With the support of connectivity companies such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung Electronics, and more, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) announced the Matter standard in October 2022. The standard’s intent is to provide secure and easy to configure interconnected products for consumers. That type of interconnectivity is essential to smart homes. When Matter 1.2 was announced in October 2023, smart home support was extended to refrigerators, dishwashers, air quality/smoke sensors, robot vacuums, and more. Even before the most recent announcement, ABI Research forecasted that more than 5.5 billion Matter-compliant smart home devices would ship between 2022 and the end of the decade.
CES 2024
At CES 2024, where companies announce and display their leadership devices, several companies announced new Matter-compliant products including updates with Matter compatibility to previously introduced products. While many are streaming technologies, some of these products are based on sensors.
For example, a lock company introduced a Matter-compliant smart lock that has a pair of infrared sensors to detect and scan faces. The sensing activity occurs within a few feet and can store up to 100 face profiles. In addition to using Apple’s Home Key for verification, the lock also has a fingerprint sensor available to provide an even further biometric security method.
Since the company expects to officially launch the smart lock this summer, its Matter certification is still pending. However, with Matter-compliance the lock will work with Apple’s Home app as well as with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. For its already available locks, the manufacturer is planning to introduce a bridge to establish a connection to Matter platforms via Wi-Fi.
Sensing in its currently available locks includes a doorbell camera, microphone, fingerprint sensor, infrared night vision, motion detection, and a touchscreen keypad. When the user’s doorbell rings, their smartphone displays a live video image, so they always know who is at their doorstep. It also has a built-in microphone, so the user gets high quality audio input as well.
Similar to their fingerprint sensor in the smart lock introduced at CES 2024, the biometric fingerprint reader in existing locks can unlock a door in less than 0.5 seconds with a single touch. For the most secure access, the advanced 3D optical sensor scans and verifies a person’s actual fingerprint (not just an image). So, potential intruders are not able to use 3D prints or a stolen fingerprint.
With infrared night vision sensing capabilities, the doorbell camera lets the user maintain visual oversight at all times of the day – even in pitch darkness up to 15 feet away from the door.
The built-in motion sensor capability in one smart lock product detects movement in front of the door. When motion is detected, the lock can send alerts to the user’s smartphone and also automatically begin recording video. Working in conjunction with infrared night vision feature, the motion sensor allows detection in low-light conditions.
Touch sensing in the integrated touchscreen keypad allows brightness adjustments by turning on the keypad and swiping fingers across it.
When the company’s Matter bridge is officially available, the previously available products with these various sensing techniques will be Matter-compatible as well.
References
Matter 1.2 Arrives with Nine New Device Types & Improvements Across the Board
More Than 5.5 Billion Smart Home Matter-Compliant Devices will Ship Between 2022 and 2030 (abiresearch.com)
The top Matter-compatible devices announced at CES 2024 | TechCrunch
Image source: The Matter innovations at CES 2024 | matter-smarthome
20 Features of a Lockly Smart Lock You Never Knew You Needed | Lockly