protocol will not necessarily support the most advanced features of certain connected objects. It will be quite possible to turn on and turn off your bulbs via a matter compatible app, but the most complex options will not all be taken care of by Matter 1.0. Not sure for example that the latter immediately allows light synchronization with a Spotify playlist.

The official publication of the protocol and its development kit still remains good news since it should allow manufacturers to start a standardization process whose connected house is very needed. That said, it will probably take a few years before everything works impeccably well.

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Matter: operation, compatible connected objects … All about the new universal standard of connected objects

The Matter protocol is the new standard unifying connected objects in a housing, thus greatly simplifying home automation. How Matt works ? How to use it ? What connected objects are compatible ? We will explain everything to you !

On salons like CES or IFA, many brands have only this word in the mouth in recent years: ” Matter »». This new standard protocol is supposed to revolutionize home automation and simplify the use of all our interior connected objects. If you have not understood anything, you will find here all the explanations to understand this new universal standard.

The problem of home automation

To connect your accommodation, there are many devices. The simplest to start is usually to get a connected speaker (HomePod, Google Home, Amazon Echo, etc.) and connected bulbs. Thereafter, the possibilities are almost endless and the connected devices multiply quickly, allowing to create real routines automating your daily tasks and allowing you to live without touching the slightest button in the most extreme cases.

In this jungle, many home automation protocols have emerged to allow connected objects to communicate with each other. We can evoke Wi-Fi or Bluetooth that everyone knows, but also Z-Wave, Zigbee or Enocean. And, obviously, all these beautiful people are usually not interoperable and cannot communicate together. This therefore requires thinking upstream of the ecosystem that we want to put in place under penalty of being stuck.

What is the matter protocol ?

This is where the chip betweenProject Connected Home Over IP), in 2019. This working group set up by Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung and the Zigbee Alliance The aim of simplifying the home automation landscape and creating a new standard free standard. This standard, you will understand, it’s Matt.

Since then, the members of the chip have joined the Zigbee Alliance which has renamed for the occasion the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) and new actors such as IKEA, SERIY or SOMFY – between several hundred others – have grafted themselves on the initiative.

On paper, Matter will thus link the different existing ecosystems, and thus interconnect the different devices that we have without distinction. One could therefore imagine controlling a homepod mini (compatible thread) from the Google Home application for example. Difficult use to consider today with the partitioning of different ecosystems. In addition, it does not necessarily require to go through the cloud, which in theory accelerates to transfer information.

In late 2022, the CSA published version 1.0 of Standard Matter. The CSA plans to update it twice a year. While 2022 was the year of announcements, 2023 should be the year of mass product launches.

How Matt works ?

If we talk about ” protocol “, This is an abuse of language. Rather, this is a standard based on already existing protocols, in particular the Internet Protocol (IP), in V6 only. This implies that the old devices in IPV4 exclusively will not be compatible. The devices can thus communicate by Ethernet, in Wi-Fi or via the Thread Protocol and connect to Low Energy Bluetooth to facilitate initialization.

Unlike other protocols, threads, and therefore matter, does not require a hub or a bridge to operate. It operates in a mesh network, each device then serving as a node to extend its scope. In total, Thread can bear up to 250 nodes per network (the number of devices in total), which opens up many possibilities to connect your accommodation, and up to 32 ” routers “Allowing the network to be extended.

To communicate with the outside or with a smartphone (iOS and Android are compatible), the network needs a ” Border Router », Connected to the Internet and that can take several forms. We can for example cite the HomePod Mini or the Apple TV 4K, but also the Google Nest Wifi Pro.

One of the big advantages of the Thread Protocol is that he can reform at will to function properly without requiring human action. So if your ” router Main breaks down, or is removed from the network, a new device will be selected to play this role and allow all connected devices to continue to communicate.

The addition of a gateway to the network allows Matter to communicate with another network using a different protocol. This bridge can be material (a hub, a home automation box, etc.), but an update may be enough to make an old compatible device.

What are the connected objects compatible with Matter ?

This increased connectivity will allow many existing devices to be made compatible with Matter by a simple update. Measure, for example, has already promised an update of its Philips Hue bridge to make all its compatible products.

First, only some devices are available with Matter. We can cite the connected speakers, the routers and the lighting, real input doors to home automation, but also the openings such as shutters or locks or even thermostats. In the future, Matter should evolve and also offer robot vacuum cleaners, surveillance cameras, smoke detectors and much more.

A list of all compatible devices is available on the CSA website.

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Domotic: Matter, the standard that makes (finally) your smart home

Networks: New communication standard promoted by Apple, Amazon or Samsung, Matter allows you to dialogue between them connected objects designed by different manufacturers. This standard, which is intended to become universal, will greatly simplify home automation.

By Xavier Biseul | Monday, February 13, 2023

At your home, everything is connected. You have equipped yourself with Somfy automated roller shutters, a Legrand intelligent thermostat, Philips Hue connected lamps. At bedtime, you would like, at a single pressure, be able to turn off the lights simultaneously, close the shutters, lower the temperature of your accommodation and activate the alarm system. The problem is that these different devices operate in proprietary environments, making them hardly interoperable.

Matter is timely to solve this compatibility problem. This new communication standard aims to simplify the installation, configuration and interaction of connected objects by offering a common language.

Version 1.0 de Matter was published last May by Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), which brings together most manufacturers of the Internet of Things including Amazon, Apple, Comcast, Google, Huawei, Samsung, Schneider Electric or Somfy.

Surprise star of the last these

The real kick -off was given to the last edition of CES. Matter was the surprise star of the Digital Mass of Las Vegas. Nanoleaf has unveiled a full range of connected lighting products compatible with the new standard. Amazon and Apple did the same with regard to their connected speakers. No less than 17 Echo devices, for the first, and the new HomePod 2, for the second, support Matter.

Samsung went even further by presenting SmartThings Station. This home automation “hub” is in the form of a small case which allows with the help of configure different matters compatible devices and to create routines associating a thermostat, an air conditioning system, a smart tv or all appliance type connected to a connected socket.

In total, some 600 aircraft would already be certified Matt. If the standard has been designed for home automation, it could interest other areas. The CSA recently announced the creation of a working group in order to promote the adoption of Matter in manufacturers of connected objects dedicated to health and well-being. He will work in particular on home support for the elderly or fragile, thanks to remote monitoring or remote management of chronic diseases.

A cousin not so far from thread and zigbee

Technically, Matter promoters did not start from a white sheet. Standard is based on existing communication technologies such as Wi -Fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth Wireless Network Protocols (Low Energy), Thread and Zigbee – Connectivity Standards Alliance was called before the Zigbee Alliance.

To associate a network compatible with the network, it is no longer necessary to go through the manufacturer’s application. The new standard automatically detects the devices to be connected. It is then enough to scan a QR code and to enter a security code to ensure the link.

Once the network is in place, Matter works in Wi-Fi on the frequency band 2.4 GHz, by far the most commonly used by connected objects. On the other hand, the standard is based solely on IPv6, which de facto excludes the devices that have remained on IPV4 addresses. IPv6 provides, in return, additional security by ensuring a 128 -bit AES encryption. A more knowing that connected objects, generally weakly secure, constitute a Trojan horse privileged by cybercriminals.

This domestic safety camera lights the light in the event of an intruder visit, but it will cost you dearly.

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By Xavier Biseul | Monday, February 13, 2023