Multiprotocol Smart Home Gateways - How to Simplify Software Development?

PublishTime： 2022-03-13 Article Source：Silicon Labs

The smart home market is fragmented into many ecosystems connecting countless IoT devices through a myriad of wireless protocols. This results in complicated multiprotocol software development, increasing costs, and time-to-market for smart home gateways, routers, and hubs. Luckily, there is a solution – Unify SDK! It simplifies multi-protocol software development, allowing smart home ecosystem providers and device makers to maintain just one code base while Unify SDK handles the protocol-specific translations. This blog explains how to simplify multi-protocol smart home development with Unify SDK!

Multiprotocol smart home gateway Challenge

There are probably tens, if not hundreds of smart home ecosystems globally. Despite many predictions, the market is not consolidating. Instead, it is becoming even more fragmented with more smart home companies entering the market. As you may know, countless IoT devices will be connected to these ecosystems through wireless protocols such as Matter, Thread, Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Bluetooth® Low Energy, and more.

RELATED: Learn about MG24, the new wireless SoCs with built-in AI/ML accelerator and high-capacity memory for Matter!

The rapid proliferation of ecosystems increases the need for gateways, routers, and hubs. They are located on the border between the ecosystems (northbound) and IoT devices (southbound), relaying traffic and control messages back and forth, constantly translating data from one protocol to another.

Developing and maintaining multiprotocol software with increasing northbound and southbound interfaces is challenging for application developers and device makers. The growing complexity increases product development costs and time-to-market.

Simplifying Multiprotocol Smart Home Gateway Development

Unify SDK is a network abstraction framework that simplifies multiprotocol software development for smart home platform providers and device makers. The primary use cases of Unify SDK are as follows:

1.Multiprotocol IoT – Unify SDK allows you to develop and maintain a single software base for multiprotocol gateways, routers, and hubs, while Unify SDK handles the protocol-specific translations.

2. Ecosystem Interconnect – With Unify SDK, you can bridge smart home ecosystems without developing protocol-specific code. For example, connect Zigbee and Z-Wave devices to Matter ecosystems.

3. Software Development Scaling – Accelerate time-to-market, reduce software development costs and minimize investment in non-core/non-strategic work and resources.

Unify SDK allows smart home ecosystem providers and device makers to develop world-class cloud, platform, and gateway functionalities once, for all IoT devices, regardless of the wireless protocol. Unify SDK includes connectors for Z-Wave and Zigbee initially, with more protocols such as Bluetooth® Low Energy, Thread, and Matter to follow.

Benefits for Multiprotocol Smart Home Gateway Makers

Unify SDK saves time and money during software development when building new smart home wireless gateways, routers, hubs, and bridging ecosystems and IoT protocols. There is no need to develop multiple wireless protocols and use resources to delve into protocol know-how.

With Unify SDK, you need fewer expert wireless development resources while accelerating time-to-market and streamlining maintenance efforts such as software updates and protocol revisions.

The tested interfaces integrated with pre-certified wireless software stacks available with Unify SDK increase overall software quality, reduce risk, and mitigate project cancellations.

Unify SDK is built upon a modular architecture and an extendible set of software components, provided as source code. You can work with one component simultaneously without affecting the whole system.

It runs on an Application Processor to make development easier for gateways, routers, access points, hubs, bridges, and application processor-based devices such as smart speakers, thermostats, smoke alarms, cameras, and more.

The portable architecture of Unify SDK allows you to use your preferred Linux as long as it is POSIX compliant. The ubiquitous, lightweight MQTT-based technology is ideal for connecting constraint devices with a small code footprint and low bandwidth.

Unify SDK allows you to scale wireless smart home software development simply – develop once for all wireless protocols!

Unify SDK Overview

Unify SDK provides a common, well-defined data model, API, and status definitions for commonly used IoT services such as adding, updating, and removing a device. The protocol drivers translate the common IoT services into protocol-specific formats such as Zigbee and Z-Wave.

The Unify SDK provides software source code and binary packages for Raspberry Pi 4, facilitating easy development of multi-protocol smart home software.

Unify SDK includes the following three components:

·Central Unify framework

·Protocol controllers for embedded wireless connectivity

·IoT services that can interface locally and remotely

Unify Framework

The Unify Framework provides protocol abstraction via an abstracted data model, APIs, and protocol details, including future protocol evolutions. It is based on the industry-standard MQTT protocol, enabling local and outbound (cloud) messaging and interoperability with a wide range of applications. The well-defined, tested, and documented northbound interfaces ensure consistent service integration, independent of the southbound IoT protocols. It provides interfaces for future expansion – you can easily integrate new, compelling northbound applications, services, and southbound IoT protocols.

Protocol Controllers

The pre-certified IoT protocol controllers are based on Silicon Labs'cutting-edge wireless software stacks. The state machines provide best-in-class wireless performance – you can build the most extensive networks with the lowest latency while maximizing device battery life. Source code allows you to modify functionality for specific use cases easily. A consistent look and feel across all protocol controllers is provided in three sections: MQTT client, data model translation, and functionality/state machines.

IoT Services

The common set of IoT services (e.g., adding, updating, and removing a device) are based on the MQTT framework allowing integration with industry-standard services for local and cloud applications. The IoT services can be local or remote via a locally running cloud connector. Silicon Labs can provide you with production class IoT services, reference class IoT services, or an interface that allows you to develop customized IoT services.

How to Start Multiprotocol Smart Home Gateway Development?

Go to our Unify SDK webpage to request access from the Silicon Labs support team and find all the multi-protocol development assets.

Here is a selection of development kits to start multi-protocol smart home software development:

Zigbee xG21 Wireless Starter Kit

Z-Wave 800 Pro Kit

Matter, Thread, and Wi-Fi development kits

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