[Editor's Note] Today's IoT is growing explosively. With the advancement of wireless communication technology, various types of devices are being connected, and more data is being collected. As interoperability between IoT devices becomes more important, the Matter standard has emerged. It is an open protocol being developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). Matter is expected to further expand the IoT market by helping to simplify IoT development. Silicon Labs, a specialist in wireless communication solutions, provides an integrated IoT platform including hardware, software, tools, and certification for Matter development. We spoke to Colin Cureton, Senior Director of IoT Ecosystem and Business Development at Silicon Labs, about Silicon Labs' latest Matter standard updates and how it supports IoT developers.



■ Explain why the adoption of Matter standard protocols is increasing in the IoT market. Also, the latest updates since the release of Matter 1.2 are:

Matter supports interoperability across multiple smart home device platforms, allowing consumers to buy the devices they want and use the voice assistants they want. In addition to interoperability, Matter is a local IP-based protocol, which simplifies device setup, while significantly improving stability and latency, and enhancing security through standardization.

When all devices adhere to the Matter standard, device manufacturers will only need one SKU per product, reducing development and production time and costs, and streamlining the entire supply chain. Previously, manufacturers had to develop separate stock keeping units (SKUs) for each product they made for each ecosystem. For example, today, if a manufacturer sells a smart home switch for Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Home, they would need three different SKUs, often three independent products using different hardware and software.

Since the release of Matter 1.1 in April, more companies have joined CSA as members to obtain Matter certification for their products, and the number of devices that have received Matter certification has increased.

Silicon Labs also supports the Matter 1.2 standard, the latest update to the Matter protocol. Silicon Labs is working with multiple customers and partners, both domestically and internationally, to develop Matter solutions.

Matter 1.2 supports new types of devices such as washing machines, refrigerators, and dishwashers to be connected via Matter. Silicon Labs offers new and revised clusters to deliver a more seamless user experience that integrates the smart home ecosystem.

It also provides a streamlined environment that includes visual descriptive materials that users can leverage to identify each device, including custom wireless hardware from Silicon Labs, MCUs with advanced security features, and Secure Vault™, a standard set of security features from Silicon Labs.

Building on its extensive experience in small embedded devices, Silicon Labs continues to support higher-level standards for low power and high-level security as the Matter standard evolves.

■ Please introduce Silicon Labs' next-generation wireless platform, 'Series 3'

Silicon Labs Series 3 will be a highly scalable wireless platform comprised of more than 30 wireless products to accommodate IoT growth.

Series 3 offers stronger security, more wireless, and higher power efficiency than before. The new platform will deliver a new level of compute optimized for applications by supporting 100x the processing power, including AI/ML accelerators for edge devices.

Series 3 enables system integration, meaning developers no longer need to use legacy MCUs that take up space and add cost.

■ Please introduce Silicon Labs' Wi-SUN-based smart city solution.

Silicon Labs has a variety of smart city solutions for a variety of applications, including smart lighting, smart metering, and smart buildings. 'Wi-SUN' is a wireless communication technology that supports low-power, long-range communication and is a key element for optimizing the performance of streetlight systems for smart cities. It improves energy efficiency and cost efficiency and enables the response to consumer demands.

Silicon Labs has collaborated with IIIT Hyderabad to build a state-of-the-art Wi-SUN-enabled Smart City Living Lab that will mimic a smart city on the university campus by converting approximately 100 streetlights to Wi-SUN smart streetlights and connecting nearby sensor nodes to a Wi-SUN mesh network.

A large-scale smart city application is 'smart metering'. Silicon Labs has partnered with CyanConnode, a global leader in narrowband RF mesh networking, to provide long-range, sub-GHz wireless connectivity using Silicon Labs’ FG25 SoCs to support the stringent and evolving network requirements of the emerging smart metering market.

With the ability to operate at ranges of up to 1.6 km with minimal data loss in both urban and rural environments, Cyanconnode chose to leverage Silicon Labs’ technology to support its smart metering solutions.

■ Looking at the connected health device market

The rapid adoption of telemedicine and remote healthcare services due to COVID-19 has dramatically increased demand for the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT), and has created a need for more intelligent, accurate, and connected wearable and portable medical devices.

Many manufacturers are developing more intelligent and connected health monitoring devices by applying IoMT technology to enable users to monitor their health status, reduce healthcare costs, and minimize healthcare issues by utilizing next-generation ICT technologies such as IoT, cloud computing, AI, and wearables.

Silicon Labs is actively responding to these market trends. Earlier this year, Silicon Labs announced the BG27, an ultra-small SoC product that delivers the small form factor, high performance, excellent security performance, low power consumption, and low cost characteristics that many medical devices demand.

The BG27 is a new family of ICs designed for ultra-small form factor IoT devices, making it ideal for small portable wearable devices. Built on the ARM Cortex M33 processor, the BG27 features Secure Vault and Virtual Security Engine (VSE) for advanced security. The BG27 provides IoT device designers with low power, high performance, and reliable security, making it an ideal choice for connected health devices.

The BG27 is also available in a chip-scale package (CSP), providing a very small footprint and cost-effective solution for a wide range of applications. The BG27 Bluetooth SoC integrates a DC-DC boost function that can operate down to 0.8 V, allowing it to support single-cell alkaline and 1.5 V button cell batteries commonly used in medical applications for battery-operated patches and continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices.

■ The main topics covered in the last Silicon Labs ‘Works With’ were:

At the recent Silicon Labs Works With conference, IoT developers were able to acquire practical knowledge and skills to advance their product development. It covered a variety of key technologies, from Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to Matter and LPWAN, and introduced the latest development trends in security and artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML).

Experts from Silicon Labs, as well as experts from industry-leading ecosystems, partners, customers, and affiliates, participated to share their technical know-how. This year in particular, Google, Amazon Alexa, Amazon Sidewalk, Samsung SmartThings and others participated in sessions and panel discussions.

In his keynote, Silicon Labs CEO Matt Johnson also introduced Silicon Labs’ solutions to help developers get products to market quickly, including Series 3.

In addition to the hardware capabilities that Silicon Labs has built up over the years, software is a key competitive advantage. Developing IoT devices within limited storage and cost is difficult, but Silicon Labs is working to provide software developers with software tools and new development experiences across its portfolio.