SAN RAMON, Calif. — Following the release of the Thread 1.0 technical specification for the connected home, the Thread Group has launched the first phase of its product certification program. Led by the group in conjunction with UL, the program provides testing for products that use Thread to help ensure that they work together securely out of the box. More than 30 products and components from Thread Group members have been submitted for certification.

In addition, OSRAM, a leader in the global lighting market, has joined the Thread Group’s board of directors.

“Having already made the Thread 1.0 technical specification available to members under Thread’s RAND-RF (royalty-free) licensing terms,” said Chris Boross, president, Thread Group, “we are taking another major step in bringing Thread certified products to market, and ensuring that they are tested for quality, security, and interoperability.

“This is great news for our 220 member companies, who are anxious to start using Thread in their products.”

Thread products will be tested to validate device behavior for commissioning, networking functionality, security, and operation in Thread’s network, and may bear the “Built on Thread” or “Thread Certified Component” logo to help consumers and product developers identify them on the market. The Thread Group noted that its royalty-free licensing terms are designed to aid rapid adoption and reduce confusion by creating a royalty-free pledge between members, so that the entire industry can rapidly adopt Thread while minimizing costs.

Thread is an IPv6 networking protocol built on open standards for low-power 802.15.4 mesh networks that can easily and securely connect hundreds of devices to each other and directly to the cloud. The non-profit Thread Group is focused on making Thread the foundation for the Internet of Things (IoT) in the home. Thread is backed by industry-leading companies including ARM, Big Ass Fans, Freescale Semiconductor, Nest Labs, OSRAM, Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics, Silicon Labs, Somfy, Tyco, and Yale Security.

For more information, visit www.threadgroup.org.

Publication date: 11/25/2015

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