DSPG Joined Project CHIP, of Google, Apple and Amazon

26 August, 2020

Project CHIP holds the potential to stir a new IoT revolution. All members of the group are committed for seamless connectivity with their competitor’s devices and applications

Above: Apple’s HomePod IoT appliance

 DSPG Group has joined the Project Connected Home over IP – CHIP Working Group and will contribute its expertise in ULE (ultra-low-energy) wireless with native real-time two-way voice support. “This is an exciting time for IoT, smart home, and voice as a user interface,” said Tali Chen, Chief Business Officer of DSP Group.

DSPG’s ULE technology is derived from DECT and operates in the 1.7-1.9GHz band with a typical output power and receiver sensitivity of 20 dBm and -93 dBm, respectively. As such, it provides ultra-low-power wireless connectivity over a much longer range. With a power consumption of just 2.5 µA in hibernation mode it can greatly extend battery life. Moreover, it was designed from the ground up to support real-time two-way voice.

Open Source IP-based Networking Technology

Project CHIP is a royalty-free connectivity super-standard aimed to increase interoperability among smart home products. The Project CHIP Working Group was started on December 2019 by Amazon, Apple, Google, and the Zigbee Alliance. Although it works within the Zigbee Alliance, the Project uses Internet Protocol (IP) rather than the Zigbee transport and networking protocol. Project CHIP and Zigbee are two separate protocols.

The aim of the group is to define a specific set of IP-based networking technologies for device certification. The group intends to leverage development work and protocols from existing systems such as: Amazon’s Alexa Smart Home, Apple’s HomeKit and Google’s Weave. This super-standard will incorporate many existing technologies. First draft specification and a preliminary reference open source implementation is expected to be released in late 2020.

This first specification release will include Wi-Fi, up to and including 802.11ax (aka Wi-Fi 6); Thread over 802.15.4-2006 at 2.4 GHz; and IP implementations for Bluetooth Low Energy, versions 4.1, 4.2, and 5.0 for the network and physical wireless protocols. Later, it will likely also embrace other IP-bearing technologies like Ethernet, Cellular or Broadband.

The standard will be developed and maintained on the GitHub open source platform. Project CHIP holds the potential to stir a new IoT revolution. All members of the group are committed for seamless connectivity with their competitor’s devices and applications. It includes the BIG THREE that founded Project CHIP, while the reliance on existing standards and technologies, promises fast transition from draft to products.

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