Minimal Matter Device Type

[josh_s]

I'm working on an accelerometer based smarthome sensor using thread. It will not need any interoperability with other smarthome devices since it's just a sensor that would stream data back to a cloud backend occasionally, but I want users to be able pair it to apple/google/amazon hubs acting as border routers.

I would like the device to be a matter device because that would ensure that it can be commissioned to google/apple/amazon hubs, but my device role doesn't fit neatly into any of the existing matter device types (i.e. it's not a lock, light, switch etc). Is there a generic "base" device type that I can use?

Thank you!

[ovrebekk]

Hi Joshua

Unfortunately there is no good way to send data over Matter unless it is supported by one of the existing profiles:

Possibly you could run your application over Thread instead, but then the commissioning process is unlikely to be as simple. Also, I don't know if all the hubs that support Matter would support general Thread devices (even if Matter uses Thread underneath). 

Best regards
Torbjørn

[josh_s]

Thank you!  Can I use matter for commissioning purposes, but then implement my own COAP/MQTT calls to push data to a cloud backend?

[ovrebekk]

Hi Joshua

This is theoretically possible, but I don't think most commercial hubs will allow it. 

The safe way to run Thread is to set up an OpenThread border router, as described here.

Best regards
Torbjørn    

[josh_s]

If I just wanted to implement a smart light bulb in matter,but add an additional feature that lets the light bulb query the open internet (say stream logs to AWS or more simply just check a public web API for the weather), how would I go about that?  Can I just use the openthread or zephyr stack to do that or are there preferred matter facilities for such networking?

[ovrebekk]

Hi Joshua

Again the problem is that the hubs will not be set up for this, and will most likely block any attempt to reach the Internet outside the official cloud connection the hub supports. 

Best regards
Torbjørn

[josh_s]

I’m not so sure-  I built the matter sample template with no additional clusters or changes whatsoever- and went into my apple home app to commission the device. It works, but the device doesn’t show up in the home app since it’s not a supported device type.  

However, in the matter CLI on the device I am able to ping 8.8.8.8 etc. into the open internet, so it seems possible to set up an AWS IOT core connection too using the homepod mini as a OTBR.

[ovrebekk]

Hi Joshua

My point is that this can not be guaranteed, since it's not something the hubs are required to support. 

What works on one hub might not work on another, and as such it is risky to depend on this functionality for an end product that could be used with any hub.  

Also, the hubs will frequently receive firmware updates, and it's possible that this capability will be removed or restricted in a future update. 

It's the classic difference between something that might work on your desk, but might not work reliably in the field when you have a lot of devices in different environments. 

Best regards
Torbjørn