Thread is an

IPv6 Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol (IP), the communication protocol, communications protocol that provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic ...

-based, low-power

mesh networking A mesh network is a local area network network topology, topology in which the infrastructure Node (networking), nodes (i.e. bridges, switches, and other infrastructure devices) connect directly, dynamically and non-hierarchically to as many othe ...

technology for Internet of things (IoT) products. The Thread protocol specification is available at no cost; however, this requires agreement and continued adherence to an end-user license agreement (EULA), which states "Membership in Thread Group is necessary to implement, practice, and ship Thread technology and Thread Group specifications." Often used as a transport for Matter (the combination being known as ''Matter over Thread''), the protocol has seen increased use for connecting low-power and battery-operated smart-home devices.

Organization

In July 2014, the Thread Group alliance was formed as an industry group to develop, maintain and drive adoption of Thread as an industry networking standard for IoT applications. Thread Group provides certification for components and products to ensure adherence to the spec. Initial members were ARM Holdings, Big Ass Solutions, NXP Semiconductors/ Freescale,

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

-subsidiary Nest Labs, OSRAM, Samsung, Silicon Labs, Somfy, Tyco International,

Qualcomm Qualcomm Incorporated () is an American multinational corporation headquartered in San Diego, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. It creates semiconductors, software and services related to wireless techn ...

, and the Yale lock company. In August 2018,

Apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

joined the group, and released its first Thread product, the HomePod Mini, in late 2020.

Characteristics

Thread uses 6LoWPAN, which, in turn, uses the IEEE 802.15.4 wireless protocol with mesh communication (in the 2.4 GHz spectrum), as do Zigbee and other systems. However, Thread is IP-addressable, with cloud access and AES encryption. A BSD-licensed open-source implementation of Thread called ''OpenThread'' is available from and managed by Google. The OpenThread network simulator, a part of the OpenThread implementation, simulates Thread networks using OpenThread

POSIX The Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX; ) is a family of standards specified by the IEEE Computer Society for maintaining compatibility between operating systems. POSIX defines application programming interfaces (APIs), along with comm ...

instances. The simulator utilises discrete-event simulation and allows for visualisation of communications through a web interface.

Use cases

In 2019, the Connected Home over IP (CHIP) project, subsequently renamed to ''Matter'', led by the Zigbee Alliance, now the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), Google, Amazon, and Apple, announced a broad collaboration to create a royalty-free standard and open-source code base to promote interoperability in home connectivity, leveraging Thread, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth Low Energy.

List of devices with Thread

References

External links