The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) has released Matter version 1.2, the second update to the wireless connectivity standard, opening the standard to nine new device types and adding other improvements.
According to the CSA, the Matter 1.2 is now available for device makers and platforms to build into their products, and the Matter 1.2 certification program is now open. New enhancements and Matter-enabled products will hit the market later this year.
New device types supported in Matter 1.2 include refrigerators, room air conditioners, dishwashers, laundry washers, robotic vacuums, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, air quality sensors, air purifiers, and fans.
The CSA says it recently completed a Specification Validation Event with engineers across those new device types which demonstrates a significant resource commitment from participating companies.
New device types and SDK
The Alliance says the appliance support added in Matter 1.2 gave the Matter Working Group a starting point to build out a set of foundational features — such as temperature setting and monitoring, and status notifications — which will be applicable to nearly all appliances supported in future releases.
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- Device Appearance – Added description of device appearance, so that devices can describe their color and finish. This will enable helpful representations of devices across clients.
- Device & Endpoint Composition – Devices can now be hierarchically composed from complex endpoints allowing for accurate modeling of appliances, multi-unit switches, and multi-light fixtures.
- Semantic Tags – Provide an interoperable way to describe the location and semantic functions of generic Matter clusters and endpoints to enable consistent rendering and application across the different clients. For example, semantic tags can be used to represent the location and function of each button on a multi-button remote control.
- Generic Descriptions of Device Operational States – Expressing the different operational modes of a device in a generic way will make it easier to generate new device types in future revisions of Matter and ensure their basic support across various clients.
In addition, the Alliance added other under-the-hood enhancements in the testing and certification program to help companies bring products to market faster.
This includes the Matter 1.2 SDK for new platforms and the Matter Test Harness to ensure the specification and its features are being implemented correctly. The Test Harness is available now via open source so Matter developers can contribute to the tools and ensure they are working with the latest version.
New Matter products this fall
Now, engineers and product leaders are working on future device types, features and use cases while solving technical issues and enhancing the overall experience for users and developers, the CSA says.
New Matter products are expected to hit the market this fall, along with new software updates to make existing products Matter-enabled.
Matter is expected to receive two new updates next year as part of a bi-annual release cadence.
The CSA says Matter 1.0 has been downloaded over 24,600 times and the number of companies who have joined the Matter Woeking Gropu has grown nearly 24%.
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