Silicon Labs Tech Talks: What's New in Matter

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Matter Overview

Matter is a new, unified, and open standard for smart home devices, designed to simplify development and improve interoperability.

• Developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA).
• Matter aims to provide a seamless experience for users by enabling devices from different manufacturers to work together.
• Silicon Labs is a key contributor to the Matter standard and offers a comprehensive SDK for Matter development.

Matter Versions and Features

MATTER 1.0

Launched: November 2022

Device Types: 34

Major Features:

• Standardized BLE Based Commissioning
• Wi-Fi and Thread support
• Manufacturer Authentication
• Compatibility with major home ecosystems
• Integration of many Zigbee Device Types

MATTER 1.1

Launched: May 2023

Device Types: 34

Major Features:

• General Improvements for Battery Powered Devices
• Testing Automation for Pre-qualification

MATTER 1.2

Launched: October 2023

Device Types: 43

Major Features:

• Appliances
• Improved Battery life for actuators (short idle time)
• Robot Vacuums
• Device Appearance Description
• Generic Operating States (Start / Stop / Pause)

MATTER 1.3

Launched: May 2024

Device Types: 54

Major Features:

• More Appliances
• Energy Management Devices
• Enhanced Entertainment Controls for Media Players
• Scenes

MATTER 1.4

Major Features:

• Mounted On/Off and Dimmable Load Control: New device type for on/off devices.
• Enhancements to Occupancy Sensing: Radar, vision, and ambient sensing with customized sensitivity settings and history reporting.
• Energy Management Devices: Management and energy reporting for any Matter-enabled device.
• Very Sleepy Device Support: Increased sleep duration for devices from 15 seconds to 18 hours.
• Improvements to Infrastructure and Ecosystems: Support for Thread-based devices via 3rd Party Border Routers, enhanced multi-admin synchronization, and interoperability testing.

Energy Management and Device Types

Matter 1.3 introduced reporting of estimated and actual measurements for energy and power consumption/generation, including voltage and current. It also introduced Device Energy Management and Energy EVSE clusters.

Matter 1.4 added new and updated device types for energy management, including:

• New Device Types: Solar Power, Batteries, Heat Pumps, Water Heaters.
• Updated Device Types: Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE), Thermostats.

Energy management and mode improvements: Enables energy-consuming devices to adjust based on energy forecast and power management.

Matter v1.4 Features:

• Solar Power: Reports power and energy production from solar power device types, including inverters, panels, and hybrid systems.
• Bottling: Enabled by home energy management systems, supporting load balancing.
• Water Heating: Devices can forecast consumption and adjust usage during peak demand. Heat pumps can shift energy use to off-peak times.
• Appliance Control: Devices can be set to a preset temperature or percentage, with boost commands for rapid heating.

Matter Clusters

Device Energy Management Mode cluster

Enables easy toggling between device-specific, local, or grid-wide energy optimization.

Water Heater Mode cluster

Provides users with the ability to easily toggle scheduling on and off.

Enhancements to existing clusters

• Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE): User-defined charging preferences and optimal charging times.
• Thermostats: Support for scheduling and preset modes like vacation and home/away settings, triggered by motion detection or calendar events.

Device Energy Management: Allows energy-consuming devices to adjust start times based on energy usage forecasts and power management needs.

Matter Device Types and Clusters

Device Types

• Solar Power - Inverters, solar panels, hybrid solar/battery systems.
• Batteries - Battery walls, storage units, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS).
• Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)
• Water Heater
• Heat Pump / Thermostat
• Appliances - Oven, Dryer, Washer, Dishwasher, Microwave
• Utility Device types - Device Energy Management, Electrical Sensor, Power Source

Clusters

• Electrical Power Measurement
• Electrical Energy Measurement
• Power Topology
• Water Heater Management
• Device Energy Management
• Device Energy Management Mode
• Energy EVSE
• Energy Preference
• Demand Response Load Control (DRLC)

Matter Use Cases

EVSE

• Commands/attributes: Set min/max charge current, Start/Stop, delayed start, Enable charging until (clock), Set required energy target.
• Use Cases: Breaker protection, User preferences for state of charge, Aligning charge schedule with lowest energy cost hours.

Water Heater

• Commands/attributes: Heat Demand, Tank Volume, Estimated heating required, Boost.
• Use Cases: Build usage profiles for optimal energy consumption during lowest cost hours, Boost heating for convenience during excess usage events.

Other

• Commands/Attributes: Min/Max Power allowed, Forecast, Power Adjust, Pause/Resume.
• Use Cases: Optimize washing cycle with energy costs and user requirements, Limit power draw to balance total consumption.

Market Applications

Bridging Controllers

Combining existing energy management ecosystems with Matter.

EVSE systems

• Systems protecting fuses/circuit breakers with demand response load control cluster.
• Matching charging profile with energy price curves and user needs.

Grid operators and energy producers

Building residential energy management systems to give more flexibility for ensuring grid stability and customer loyalty.

Appliance makers

• Building energy-aware appliances is becoming increasingly important as energy regulations are becoming more stringent.
• Local Control through Matter means a proprietary cloud service is not always necessary and can save costs while still providing functionality.

Actuators and Sensors

Battery powered devices

Need to sleep to conserve battery life while maintaining a reliable connection to the network.

Actuators that sleep for short durations (seconds)

• Wake up frequently to look for data or commands.
• Examples: Locks and shades waking up every 3-5 seconds.
• Short Idle Time (SIT) addresses these device types, introduced in version 1.2.
• Enables devices to sleep for up to 15 seconds while maintaining a reliable connection.

Switches and sensors that sleep for long durations (minutes to hours)

• Wake up on an event (e.g., button push, door opening) and transmit data.
• Wake up on a set interval to provide status (temperature) or heartbeat.
• Long Idle Time (LIT) addresses these devices, introduced in version 1.4.
• Enables devices to sleep for up to 18 hours while maintaining a reliable connection.

LIT ICD Commission & Check-in Handling

Protocols for extending battery life with Long Idle Time (LIT) and reliable check-in for low-power devices.

Devices can report attribute changes less frequently based on predictability.

Diagram: A sequence diagram illustrating the ICD Commission & Check-in Handling flow, showing interactions between a Mobile Controller with ICD and a Matter ICD Accessory.

• ICD Flow: Start Commissioning, Identify ICD Device, Tell if LIT/SIT/Dynamic, Generate Symmetric Key, Register Client, Save peerNode/monitoredSubject/key/starting_counter/offset, Commissioning Complete, Auto-Subscribe.
• Check-In Handling: Active and Send Checkin Message, CheckinMessageHandler::UnsolicitedMessageHandler and decode, notify IM to start/restart the subscription.

Matter 1.4: Long Idle Time (LIT)

Matter 1.4 enhances support for Long Idle Time (LIT), enabling devices to sleep for extended periods while maintaining network connectivity.

Matter Certifiable Home Routers and Access Points

• Certified devices supporting Matter over Wi-Fi and Matter over Thread.
• Supports storing and sharing Thread network credentials for multiple OTBRs.

Multi-Admin Improvements

• Enhanced multi-admin enables devices on multiple ecosystems with a single user consent.
• Eliminates the need to enable each device individually.
• Existing Matter Ecosystems can share devices with other ecosystems with a single user interaction.

Interoperability Lab by the Connectivity Standards Alliance

• Major ecosystems and devices are present in the Alliance Interop Lab.
• Ability to run and report on a device's real-world interoperability before launch or software update.
• Provided as a free service to Alliance members.
• Used to provide feedback to the standard.

Matter Certification

Designed to simplify and streamline the Family Certification Program and Certification by Similarity.

• Portfolios cover products with similar features sets and regional variations.
• Feature sets can include color, white, dimmable, on/off, etc.
• Regional variations include currency, power, etc.
• Requires a "Superset" part (Parent), which is a certified, shipping device.
• Other devices in the portfolio must be the same or a subset of features.
• Portfolio Fees are the Same as Family Fees.
• Portfolio Certification option on Certification Web Tool Dashboard.

FastTrack Recertification Advantages

• Encourages rapid improvements in products.
• Zero Fee approach.
• Enables faster deployment of bug and security fixes.
• Improves quality and usability of products.

Caveats to Fast Track Recertification

• Product must have initial certification.
• Members can self-test to verify compliance.
• Must qualify and be trained on proper use of Matter Certification tools.
• New functionality must be tested at ATL.
• Members covered for IPR at the time Recertification is issued by Alliance.
• Member must submit 2 units to the Interop Lab for testing.

Updates to Address Recertification Issues

• Matter specification and SDK are updated frequently.
• Recertification delays important updates.
• Recertification fees are a barrier to updates.
• Rapid Recertification addresses this partially.

Introducing Fast Track Recertification

• Designed to streamline the process and reduce cost.
• Can be applied to products that have already been certified.
• Includes CbS, CTB, and PPC programs.
• Members can self-test and store logs.
• No ATL review is needed.
• Can upgrade to a newer version of the Matter SDK.
• Self-test on previously certified features; new features must be tested by an ATL.
• Zero Alliance Recertification fee.
• Note: Not all members or products qualify for FastTrack.
• Requires Promoter or Participant member level.

Requirements:

• Members must be trained by Alliance Staff on the test harness.
• Members must submit 2 units to Interop Lab.
• Members must store logs for 5 years.
• Only for recertification of a product that has not changed.

All-in-one Smart Home Apps

Question: Can one application control all devices?

Answer: There will not be One App to Rule them All because there are multiple app categories:

• Generalist Smart Home Apps: Apps that can do most features and are likely to be the standard go-to app.
• Device Feature Apps: Apps from specific device makers with features/functions not defined in Matter, unique to the device make.
• Services Apps: 3rd party apps not necessarily tied to a product, but services like Energy Management, working with different devices but focusing on services enabled by Matter.

For more information, see the An All in One Smart Home App blog.

Studio SDK

Silicon Labs provides a comprehensive SDK for Matter development.

Matter SDK

Matter Extension v2.4 or greater

Matter Sample Applications:

• Thread: Air Quality Sensor, Dishwasher, Light Switch, Light, Lock, Multi-Sensor, On/Off Plug, Refrigerator, Thermostat, Window Covering.
• Wi-Fi: Air Quality Sensor, Dishwasher, Light Switch, Light, Lock, Multi-Sensor, On/Off Plug, Refrigerator, Thermostat, Window Covering, Fan Control.
• ZCL ZAP Support for other
• LIT sample app support
• Sensor Apps all enabled with Long Idle Time Support (LIT).

Sample Application Projects:

• Matter - SoC Fan Control over Wi-Fi
• Matter - SoC Air Quality Sensor with external Bootloader Solution
• Matter - SoC Lighting over Wi-Fi
• Matter - SoC Light Switch over Thread with external Bootloader
• Matter - SoC Multi Sensor over Wi-Fi
• Matter - SoC Lock over Thread with external Bootloader
• Matter - SoC Refrigerator over Wi-Fi
• Matter - SoC Onoff Plug over Thread with external Bootloader

Q&A

This section is for questions and answers related to Matter and Silicon Labs' offerings.

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