2021
May
27

Thread, Matter, And CHIP – This Glossary Will Quickly Bring You Up To Speed

By Jorg Kennis, Neovate Innovation Partners

A lot has been happening lately in the world of connected homes and buildings concerning the technologies on which they are based. We see a pattern of growing collaboration between various companies and organizations as well as efforts to increase both convergence and interoperability between various brands, ecosystems and standards. These developments come with new brand names, abbreviations and even some familiar names that are evolving to keep pace with the IoT industry.

It is therefore ironic that what will eventually lead to less confusion in the market, might lead to some initial questions: What is the specific meaning of that one particular term again?!

With this short glossary, we hope to clear up some of these questions. For each term, a brief description and explanation of how the various technologies and organizations relate to each other are provided.

Thread
Thread is a wireless networking technology, built from the ground up to be based on the familiar Internet Protocol and the proven IEEE 802.15.4 radio technology. It was designed to specifically accommodate the needs for IoT devices by addressing all of the following requirements: low power footprint, low-latency, ability to work with any and multiple application layers, reliable and robust network with a self-healing mesh eliminating single point of failures (the more devices on the network, the stronger the network is) easy to setup and without the need for a dedicated hub or gateway. In a similar fashion to Wi-Fi, Thread as a networking technology is not restricted to a particular application standard. We call that “application agnostic”. For example, Thread works with Matter, HomeKit, Weave, DALI, KNX, BACnet, and OCF.

Matter
Matter is a new home and building connectivity standard that is being developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance and backed by well-known brands including Amazon, Apple, Google, and many other companies. Its aim is to unify the best of the smart home technologies into a single application framework standard with IP as the backbone. This will make it easier for manufacturers to create products that will work with a variety of ecosystems and voice assistants, like Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant and others. A device might offer Matter compatibility alongside support for other protocols or ecosystems. End users will be able to look for the Matter certification logo on a product to ensure compatibility with their smart home ecosystem or ecosystems of choice. Matter is fully based on the Internet Protocol and will initially work over both Wi-Fi (offering high-bandwidth applications like video security, mostly on mains-powered devices) and Thread (offering low-power or battery-operated devices in a self-healing mesh network, extending reach and reliability), while Bluetooth Low Energy can be used for setup and configuration of devices.

Project CHIP (name no longer used)
Project CHIP or Connected Home over IP was the temporary name for the Matter initiative during its initial development stage. Now that Matter, with its accompanying logo, has been unveiled as the consumer-facing brand, Project CHIP is no longer used.

Thread Group
Thread Group is the organization that develops, maintains and promotes the Thread networking standard and is comprised of more than 100 member companies representing consumer electronics, building automation, silicon manufacturing, computing and many other industries. Since Thread is an application agnostic networking standard, the Thread Group maintains working liaisons with many organizations that develop IP-based home and building automation standards that can be used over Thread, such as the Connectivity Standards Alliance (makers of Matter), DALI Alliance, KNX Association, BACnet and OCF.

Connectivity Standards Alliance
Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) is the new name of the Zigbee Alliance. Over the years, the Alliance has grown to oversee the development and marketing of numerous home and building connectivity standards. It changed its name in May 2021 to reflect a multi-standards organization. Among the standards that CSA maintains are Matter and Zigbee.

Zigbee Alliance (name no longer used)
Former name of the Connectivity Standards Alliance.

Application Agnostic
Thread was developed to be agnostic towards the application layer that is used on the network, as long as it is based on the Internet Protocol. Some networking technologies, like Bluetooth and Zigbee, are vertically integrated solutions that come with both their own non-IP based network and application layers. Thread is more comparable to Wi-Fi in the sense that it can run multiple applications, even at the same time, with the added benefit of being low-power, low-latency and automatically forms a self-healing mesh for extended reach and reliability. As an application agnostic protocol, Thread technology has been adopted by many home and building automation standards like Matter, HomeKit, Weave, DALI, KNX, BACnet, and OCF.

Border Router
Thread is based on the proven 802.15.4 radio technology that allows for extremely efficient, low-power, self-healing mesh networks. These networks can be formed and operated completely standalone without the need for a bridge or hub, and hence they have no single point of failure. Communication between the Thread network and the existing (Wi-Fi or ethernet) network is enabled by simple IP-based routing. This simple routing is done by a device known as a Thread Border Router, of which there can be multiple ones on a Thread network. A Thread Border Router is usually not a stand-alone dedicated device as this functionality is typically included with other networked devices such as cable modems, Wi-Fi routers, TV streaming boxes, smart displays or smart speakers.

Self-healing Mesh Network
Thread was developed from the ground up to include self-healing mesh networking capabilities. Thread router devices (which can be embodied in main powered devices like light bulbs) can route network traffic intended for other devices. This means that there is no single “transmission station” while the mesh greatly increases the reach and the reliability of the network. Self-healing means that if one of the devices stops working, the network traffic is automatically re-routed via other devices without the user noticing or needing to take action. Contrary to other mesh networking technologies that require a bridge to operate, the mesh network is formed among all Thread devices, independent of manufacturer, device type or application ecosystem. The more Thread devices that are being added to the network, the better it will function, as it will improve its range and responsiveness.

Internet Protocol (IP)
The Internet Protocol is the networking protocol that runs the Internet, and the majority of home and business networks. It has been in use for many decades and can leverage on extensive developments in terms of security. The fact that all devices are based on the same IP technology, from smart phones and computers to cloud services and data centers, increases seamless and secure communication. Until recently, smart building networks did not leverage IP technology and required specific hardware like gateways or hubs to connect IoT devices to the rest of the network. With Thread and its IP foundation, a gateway is no longer needed. Devices that perform the Thread Border Router functionality enable direct IP connectivity to every IoT device without conversion or translation of data. This allows for secure end-to-end encryption of data and eliminates potential single points of failure.

Hopefully, this glossary serves as a helpful resource in providing brief descriptions and explanations of the various technologies and organizations related to Thread and Matter. Additional information on Thread and Matter can be found on their respective websites.