A new Thread in the wireless home networking tapestry

29 April 2015 Telecoms, Datacoms, Wireless, IoT News Editor's Choice

As if the world didn’t have enough wireless standards already, a new one will soon be making itself at home amongst the clutter.

Simply called ‘Thread’, the concept comes from a collaborative effort by a handful of technology companies with diverse skills, which got together to create a simple yet robust solution for wirelessly connecting consumers to devices in and around the home.

With ever more consumer electronic devices having some sort of communication requirements – the advent of the so-called Internet of Things or IoT – Thread was designed with everything in mind from appliances, lighting and climate control to energy management, access control, safety and security. Crucially, it will also be interoperable with existing technologies such as ZigBee, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and Z-Wave.

Thread adopts the same carrier specification as ZigBee – IEEE 802.15.4 – and is based on 6LoWPAN, an acronym for IPv6 over Low power Wireless Personal Area Networks. Thread Group, the industry body established to develop and promote the technology, claims that millions of existing 802.15.4 wireless devices already on the market will be able to run Thread with just a software enhancement.

Founding members of the group include ARM, Big Ass Fans, Freescale Semiconductor, Nest Labs, Samsung Electronics, Silicon Laboratories and Yale Security. Dozens of leading technology organisations have since joined, in capacities ranging from sponsor to contributor and affiliate.

Thread Group will manage certification of products to the specification, with certification programmes expected to be rolled out during the first half of 2015. Thread technology will be licensed to members under RAND-RF terms (Reasonable And Non-Discriminatory – Royalty Free).

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