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


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

Matter comes at the right time 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 of Matter was published last May by the 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 CES

The real kick-off was given at the last edition of CES. Matter was the surprise star of the Las Vegas digital high mass. Nanoleaf has unveiled a full range of connected lighting products compatible with the new standard. Amazon and Apple have done the same with 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 introducing SmartThings Station. This home automation “hub” comes in the form of a small box that uses buttons to configure different Matter-compatible devices and create routines combining a thermostat, an air conditioning system, a smart TV or any type of device plugged into a connected power outlet.

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

A not so distant cousin of Thread and ZigBee

On a technical level, the promoters of Matter did not start from scratch. The standard is based on existing communication technologies such as Wi-Fi, Ethernet and the wireless networking protocols Bluetooth LE (Low Energy), Thread and ZigBee – Connectivity Standards Alliance was previously called the ZigBee Alliance.

To associate a compatible device 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. All you have to do is scan a QR code and enter a security code to ensure the connection.

Once the network is in place, Matter operates over Wi-Fi on the 2.4 GHz frequency band, by far the most commonly used by connected objects. On the other hand, the standard is based only on IPv6, which de facto excludes devices that have remained on IPv4 addresses. In return, IPv6 provides additional security by providing 128-bit AES encryption. A plus knowing that connected objects, generally weakly secured, constitute a Trojan horse favored by cybercriminals.





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