A new wireless networking protocol that is backed by Samsung and Nest Labs is looking to make significant headway into homes around the world. Paul Skelton reports.

Citing a need for a new and better way to connect products in the home, seven companies – ARM, Big Ass Fans, Freescale Semiconductor, Nest Labs, Samsung, Silicon Labs and Yale – came together in July 2014 to form the Thread Group and to develop Thread, a new IP-based wireless networking protocol.

“A number of networking solutions and platforms have been introduced to address the growing demand for connected products in the home,” IHS Technology associate director – connectivity, smart homes and smart cities Lisa Arrowsmith says.

“Built on well-proven standards, including IEEE 802.15.4, IETF IPv6 and 6LoWPAN, Thread represents a resilient, IP-based solution for the rapidly growing Internet of Things (IoT).”

Google vice president and chief internet evangelist Vint Cerf, an advisor to the Thread Group, adds: “Existing wireless networking approaches were introduced long before the IoT gained ground. The Thread protocol takes existing technologies and combines the best parts of each to provide a better way to connect products in the home.”

Thread is designed to allow consumers to simply and securely add and remove products to the network via a smart phone, tablet or computer. Thread’s mesh network technology reportedly provides improved reliability and coverage anywhere in the home and Thread products will be tested to ensure that they work together effortlessly and securely right out of the box.

Nest Labs technical product manager Chris Boross is president of the Thread Group.

“It’s hard to get multiple devices to talk to one another. And until now, no one has been able to do it well,” he says.

“Most of today’s technologies rely on a single device to communicate with products around the home. So if that device fails, the whole network goes down.

“Today’s technologies can also be difficult and confusing to set up. And since many devices around the home need to stay connected 24/7, they end up draining battery life quickly. That’s why we designed Thread. We wanted to build a technology that uses and combines the best of what’s out there and create a networking protocol that can help the IoT realise its potential for years to come.”

Chris explains that while currently available 802.15.4 networking technologies have their own advantages, each also has critical issues that prevent the promise of the IoT from being realised.

These include lack of interoperability, inability to carry IPv6 communications, high power requirements that drain batteries quickly, and ‘hub and spoke’ models dependent on one device (if that device fails, the whole network goes down).

“The Thread Group will help navigate the technical roadblocks that have thus far prevented widespread adoption of the connected home, by helping product developers and consumers to easily and securely connect more than 250 devices to a low-power, IP-based wireless mesh network that includes direct internet and cloud access for every device,” he says.

“Thread will do this by using IPv6 as the convergence layer between multiple networks in the home. Thread, WiFi and in the future Bluetooth all carry IPv6 communications and this will drive simpler architectures, and therefore better, more reliable products.”

Unlike many existing technologies or IoT approaches, Thread is not an application protocol or a connectivity platform for many types of disparate networks. Thread is an IPv6 networking protocol built on open standards, designed for low-power 802.15.4 mesh networks.

This means existing popular application protocols and IoT platforms can run over Thread networks. In fact, a version of Thread is already being used successfully in Nest products today.

“The real potential of this technology is to put all your home’s connected products onto a single, secure IP-based mesh network, allowing these products to cooperate with each other to provide a great user experience, save energy, money and make them safer, all while adding convenience.

“Thread can also securely put these products on the internet so they can communicate out of the home and allow for some great new use cases to flourish.

“We feel there needs to be a second, low-power network that works with existing WiFi networks in the home in order to make the connected home a reality – a second network that works in addition to WiFi.

“While WiFi is a great technology, it isn’t suitable for every connected product, or every connected home use case. To aid standardisation, and enable these new products and unlock new use cases, the new network should carry IPv6 so it can easily communicate with the WiFi network and the internet. We believe that Thread is the right networking technology to enable the industry to deliver the experiences that users need, in a way that will work for many years to come.”

Chris says Thread really isn’t trying to replace WiFi.

“Thread can be complementary to WiFi and Bluetooth. We feel that Thread will be the second network in the home to augment WiFi, for devices that can’t use WiFi. Using proven standards and IPv6 technology to allow Thread networks to communicate simply with other networks that can carry IPv6, like WiFi and future versions of Bluetooth.”

He says using proven standards and IPv6 technology with 6LoWPAN as its foundation, Thread offers product developers numerous technological advantages over existing wireless standards, including:

• Reliable networks: Thread offers robust self-healing mesh networks that scale to hundreds of devices with no single point of failure. Devices are ready when people need them.
• Secure networks: Thread networks feature secure, banking-class encryption. Thread closes identified security holes found in other wireless protocols and provides worry-free operation.
• Simple connectivity: Thread devices are simple to install with a smart phone, tablet or computer. Consumers can securely connect Thread devices in the home to each other and to the cloud for easy control and access from anywhere.
• Low power: Thread supports battery-operated devices as part of a home network. This allows the devices that people use every day – including thermostats, lighting controls, safety and security products – to be a part of the network without requiring constant charging or frequent battery changes.

So, why will Thread be successful where others have failed?

“It will be successful because we designed Thread to be simple for consumers to use; always secure; power efficient; an open protocol that carries IPv6 natively; based on a robust mesh network with no single point of failure; run over existing 802.15.4 radio silicon; and, designed to support a wide variety of applications in the home: appliances, access control, climate control, energy management, lighting, safety, and security,” Chris says.

“Millions of existing 802.15.4 wireless devices already on the market can run Thread with just a software enhancement – there is no new hardware required. Thread is designed for quick implementation and deployment of devices throughout the home.”

In October, Thread Group announced that it has opened membership and will begin accepting applications from companies interested in using Thread in their products.

“Thousands of companies have already expressed interest in Thread, and we look forward to seeing how they will use Thread technology to build the next generation of the connected home.”

The Thread spec and certification program will be widely released in Q2 2015, to ensure quality, security and interoperability of Thread-enabled products entering the market.