As the end of 2022 approaches, I am amazed and impressed by the hard work and milestones we achieved together as the Thread Group this year. With the release of Thread 1.3.0 that supports Matter, and the collaborative effort to enable KNX IoT and DALI+ with Thread, 2022 represented a turning point for the IoT Industry. Also, with the return of in-person member meetings this year, it was wonderful to see so many new and familiar faces, and appreciate the great participation and interactive discussions that will continue to help shape the future of IoT through the development and adoption of Thread. To wrap up the year, we were incredibly honored to be named in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2022 list which is a testament to such a pivotal year of adoption and growth.
Thread Momentum
2022 was a noteworthy year for our IP-based mesh networking transport layer designed to connect low-power products in smart homes and buildings. Thread Group worked tirelessly on finalizing the Thread 1.3.0 specification and certification program, which defines capabilities such as Border Routers, IPv6 connectivity, DNS-based service discovery, TCP and others. A special thank you to the Technical and Certification Committees for making this possible, your countless hours of hard work are driving the IoT forward. The Thread Group Marketing Committee also dedicated many hours over the last several quarters to expand our messaging, website content and collateral, publish numerous blogs and white papers and launch Thread 1.3.0. For more information regarding Thread 1.3.0, check out our webinar.
The release of Matter 1.0, developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance, is also a significant milestone for the IoT industry, and the opportunity to provide value to users is tremendous. We are thankful for our partnership with them and the opportunity to work together on events, projects and campaigns to further the smart home industry.
Thread Members such as Aqara, eero, Eve, Google, HooRii, Netatmo, SmartThings, Tridonic, Wemo, and more introduced Thread certified end products into the market, expanding the ever-growing range of Thread-based smart home products available to consumers. The media and market’s response to these new products were enthusiastic, highlighting their dependability, quick response times, and efficiency!
We will soon reach a milestone of 200 Thread certified products and components! With the Matter release, the Certification Committee expects this number to start ramping up, and we are working with Connectivity Standards Alliance on making Matter and Thread certifications as seamless as possible.
In the smart building market, Thread technology continues to be the wireless, low-power, IP-based mesh networking technology that seamlessly integrates into an enterprise network while ensuring network security by using end-to-end encryption. In October, members of our Commercial Marketing Working Group attended Light+Building 2022 in Frankfurt, showcasing our mesh networking solution for commercial and smart building applications, supported by all the major building automation platforms. The team also released blog posts on KNX IoT on Thread and DALI+ over Thread, promoting our partnership with other industry IoT standards organizations to deliver complete network solutions.
Thread’s Growing Ecosystem
Thread Group continues to grow as an organization with memberscommitted to adopting and progressing our network protocol. We have over 130 members, bringing their perspectives and use cases from a range of markets and regions.
In addition, the Thread Marketing Committee created a China Regional Marketing Chapter to drive further education and adoption of Thread in the local China market. I'd like to thank HooRii Technology, along with other smart home technology innovators and Thread Group members, including Google, NXP Semiconductors and Silicon Labs, who were among the initial contributors and are now leading the efforts. Since launching in May, they have hosted local webinars on Thread technology and 1.3.0 Certification, developed marketing materials and collateral, and participated in the Connectivity Standards Alliance Member Group China’s developer event. Learn more by connecting with Thread Group China's WeChat channel.
After several years of virtual meetings, we were very appreciative of the opportunity to gather together in person once again this year for our members meetings. The spring meeting was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the fall meeting in Málaga, Spain. Both garnered a healthy in-person presence in addition to a few who took advantage of the virtual offering. We look forward to gathering once again this upcoming April 25th to 27th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Expanded Functionalities on the Horizon
Thread Group continues to work on advancing our technology and has already begun working on our upcoming successor specifications. Now is the perfect opportunity to get involved in Thread Group. To those interested in developing with Thread and having an impact on the Thread roadmap, check out our Become A Member page for more information on membership tiers, benefits, and more!
Wishing You A Happy New Year
As we put the finishing touches on 2022, I want to express how incredibly grateful I am to steadily work alongside our Thread Group members. I am beyond appreciative for the unwavering passion, expertise and commitment of our member organizations and liaison partners. Without them, we would not be where we are today. As the saying goes, teamwork makes the dream work! Wishing everyone a happy holiday season as we usher in a promising new year.
