Matter Java SDK?

[smitopher (Christopher Smith)]

I’m trying to educate myself about Matter and how it may be incorporated into OH. I have seen nothing about a Java SDK under development.

From what I’ve learned so far, it seems that OH would be a “controller” and be able to listen to and send commands to a Matter compliant device. Since all communications are ip, a transport protocol would not need to be implemented so a Thread Border Router would not necessarily be required to be implemented by OH.

Matter looks like it will define device models and operation models.

So… A Java SDK that implements Matter sounds like a NIFTY thingy which would make integrating OH as a Matter controller a straight forward endeavor.

@chris as our resident zigbee expert, do you know anything about a Matter Java SDK?

[yfaway (YF)]

Oh boy you confused me quite a bit with the title. For a moment I was scratching my head wondering when did this new JDK pop up. For those semi-clueless as me, see this link: O que importa?  |  Matter  |  Google Home.

I think this is the fruit of an agreement between Google and Apple a few years back. Look like they finally have something to show. Both companies have the end controlling units already (Google Home etc), but it might still be a bit early IMO. The list of device link returns a 404 :(. They claim that everything will be IP-based local connectivity protocol, but time will tell if the vendors really let the users operate the device off the internet. I also have a feeling that the devices will require more energy than Zigbee.

[smitopher (Christopher Smith)]

@yfaway
That was an awesome link
Thank you

[digitaldan (Dan Cunningham)]

For all the noise about matter, there is relatively little information on what the connectivity API looks like, or rather you have to sort through a ton of marketing speak that have attempted to give existing technologies new names that obfuscate this even further (try looking up the “dotdot” spec for example) . It’s actually pretty remarkable how murky it is unless you are really familiar with the underlying technologies.

In the end the connectivity API is the Zigbee Cluster API / Library that has been modified to run over IP. The matter project ( aka project chip) has a example client written in C at connectedhomeip/examples/chip-tool at master · project-chip/connectedhomeip · GitHub , its pretty low level, that project is really concerned around the embedded hardware side of things.

I’ll leave it to @chris who has probably been asked this about a million times before (apologies) , but i would hope his zigbee java cluster library could be eventually ported to run over IP.

[rpwong (Russ)]

@yfaway

I think this is the fruit of an agreement between Google and Apple a few years back.

Matter is led by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, formerly the Zigbee Alliance. Google, Apple, and Amazon are a big part of it, but they aren’t the driving forces. This recent article on The Verge talks about it.

The Matter launch has been pushed back a few times, and the last delay was attributed to CSA gaining more members than they anticipated and deciding to take more time to onboard and review. It’s slightly annoying, but probably better than releasing a spec and then immediately updating it (potentially breaking devices already on the market).

@yfaway

I also have a feeling that the devices will require more energy than Zigbee.

Thread is designed for low power consumption and may even be better than Zigbee. Of course, WiFi-based Matter devices will still consume more power, but they’re not intended for battery operation.

Amazon, Apple, and Google started including Thread radios in some of their devices about a year ago, so that they’ll be able to serve as border routers when battery-powered end-point devices become widely available. Here’s a list of existing Thread devices, and a StaceyonIOT article about Thread.

@smitopher

a Thread Border Router would not necessarily be required to be implemented by OH.

A Thread controller will still be required to communicate with Thread devices. The big difference is that devices won’t be “owned” by that single controller; if you install a Thread lightswitch, then you can connect it to your Echo speaker, Nest Hub, and Apple TV. They’ll all directly control it, and they’ll all get updates when other devices control it.

If someone sells a Thread USB controller, then openHAB would be able to serve as a border router. Alternatively, openHAC can just communicate with a border router to send commands to Thread devices. This would already be possible with the Amazon Echo Control Binding, but I’m hopeful that there will be a direct Matter-based solution. No idea if it’ll actually happen, though.

Matter probably won’t be everything that’s promised, but wide industry support (400+ members) gives it a decent shot at actually making home-automation devices more accessible and consumer-friendly. For this reason alone, I’m choosing to be optimistic. I’ll save my cynicism for when it actually launches.

[chris (Chris Jackson)]

@rpwong

Thread is designed for low power consumption and may even be better than Zigbee.

Thread is exactly the same as Zigbee in this respect. Thread uses the 802.15.4 radio and network layers - exactly the same as Zigbee. In general, exactly the same hardware can run a Zigbee stack, or a Thread stack (at least this is the case with Silabs devices). It’s possible to “upgrade” a Silabs Zigbee
device and change it to use Thread.

@rpwong

The Matter launch has been pushed back a few times,

Yep - personally I’m not holding my breath. My view (and I said it before here) is I would not wait around for this - the end devices most people here want will take a little while to be available.

At the moment, it’s just another “standard”. Sure, one day it might be a dominant standard, but for the next little while, there are systems out there that work - today.

IMHO, it’s better to stick with proven devices - new tech always has teething problems. That said, 802.15.4 protocol has been around a long time, so all the low level layers are well proven, and ZCL has also been around a long time, and while it’s not perfect, it works (mostly) well, and is (mostly) better than alternatives such as ZWave. So, the transition and “upgrade” of devices could be reasonably seemless.

@digitaldan

I’ll leave it to @chris who has probably been asked this about a million times before (apologies) , but i would hope his zigbee java cluster library could be eventually ported to run over IP.

Yes, it would be a little bit of work, but not so much to change the lower layers, so the Zigbee Cluster Library currently used in the Zigbee binding is completely reusable.

[rpwong (Russ)]

@chris

Yep - personally I’m not holding my breath. My view (and I said it before here) is I would not wait around for this - the end devices most people here want will take a little while to be available.

I totally agree. If I needed a new sensor/switch/whatever tomorrow, I wouldn’t wait for Matter/Thread–all I need is for it to work with openHAB. The bigger impact will be with average consumers, and it’ll take awhile for that to be felt.