The Matter protocol is making the ownership of smart home automation and media devices more convenient for consumers, because it enables any compatible product to connect with any other over a Wi-Fi® or Thread network. The effect is to tie any Matter-compliant endpoint device to any Matter-supporting ecosystem, such as the Google Home™, Apple Home, or Amazon Alexa digital assistants.
The success of Matter technology is fortunate for manufacturers of consumer and home automation devices such as smart light bulbs, window coverings, and smart door locks: where before they might have had to certify products separately under the Made for Google™, Apple HomeKit®, and Amazon Alexa Built-in programs, now they can design the products to be compliant with the Matter specifications alone, as shown in Figure 1.
The full benefit of Matter compliance is realized if the product carries the Matter logo, and is listed on the website of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), which owns the Matter intellectual property, so that consumers can verify its compliance status.
Official certification through the CSA is required before a manufacturer is permitted to use a Matter Certified Product logo. It is important to take into account at the start of a new design the time that Matter certification can take. It is tempting to think that most of the developer’s time and effort will be devoted to the creation of the product design itself, and that certification is a relatively quick and trivial afterthought.
Not so. It is wise to build a realistic timescale for Matter certification into the go-to-market plan from the very start of a new design project, to avoid the risk of missing an important launch window.
So why is the duration of the Matter certification process long in many cases? Here, Future Electronics outlines the main stages. Drawing on our experience of supporting clients through the process, we highlight the most important decisions that the OEM needs to take, and the main factors which affect those decisions.
Fig. 1: The Matter protocol allows devices from different manufacturers to interoperate wirelessly
First step: CSA membership
The mandatory first step in the certification process is to gain membership of the CSA, an organization with more than 600 member companies. The level of membership chosen by an OEM depends on the nature of its product, and the kind of Matter certificate that is needed.
Above Associate status, each higher level of membership costs more money. Adopter membership rates start at $7,000 per year.
Manufacturer unique ID
Once a manufacturer has gained its chosen membership status, a vendor identifier (VID) can be requested. This is a unique 16-bit number which the CSA holds in its manufacturer code database.
It is important not to confuse the VID with the product identifier (PID). The PID is also a 16-bit number, but it is assigned by the vendor, not the CSA. Each product made by a vendor should have a unique PID. The PID should apply to a product family rather than to every separate stock-keeping unit (SKU) or manufacturer part number (MPN). So for instance, two functionally identical versions of a product supplied in two different color enclosures should have the same PID.
Complying with a physical network standard
The next stage of the process is not performed within the CSA certification process: it is the certification of the device for operation on the chosen network technology: Wi-Fi or Thread for wireless connections, or Ethernet for wired connections.
Matter devices might also use a Bluetooth® connection for commissioning the device on a Matter network: if so, the device will also need Bluetooth certification.
In itself, this stage is not a burden imposed by the CSA: even if a connected device was not intended to support Matter connectivity, it would still need certification for its chosen network. Wi-Fi certification is organized through the Wi-Fi Alliance; the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) and Thread Group manage certification for their respective technologies.
Here again, the OEM is required to pay for membership of the relevant certification body, and to pay a certification fee. An exception is Bluetooth Adopter membership, for which membership of the Bluetooth SIG is free, though the OEM still has to pay the certification fee.
Fig. 2: The Panasonic PAN1783 module can help OEMs accelerate network certification
The cost and administrative effort involved in certifying network standard compliance brings into focus the benefit of using a certified radio module for wireless connectivity. Products such as the Panasonic PAN1783 Bluetooth Low Energy module or the Type 2EA Wi-Fi 6/Bluetooth v5.3 module from Murata are supplied with reference data for certification of compliance with networking standards. Once an OEM has embedded the module into the end product design, it can use the documentation from the module supplier, submit it to the relevant certification authority, and obtain certification much faster than when starting a fresh certification process, as shown in Figure 2.
Passing CSA certification tests
At the same time as working towards certification of the network technology, a manufacturer can be performing Matter compliance tests.
First, the manufacturer must choose from a list of authorized test service providers. Twelve testing service providers operating from 30 locations are listed on the CSA website, as of November 2024. This is another cost of Matter certification: the test service is subject to a fee paid by the OEM.
When a product passes the compliance tests, the test service provider will generate a Protocol Implementation Conformance Statement (PICS) and submit it to the CSA.
How to apply to the CSA for a Matter certificate
The OEM can now submit a request to the CSA for approval of its compliant product. The CSA provides a web-based certification tool to support certification requests. Using the tool, members can make product certification requests, submit documents, and manage the process.
The CSA will take some time to review the OEM documents. Any failure to supply the complete list of required documents in the correct way will delay certification. On approval of the certification request, the CSA issues a formal certificate. The manufacturer can now use the CSA Matter logo on the product. A CSA document specifies the correct way to use the logo: strict rules govern factors such as color, dimensions, backgrounds, and so on.
Alongside the formal certificate, the CSA also supplies a certification declaration (CD) blob file, and enters a product record in the distributed compliance ledger (DCL). This is a shared list of all products that have Matter approval. This performs an important function, because it enables existing Matter devices enrolled in a network to recognize a new certified device when it is commissioned.
A helping hand for first-time applicants
For OEMs that are approaching Matter certification for the first time, the process can appear unfamiliar and even daunting. To help smooth the process, various design services are available from Future Electronics.
To provide a blueprint for Matter-compliant lighting product designs, the Future Design Centre for Embedded Systems has created a reference design based on STMicroelectronics components. Full documentation and demonstration boards are available from Future Electronics.
Second, customers designing with Matter-compatible components, such as microcontrollers and radio chipsets, can call on the Future Electronics design services for advice on building in compliance to new product designs.
Finally, Future Electronics can arrange pre-certification tests for customers, to ensure that the device design fully complies with the Matter specifications before it goes for formal compliance at an accredited test laboratory.
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