Fast, reliable smart home technology that is compatible with all manufacturers and easy to install – that’s what we want for our intelligent home. This is possible with the innovative thread technology! The new standard is a quantum leap for smart home development. Thread technology is already built into Eve products and the HomePod mini.
What is thread technology?
Thread is a new technology that was specially developed for the intelligent networking of devices and installations in the home. It is therefore explicitly tailored to the smart home and makes it easier to connect devices in the home network. Thread is complementary to WLAN and Bluetooth.
Technology plays a crucial role in establishing a uniform standard for smart home protocols, because it is one of the pillars on which the new Connected Home over IP standard is based.
Connected Home over IP
Connected Home over IP is a newly developed standard for an open source connectivity standard project. It goes back to the joint work of the Zigbee Alliance, Amazon, Apple, Google and many other well-known smart home manufacturers such as IKEA, NXP Semiconductors, Samsung SmartThings, Schneider Electric, Somfy and others. The aim of the working group is to develop a common connectivity standard for smart home devices. The standard is license-free, making development easier for manufacturers and increasing compatibility for consumers.
One of the biggest hurdles for implementing smart home technology in your own home is still the lack of compatibility among manufacturers. This obstacle should be overcome with Connected Home over IP. In this way, consumers can easily integrate new products into their smart home, regardless of the manufacturer.
Overall, the new standard should make the use of smart home products easier, more reliable and safer.
The Internet Protocol (IP) is predestined to meet these requirements, because it has long been the most widely used network level in the home and also in offices. With IP, messages can be routed across networks regardless of the underlying physical and link layers. In addition, a wealth of resources for algorithms, infrastructures, routing, switching and firewalls are already available. A connection between smart home products, apps and cloud services can easily be established via IP. The detour via special proxies, as is necessary with many proprietary systems, is no longer necessary.
What are the benefits of thread?
Comparison to WIFI and Bluetooth Low Energy
WIFI offers a long range and fast response times. However, it consumes a comparatively large amount of electricity and is therefore not suitable for battery-operated devices or devices that repeatedly need or send small amounts of data over long periods of time. In addition, too many WIFI devices can overwhelm the home router.
The situation is different with Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). BLE is excellently optimized for small amounts of data over long periods of time. On the other hand, the reaction time is slower and the range is limited. Here too, too many devices cannot be in operation at the same time.
Thread is therefore the ideal complement that balances out the strengths and weaknesses of both technologies. It is not intended to replace Bluetooth and WLAN, but is used in a complementary manner. This makes the smart home even faster, more reliable and safer:
- Energy-saving operation
Right from the start, the technology was developed to save electricity so that it can also be used in battery-operated devices. - Scalability
Its structure as a peer-to-peer mesh network means that not all devices have to be connected to a control center and increases the number of products integrated into the system. You will find more detailed information on the structure of the network in the next paragraph. - Greater reach
Since not all devices have to be connected to a bridge, this increases the range that the smart home network can span. - Stable network
If a device that acts as a node in the network fails, the network automatically reconfigures and another device takes over. The more devices that are connected via thread, the more stable the network becomes. The opposite is the case with WLAN and Bluetooth.
Structure of a thread network
Thread follows the structure of a mesh network. This means that devices can communicate with each other independently of a bridge. As mentioned above, this increases the range and stability of the network, since nodes in the network independently pass on information and can quickly reconfigure themselves in the event of a device failure.
There are basically two roles in the thread network: router and endpoint. Every node of the network – regardless of whether it is a router or an end point – is referred to as a node.
Router nodes
These nodes have the task of distributing information packages in the network and, if necessary, managing endpoints. In this case, they are referred to as the “parent”. Only devices that are connected to the power network can be routers.
Endpoint nodes
They are nodes in the network that receive and send information, but not distribute information packets. They are assigned to certain router nodes and therefore their “children”. Every router node has a connection to every other router node. Endpoint nodes, on the other hand, only have the connection to its parent router node.
Border router
This router node holds a special position in the network because it is connected to the home network. All information exchange between the thread network and the home network – and thus to the smartphone or other devices – only runs through it. If the border router fails, no thread network can be formed and the devices have to switch to a different transmission standard, for example Bluetooth.
The thread network can consist of a leader node and a further 32 router nodes. Each router node is able to manage up to 511 endpoints. Thread thus offers a potential for scaling that far exceeds existing standards and will open many doors for us to new use cases in the future.
Thread technology already in Apple HomeKit products today
However, thread technology is not just a dream of the future. With the Eve products, users already have a broad portfolio of thread-capable products for HomeKit at their disposal. The new generation of devices supports both Bluetooth and Thread. The HomePod mini acts as a border router so that HomeKit devices can now also communicate via thread.
Seamless compatibility with existing devices is guaranteed, and products can still be connected via Bluetooth, for example. If a HomePod mini is added, the devices automatically exchange information via thread without any further installation.
360-degree overview of your own network
One advantage that Thread technology offers HomeKit users is a more detailed overview of the smart home network. The Eve app can be used to see which devices are communicating with each other, how the network is structured and what the connection quality of the router is. This way, problems can be solved quickly if the worst comes to the worst. In addition, the exact overview helps to adapt your own network individually to your own needs and to make life in your own four walls as comfortable as possible. All data remains on local devices.Availability
A firmware update for the current generations of the Eve Energy series and sensors for doors and windows, Eve Door & Window are already available. Updates for Eve Thermo andEve Systems are expected soon.
Image: AdobeStock 328780060
