The Importance of Thread Border Routers in Smart Home and Smart Building Ecosystems
Session Abstract:
Addressing developers and manufacturers in the IoT space, Sujata Neidig, Vice President of Marketing for Thread Group, will dive into what Thread is, the overall importance of a Thread Border Router, the value of Border Routers in emerging IoT protocols, the specific features that Thread 1.3.0 has standardized, and more.
Thread is a low-powered mesh networking protocol based on the IEEE 802.15.4 PHY1. It uses 6LoWPAN2 to ensure messages going into and coming out of the Thread mesh are directly compatible with devices that utilize IPv6 networking; this includes things like computers, smartphones, smart speakers, and the internet.
A Border Router is a device that is able to route packets to and from the mesh. This routing happens between the Thread mesh and other IP-bearing interfaces like Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Cellular. This routing is very important to ensure Thread devices can communicate with devices that are not natively connected to the Thread mesh.
In the consumer space, this might be a Thread light controlled by a smartphone or speaker that doesn’t have a Thread radio. In the smart building space, there might be a mainframe computer that needs to communicate with the Thread device to control it or to collect data.
Thread provides the networking layer for low-powered IP devices, but that’s typically only half the story for building devices that actually provide value to users. The other half is the application layer, in which Thread is application layer agnostic.
Thread 1.3.0 standardizes and certifies important features for Border Routers to ensure excellent interoperability and optimal performance. These include Bidirectional IPv6 Connectivity, Service Discovery, and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). Thread 1.3.0 brings exciting new standardization to the Thread specification that centers around the Border Router.
The Border Router, while still emerging today, is poised to become as ubiquitous as Wi-Fi routers. As a protocol, Thread is uniquely positioned to unleash low-power devices for the smart home and the IoT because it decouples the networking layer from the many application layers that can run on top of the Internet Protocol.
This strength shines in the consumer space, allowing certified Border Routers to serve multiple apps like HomeKit with Thread and Matter with Thread. It also unlocks the commercial space with apps like KNX IoT and DALI+.
The audience will walk away with the knowledge of what Thread is and how important it is to the future of wireless smart home applications.
Speaker:
Sujata Neidig
Vice President of Marketing, Thread Group; Director of Marketing, Wireless Connectivity, NXP at Thread Group; NXP
Sujata Neidig has 25 years of experience in the semiconductor industry and has served in a variety of roles ranging from product engineering to marketing and business development. She is currently Director of Marketing i.MX Processors Software and Customer Programs. She also represents NXP as the Vice President of Marketing of the Thread Group, an industry alliance that provides an IP-based wireless mesh networking protocol designed for homes and buildings. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Session Tags
OEM
Network Connectivity Standards, IoT, Internet of Things, Smart Home, Smart Building
CxO, VP / Director, Technical
Expert, Advanced, Intermediate
https://www.linkedin.com/in/sujata-neidig-4398464/
https://twitter.com/TheThreadGroup
Retail, Industrials, Consumer
Join our IoT Community at https://www.linkedin.com/groups/4662022/profile
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