The first Project CHIP certified smart home devices should make their way to the market right around the end of this year. Project Connected Home over IP (CHIP) is an alliance between Amazon, Apple, Google, and 180 other companies to develop a common smart home standard.
The partnership aims to standardize and certify all smart home devices to be interoperable and there are no compatibility issues.
CHIP Smart Home Device Certification Will Start in Late 2021
At an event hosted by the Zigbee Alliance, it was announced that Project CHIP would officially start device certification in late 2021. This should mean that the first Project CHIP-compatible smart home devices will hit the market around the holiday season.
Stacey from Stacey on IoT reports that the first set of CHIP-compatible devices will include TVs, smart home controllers, lighting, blinds, HVACs, security systems, Wi-Fi routers, door locks, and more.
Manufacturers also have the option of bringing CHIP support to their older smart home devices via a firmware update or through a bridge, though this will depend on various other factors.
The CHIP standard will use Bluetooth LE for setup, Wi-Fi for high-bandwidth devices like security cameras, and Thread for low-bandwidth devices.
CHIP Smart Home Devices Were Delayed Due to COVID
Google, Amazon, Apple, Samsung, and other companies teamed up to announce Project CHIP in December 2019. The initial announcement claimed that the standard and the first set of devices should launch by the end of 2020. But then COVID-19 struck, and the plans were derailed.
With the alliance now saying that it will start device certification by late 2021, the first set of CHIP-compatible devices should hit the market right before the holiday season or early 2022.
CHIP Was Formed to Develop a Royalty-Free Smart Home Standard
Right now, there are multiple smart home standards and protocols, which makes it confusing both for OEMs and consumers. Manufacturers struggle to ensure their devices are interoperable with other smart home devices, which is easier said than done.
To put an end to all such issues, Google, Amazon, Apple, and other tech giants and accessory makers joined hands to form the Project Connected Home over IP working group within the Zigbee Alliance.
This alliance aims to build and develop a smart home standard that allows interoperability between various devices at the application layer. Ultimately, this will mean a smart home that just works, with various smart home products in your home being able to communicate with each other.
There are a lot of questions about CHIP that remain unanswered for now. How will CHIP devices work with voice assistants? Will you be required to install a new app every time you set up a new CHIP-compatible smart home device? These doubts will only be cleared once CHIP devices are certified and make their way to the market.