Matter (standard)

Matter is an open-source connectivity standard for smart home and Internet of things devices, which aims to improve their compatibility and security. The standard is royalty-free, though developers and manufacturers incur certification costs. It originated in December 2019 as the Project Connected Home over IP (CHIP) working group, founded by Amazon, Apple, Google and the Zigbee Alliance, now called the Connectivity Standards Alliance. Subsequent members include IKEA, Huawei, and Schneider. Version 1.0 of the specification was published on 4 October 2022. The Matter software development kit is open-source under the Apache License. Matter-compatible software updates for many existing hubs became available in late 2022, with Matter-enabled devices and software updates In December 2019, Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung SmartThings and the Zigbee Alliance announced the collaboration and formation of the working group of Project Connected Home over IP. The goal of the project is to simplify development for smart home product brands and manufacturers while increasing the compatibility of the products for consumers. The standard is based on Internet Protocol (IP) and works through one or several compatible border routers, avoiding the use of multiple proprietary hubs. Matter products run locally and do not rely on an internet connection, although the standard is designed to talk to the cloud easily. It is intended to enable cross-platform of smart home devices, mobile apps, and cloud services, and defines a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification. The project group is also expected to be joined by some other board member companies of Zigbee Alliance. Updates to the standard are planned to occur biannually. Version 1.0 of the specification was published on 4 October 2022. It introduced support for lighting products (such as mains power plugs, electric lights and switches), door locks, thermostats and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning controllers, blinds and shades, home security sensors (such as door, window and motion sensors), and televisions and streaming video players.