First Software Stacks Certified as Thread-Certified Components, Says Trade Group

Four software stacks from ARM, NXP Semiconductors, OpenThread and Silicon Labs completed interoperability testing, becoming the first stacks to achieve certification as Thread Certified Components, the Thread Group announced Thursday. Other members can now begin submitting components or products for certification, said the group, which also said it will release the Thread 1.1 specification to the public this month, allowing members and nonmembers to develop compliant products. Thread Group members can submit components and products for testing and certification, and then have access to Thread test harness and tools software to accelerate development and the UL-led certification process. Certified Thread-based products are expected to be available first half 2017, said the group. Nonmember companies interested in building Thread products can use the 1.1 spec to begin development, and then join the group to complete product certification and gain the intellectual property rights to ship Thread products, it said. “By making an open-source, certified stack available, Nest is providing device manufacturers with the flexibility to choose from multiple silicon vendors when becoming Thread certified,” said Jonathan Beri, product manager-platform of Google's Nest. Skip Ashton, Silicon Labs vice president-software, called the opening of Thread certification a “major milestone for the delivery of ubiquitous, low-power IP mesh networking technology for the connected home." Availability of certified stacks marks the first step in delivering on Thread Group’s vision of “true multi-vendor choice for the connected device ecosystem, spanning modules, silicon devices and end-products,” said Thread Group, which expects more components and products to be submitted for certification in coming weeks.