Apple-Backed 'Project CHIP' to Start Smart Home Device Certification in Late 2021

[vipergts2207]

The HomePod is told, "You are in the living room", and so are the lights. They don't figure it out, unfortunately: it's all manual input by the user for every device they install.



Maybe one day with UWB tracking and/or geo-fencing, all devices will be able to smartly guess where they are inside your residence.

//

But, I agree. Smart homes don't really have a killer feature yet, at least not worth the price of admission. Some things that come to mind:

• Automate outside lights turning on after sunset
• Smart garage door openers that can be activated via voice
• Security cameras with alerts, esp for doorbells (package thieves)
• Smart thermostats to use outside temperature to moderate HVAC use
• Emergency outside-the-home notifications via sensors for fire, leaks, smoke, carbon monoxide, etc.
• Energy usage per-outlet to monitor vampire drains (and is IoT itself a vampire drain?)
• Authenticated lockboxes outside apartments (package thieves again)

-Automate outside lights turning on after sunset

-Smart garage door openers that can be activated via voice

Both of those can already be done, unless you’re talking about an extremely specific scenario.

 

[Black Belt]

This is great news to enhance the offerings.

 

[Black Belt]

Looks like you didn’t read the article.

Apple’s security is far superior.

 

[ojfl]

How does this relate to Thread? Does anyone know?

 

[_Spinn_]

This is good news. Hopefully this means an end to proprietary smart home devices. I’m glad this is going to work with WiFi, Bluetooth, and Thread.

 

[ikjadoon]

-Automate outside lights turning on after sunset

-Smart garage door openers that can be activated via voice

Both of those can already be done, unless you’re talking about an extremely specific scenario.

? I agree they can be done; I have them both set up. 😃

I’m specifically discussing example use cases for IoT devices in a smart home.

Interoperability makes all these use cases easier and cheaper; these are nice things to have, but it’s rarely worth the price to most consumers.

 

[Tricky22]

I do hope they can make this backward compatible.

I have Nest cameras and thermostat and would like then all to work via Apple home kit, I know you can use a bridge but that’s not what Apple is about.

 

[Rychiar]

In my experience, the only smart home devices worth using are exclusively bluetooth. I've had endless problems connecting homekit devices with modern wifi ap's that only use a single SSID for both the 2.4ghz and 5ghz channels because those devices only have a 2.4ghz radio.

Bluetooth devices are the worst by far. Thread is the future

 

[ipedro]

But, I agree. Smart homes don't really have a killer feature yet, at least not worth the price of admission. Some things that come to mind:

• Automate outside lights turning on after sunset
• Smart garage door openers that can be activated via voice
• Security cameras with alerts, esp for doorbells (package thieves)
• Smart thermostats to use outside temperature to moderate HVAC use
• Emergency outside-the-home notifications via sensors for fire, leaks, smoke, carbon monoxide, etc.
• Energy usage per-outlet to monitor vampire drains (and is IoT itself a vampire drain?)
• Authenticated lockboxes outside apartments (package thieves again)

I've built a smart home over 10 years. It was gradual but I absolutely could not go back.

Having my home react around me and manage itself is priceless. My home knows my schedule and anticipates my needs. I no longer think of lights as individual switches that you turn on. Everything from lights to temperature to music/podcast/news/tv trigger as an overall mood or task based on scenes or a trigger event. Weeks go by that I don't touch a light switch.

Light influences human psychology and mood. It can relax me (reds and blues) but it can also intuitively make me more productive (bright white). I seriously would hate to go back to standard lights.

Can I live without a smart home? Sure. Can I live without a dishwasher? Sure. Do these things improve my quality of life? Yes. How do I know? I recently moved and there was an immediate realization of how much I loved my home doing things for me proactively. It's like the butler got hit by a bus and you start to notice the nice little things in your day of things being done for you and anticipating your needs that are no longer being done.

I haven't even hung my TV yet but I goddamn sure went about reinstalling all my smart home devices in the new place.

 

[ikjadoon]

I do hope they can make this backward compatible.

I have Nest cameras and thermostat and would like then all to work via Apple home kit, I know you can use a bridge but that’s not what Apple is about.

How does this relate to Thread? Does anyone know?

Backwards compatibility is an interesting question and it relates to Thread.

• If something already has Thread, it could get a firmware upgrade to CHIP certified.
• If no Thread, then a bridge device or maybe even a USB expansion device could add it.
• A far, far, far off rumor that because Zigbee & Thread are both based on 802.15.4, theoretically Zigbee devices could be jerry-rigged to Thread. Nothing official on this; the first two are much more likely.

Source.

As for older and existing network devices, the plan is that manufacturers can add CHIP support with a bridge device. If there is enough memory and the device has the right radios on the bridge, then that update might be a simple over-the-air software update. Otherwise, you may have to buy a new CHIP-certified bridge. For everyone wondering about your old Z-wave or Zigbee devices, you should hope that the manufacturer puts out a bridge device so you can keep all of your existing sensors and light bulbs.

//

The Zigbee -> Thread rumor has some basis here:

Q: We recently upgraded our SoC from the CC2531 to the CC2538. We are referencing the document ‘Z-stack OTA Upgrade Users Guide’. We plan to build and test the demo using the CC2538EM dev kit – but this looks like an OTA from one SoC (server) to upgrade a client that is using a compatible SoC.


The CC2538 supports both ZigBee and Thread. Today we are using ZigBee – but perhaps the industry has decided to move the Thread in the future. Is there a way to remotely update the firmware to accommodate Thread? In general, is there any way to update the firmware on the SoC itself wireless?

A: While the CC2538 supports both Zigbee and Thread, what you're wanting is not supported for this device, as the CC2538 does not have TI OAD capabilities. However, the CC2538 does support Zigbee OTA Upgrade (TI OAD and Zigbee OTA Upgrade are able to co-exist, as they are two separate entities). With using Zigbee OTA Upgrade, you would have to develop your own proprietary BIM in order to perform the update wirelessly. Or upgrade manually through a serial upgrade.

However, with our new CC2652R and CC1352R devices, this is most definitely possible to do wirelessly, as this supports both Zigbee OTA Upgrade and TI OAD, which enables the ability to switch between different technologies via the BIM supplied.

 

[ojfl]

Backwards compatibility is an interesting question and it relates to Thread.

• If something already has Thread, it could get a firmware upgrade to CHIP certified.
• If no Thread, then a bridge device or maybe even a USB expansion device could add it.
• A far, far, far off rumor that because Zigbee & Thread are both based on 802.15.4, theoretically Zigbee devices could be jerry-rigged to Thread. Nothing official on this; the first two are much more likely.

Source.

//

The Zigbee -> Thread rumor has some basis here:

Thank you. I hope these people find a single solution to harmonize them all so we do not have to have different ecosystems for our devices. One thing that Apple could do is to release an Apple HomeKit server software one can run without having to have an Apple TV, HomePod, or dedicated iPad for that. But they probably will never do that.

 

[dominiongamma]

Funny how it costs more to make devices that protect your privacy and which are secure.

Yet I can never connect a device with HomeKit without jumping though hoops or they always disconnect

 

[cmaier]

Yet I can never connect a device with HomeKit without jumping though hoops or they always disconnect

I can’t shoot three pointers. We all have weaknesses.

I can, however, connect devices easily to HomeKit and the only ones that disconnect are two Wemo devices that apparently have known issues.