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Matter Protocol Multiverse Grows with SoCs, Dev Kits, and Design Wins

January 27, 2023 by Abdulwaliy Oyekunle

Leveraging the Matter 1.0 protocol, companies are rolling out solutions for engineers to build next-gen interoperable smart home and IoT devices.

Enabling interoperability for the smart home and IoT devices, the Matter 1.0  protocol standard and certification program was released last October. Ever since then, companies have been leveraging the standard in next-gen interoperable devices. What’s more, the Matter-compliant products are achieving the Matter 1.0 certification and software development kits are rolling out serving this technology space.

 

The Matter 1.0 protocol standard is an initiative of the Connectivity Standards Alliance.

The Matter 1.0 protocol standard is an initiative of the Connectivity Standards Alliance. Image used courtesy of CSA

 

The Matter 1.0 protocol enables different smart home devices from different brands to seamlessly connect via connectivity technologies such as Wi-Fi, Thread, Bluetooth Low Energy and so on. In this article, we’ll discuss some recent Matter-related news and new products that have been recently introduced in the industry.

 

Wi-Fi Chipset and Development Kit

For its part Renesas earlier this month introduced its first product to support the Matter 1.0 standard protocol. Targeted toward applications in smart home security and low-power IoT solutions, the DA16200 is an ultra-low-power Wi-Fi SoC that supports Matter 1.0. The company has rolled out a development kit based on 

The chip supports the IEEE 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi standard and is capable of running full networking operations without the need for a processor. What’s more, the device combines the strength of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for a highly integrated connection with smartphones and other supported devices.


The DA16200 SoC block diagram.

The DA16200 SoC block diagram. Image used courtesy of Renesas. (Click image to enlarge)

 

According to the company, the ultra-low power device intelligently conserves the power of the chip when not transferring data. With low-power algorithms, the device enables year-plus battery life to stay connected with IoT devices. In addition, the device can be powered by coin cells. More information can be found in the DA16200 SoC datasheet.

Renesas says that DA16200  supports Renesas Quick Connect IoT through the Ultra Low Power Wi-Fi Pmod Board and could be seamlessly integrated into Renesas’ e2 studio for easy system development using Renesas MCU, connectivity and other devices. Renesas hopes to mass-produce the SoC by the end of the first quarter of the year.

 

Yeelight Taps Silicon Labs’ Matter SoC

To solve interoperable issues in smart home sensor applications, Yeelight has selected the Silicon Labs’ MG24 2.4 GHz wireless SoC in its new Pro P20 occupancy sensor. According to the Silicon Labs announcement, the sensor is said to be battery-powered and could detect both the human body and micro-motion using infrared and radar sensing respectively.

 

The Yeelight P20 occupancy sensor supports operation in active-passive operation with both infrared and radar sensing.

The Yeelight P20 occupancy sensor supports operation in active-passive operation with both infrared and radar sensing. Image used courtesy of Yeelight

 

Adopting a Matter-certified wireless SoC in the device enables users to connect to other various home automation devices seamlessly using connectivity technologies such as Thread, Zigbee, Bluetooth Low Energy and so on. Silicon Labs says that the MG24 SoC is suitable for artificial intelligence applications and could be adopted in smart home, medical and industrial applications.

Wilson Wei, Yeelight CTO, Head of R&D remarked that the support from Silicon Labs in its Matter SoC has helped Yeelight to cut down the efforts and investment on RF, protocol and certification. He added that the Matter 1.0 standard provides cross-ecosystem ease of choice and application for global users.

 

Espressif Devices Achieve Matter 1.0 Certification

To ease the adoption of next-gen interoperable devices, it is important that SoC makers complete the Matter 1.0 certification program for their devices. With that in mind, Espressif Systems announced that it has completed the Matter 1.0 certification program for its SoCs. 

Design engineers can now make use of ESP32, ESP32-C series of SoCs, and ESP32-S3 in Wi-Fi IoT applications that support interoperability between devices. What’s more, the company’s ESP32-H2 SoC, along with Espressif’s Thread SDK, has earned the status of “Thread-Certified (1.3.0) Components”. However, designers would be able to build Thread-compliant devices with the ESP32-H2 SoC by the end of March when it is available.

 

Espressif is leveraging the Matter 1.0 standard to drive innovation in Matter-certified smart home solutions.

Espressif is leveraging the Matter 1.0 standard to drive innovation in Matter-certified smart home solutions. Image used courtesy of Espressif

 

The company has also announced some sets of Matter-ready SDKs such as the ESP Thread Border Router SDK that supports designs for Thread border routers. The company also stated that IoT designers like Zamel and Foshan Lighting can now make use of its ESP-ZeroCode Modules for their Matter-certified IoT products.

 

The Matter Wave Rolls Forward

With companies leveraging the Matter 1.0 protocol, it is expected that a wave of state-of-the-art interoperable smart home devices will be commercially available in the not-too-distant future as innovation continues in the smart home industry.