One trend that attracted a lot of attention at IFA 2022 (September 2-6, 2022, Berlin, Germany) is the smart home. Of course, smart home exhibits have been around for quite some time. However, contrary to the expectations of those involved in the industry, the reality is that it is far from widespread.

One of the major factors is interconnectivity. Due to the multitude of smart home standards and lack of interoperability, it was not possible to provide users with the convenience that justified the cost increase. However, this situation could change dramatically. The smart home unified connection standard "Matter" is expected to be released around November 2022 (Fig. 1). That's why smart homes got so much attention at IFA.


Fig. 1 Matter logo



Matter is an open communication standard announced in May 2021 by CSA (Connectivity Standards Alliance, formerly ZigBee Alliance), a wireless communication standards organization. An IP (Internet Protocol)-based protocol that can connect various nodes securely and robustly. It enables communication between devices that previously operated with different protocols, and centrally manages the devices.

In other words, devices on different platforms used to speak different languages, but with Matter they will speak (communicate) in a common language.

The biggest points of Matter are the world's major IT (information technology) companies such as Apple (Apple), Google (Google), Amazon.com (US), Samsung Electronics (Korea), etc. 250 More than one company has announced their response.

For example, users who have purchased smart home products that support Matter will be able to operate them using various voice input functions such as Amazon's "Alexa" and Google's "Google Assistant". Until now, you had to choose a compatible product depending on whether you use Alexa or Google Assistant.

“It will connect everything consumers buy, like a computer peripheral,” said a spokesperson for Schneider Electric, a French electrical and industrial equipment giant that plans to support Matter. .

On the other hand, for smart home device makers, if their products are compatible with Matter, they no longer need to individually support each company's platform.

Devices targeted by Matter include electrical outlets, light bulbs, thermostats, door locks, and security systems. Device makers will be able to integrate their devices into Matter's ecosystem without royalties when Matter's software development kit (SDK) becomes available in November 2022.

The first Matter protocol to be released operates on the Wi-Fi or Thread network layer, and uses Bluetooth Low Energy for communication. Thread is a wireless communication standard for smart homes and the like led by Google (specifically, Nest Labs).