Breaking News: Unify SDK meets the “design once, support all” requirement, providing Z-Wave and Zigbee functions immediately!

Silicon Labs ’ Unify SDK Enables Breakthrough in IoT Wireless Connectivity with “Design Once, Enable All” Capabilities

– SDK simplifies wireless protocol interoperability across ecosystems with common building blocks for gateways, wireless access points and IoT end products –

Silicon Labs , a global leader in secure, intelligent wireless technologies for a more connected world, today announced the launch of its Unify SDK , which provides common building blocks for connectivity across the Internet of Things ( IoT ) ecosystem. Now, developers of IoT cloud services and platforms can design world-class functionality into their devices and gateways with confidence that these products will interoperate across existing and emerging wireless protocols. Unify SDK provides ready-made protocol-specific translation functions for Z-Wave and Zigbee (available today), with support planned for Bluetooth, Thread , OpenSync and Matter , greatly simplifying interoperability of IoT wireless networks and enabling enterprises to expand smart home, city, building and industrial ecosystems.

“ Silicon Labs ’ Unify SDK is a major step forward for the industry, bringing it closer to a world where all IoT wireless devices can work together effortlessly across multiple industries and in the home,” said Matt Johnson , president of Silicon Labs . “With the power of ‘design once, support them all,’ the Unify SDK simplifies the update process, speeding time to market and simplifying maintenance and future-proofing investments. For the first time, IoT vendors only need to develop and maintain a single software code base to support multiple IoT devices, including gateways, and easily add wireless protocol support as needed.”

Protocol interoperability and Matter enablement

As the IoT market experiences explosive growth, Silicon Labs ’ Unify SDK is here to stay, addressing a broad range of wireless protocols and more than 600 IoT platforms worldwide. The IoT industry is poised to confirm the Matter standard as the industry’s unifying connectivity standard. We anticipate that IoT developers can continue to develop their products and platforms using the Unify SDK , and easily enable cross-platform wireless communication with Matter devices once the Matter standard is confirmed. For example, a Zigbee -based smart speaker can perform a software upgrade of the Unify SDK to enable Matter , and then run both protocols simultaneously, preserving existing investments while allowing new wireless technologies to join. Matter is supported by Apple , Amazon, Comcast , Google , Schneider Electric , and many other ecosystem players. The Unify SDK will help accelerate the industry ’s adoption of Matter , thereby expanding IoT platforms to enable communication across ecosystems and wireless protocols.

More than 15 million IoT gateway products were developed using Silicon Labs ’ Series 1 and Series 2 wireless solutions, which are also at the heart of the new Unify SDK , which will help these gateway products become Matter -compatible when the Matter standard is confirmed to be ready for market entry . Similarly, companies can choose to use Silicon Labs ’ Unify SDK to develop IoT products for existing wireless protocols (including Zigbee and Z-Wave ), and then use the Unify SDK to easily activate Matter network communication capabilities in their product portfolio when the time is right .

"The complexity of developing wireless connected products may be reaching its peak. With Matter getting closer to market and wireless development tools supporting more and more protocols, we are entering an era of simplified wireless development," said Lee Ratliff , senior principal analyst for Internet of Things and Connectivity at Omdia . "The demand for connectivity continues to rise rapidly across industries. As IoT technology solutions advance, the burden on developers will be reduced, and we can expect to see better-performing, smarter applications in the future."

Easier, faster development saves time and money

Silicon Labs ' Unify SDK simplifies and accelerates development by providing common, well-defined data model application programming interfaces ( APIs ) and state definition functions for common IoT services such as adding, updating, and removing devices . Protocol drivers convert common IoT services into protocol-specific formats such as Zigbee and Z-Wave . Unify SDK simplifies interoperability between IoT wireless protocols by providing a set of modular and extensible software components in source code form. A wide range of IoT applications can benefit from Unify SDK , including gateways, wireless access points, hubs, bridges, and host processor-based end products such as smart speakers, thermostats, smoke alarms, and cameras. By using Silicon Labs ' Unify SDK , IoT developers can focus on their core applications and bring their products to market faster and more cost-effectively.

Availability

Unify SDK for Z-Wave and Zigbee is available today. Support for Bluetooth, Thread , Matter , and more protocols will be added to the Unify SDK in 2022. It is available for download now via GitHub . For more information, visit www.silabs.com/developers/unify-sdk .

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