Nordic-powered lighting products enable OEMs to make luminaires Matter-compatible

Austrian lighting technology company, Tridonic, has launched a suite of Nordic nRF52840 SoC-powered solutions designed to help electricians and luminaire OEMs make professional and hospitality lighting installations compatible with Matter – the smart home standard maintained by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). Matter is an open-source standard that brings interoperability between smart home devices and ecosystems to reduce complexity for the end user.

Direct Matter compatibility

Tridonic’s Matter-enabling lighting products ensure its commercial customers can take advantage of popular ecosystems and controls from Amazon, Apple, Google, and Samsung, allowing users to build a smart, voice-controlled environment where the lighting systems—plus all other Matter-compatible devices including blinds, heating, entertainment devices, and security systems—operate over a common application layer. 

The ‘Wireless Matter Driver’ is a 24 V constant voltage LED driver that dims and switches LED strips, while the ‘Push Button Coupler’, installed in a flush-mounted box, converts existing conventional switches into Matter-compatible smart-light switches. The ‘Wireless Matter to DALI Active’ module (complete with its own power supply) and the ‘Wireless Matter to DALI Passive’ module (for connection to an external power supply) can be used to upgrade any DALI (Digital Addressable Lighting Interface - a professional lighting control standard) luminaire or existing installation into a Matter-ready setup. This allows commercial premises such as offices or meeting rooms, for example, to become Matter-enabled and voice controllable via a virtual assistant.

Each product works with the Thread protocol so it can be integrated into an existing Thread network without recourse to a gateway. Thread, a smart-home wireless protocol, together with Wi-Fi, forms a transport for Matter (with Bluetooth® Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) used for commissioning).

“Our Thread solutions are directly compatible with Matter—thus no ‘bridge’ is needed—and the devices run on DALI luminaires for the professional market,” says Philipp Heindl, VP Business Development, Tridonic GmbH & Co KG. “Thread devices compatible with Matter support battery-powered sensors and have the ability to support Thread mesh lighting networks in addition to alternative wireless protocols.”

The Tridonic products use Nordic’s advanced nRF52840 SoC for Matter over Thread. The nRF52840 DK, Nordic’s versatile single-board development kit for the nRF52840 SoC, can be used for Matter over Thread prototyping. The nRF52840 also supports Bluetooth LE for commissioning new devices to a Thread network.

First class support

“Nordic’s nRF52840 SoC provided first-class support and early prototype code for Matter, plus the memory capacity to run the standard,” says Heindl. “We also selected the Nordic solution because of the company’s clear and early decision to invest and be involved in the development of Matter, along with its existing collaborative support.

“Tridonic is committed to creating lighting solutions that are deeply rooted in the circular economy and designed to help customers become more sustainable,” concludes Heindl. 

• About Tridonic
• About nRF52840
• About Nordic Semiconductor