Renesas Electronics has announced the release of a development kit that includes support for the Matter protocol, an application layer protocol designed to improve interoperability among smart home devices. The kit will support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), and IEEE 802.15.4 (Thread). Renesas has also announced that it will offer Matter support on all future products in these categories, including those from recently acquired Dialog Semiconductor and Celeno Communications.
Matter Protocol
The Matter protocol is intended to securely and robustly connect various smart devices to one another across different ecosystems, regardless of manufacturer. It abstracts the underlying connectivity technologies, allowing device manufacturers to support multiple smart home ecosystems and voice services through a common software stack. This allows users to purchase any Matter-certified device, regardless of their platform of choice.
Renesas Membership in Connectivity Standards Alliance
Renesas is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance, the global organization that creates IoT standards and certification. Chris LaPre, Head of Technology at the Alliance, commented on Renesas' commitment to supporting the Matter standard, stating that it is "another indication of the positive momentum the standard is generating across both device and equipment makers."
Availability
The first Renesas product to support Matter will be the DA16200 Ultra-Low Power Wi-Fi Modules Development Kit. The DA16200 system-on-chip is the first Wi-Fi system-on-chip to deliver a battery life of over one year for always-connected Wi-Fi IoT devices. It also supports Renesas Quick Connect IoT through the Ultra Low Power Wi-Fi Pmod™ Board and is fully integrated into Renesas' E2Studio for easy system development using Renesas microcontrollers, connectivity devices, and other devices. The DA16200 Development Kit with Matter support is currently being sampled to select customers and is expected to be released broadly by the end of the current quarter.
