4 ms·

Why not openthread? It's already there, it's open source, and from my somewhat limited experience, works well.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
supergeek133 7y ago
Openthread uses the zigbee radio. Hence zigbee being involved. On the surface this "appears" very similar. EDIT: Yes I'm aware the software layer is different, I was inferring the radios are the same.
- oflannabhra 7y ago
  This is incorrect. Openthread uses nothing from Zigbee, but does use 802.15.4 radios, the same as Zigbee does.
  - supergeek133 7y ago
    OK, let me be more specific since that is what I was inferring. Yes the software layer is different.
    - oflannabhra 7y ago
      right, but Zigbee just uses a generic 2.4GHz radio. There is nothing about the radio that "involves Zigbee". Some silicon vendors sell 2.4GHz radios that can run a BLE, Zigbee, or Thread networking stack.
oflannabhra 7y ago
Openthread is purely a networking solution. It does not address application-layer messaging. This effort is to unify the application layer. (ie, "light = on" messages).
snops 7y ago
The licensing is a bit poor. While openthread is open source, and the spec is public: > "Membership in Thread Group is necessary to implement, practice, and ship Thread technology and Thread Group specifications."[1]. This seems to be a similar limitation to what prevents Zigbee from being in the Linux kernel, as commented elsewhere[2] in this thread. In contrast, the Bluetooth SIG only requires a fee to be paid when you actually ship, as a once off not a yearly fee. The cost is roughly similar. [1] https://www.threadgroup.org/ThreadSpec https://www.threadgroup.org/ThreadSpec [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21825822 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21825822
tiniuclx 7y ago
It looks like Connected Home over IP will be compatible with Thread - they are developing the stack on top of WiFi, Bluetooth and Thread: https://www.connectedhomeip.com/ https://www.connectedhomeip.com/

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

Openthread uses the zigbee radio. Hence zigbee being involved. On the surface this "appears" very similar. EDIT: Yes I'm aware the software layer is different, I was inferring the radios are the same.

oflannabhra 7y ago
This is incorrect. Openthread uses nothing from Zigbee, but does use 802.15.4 radios, the same as Zigbee does.
- supergeek133 7y ago
  OK, let me be more specific since that is what I was inferring. Yes the software layer is different.
  - oflannabhra 7y ago
    right, but Zigbee just uses a generic 2.4GHz radio. There is nothing about the radio that "involves Zigbee". Some silicon vendors sell 2.4GHz radios that can run a BLE, Zigbee, or Thread networking stack.

oflannabhra 7y ago

Openthread is purely a networking solution. It does not address application-layer messaging. This effort is to unify the application layer. (ie, "light = on" messages).

snops 7y ago

The licensing is a bit poor. While openthread is open source, and the spec is public: > "Membership in Thread Group is necessary to implement, practice, and ship Thread technology and Thread Group specifications."[1]. This seems to be a similar limitation to what prevents Zigbee from being in the Linux kernel, as commented elsewhere[2] in this thread. In contrast, the Bluetooth SIG only requires a fee to be paid when you actually ship, as a once off not a yearly fee. The cost is roughly similar. [1] https://www.threadgroup.org/ThreadSpec https://www.threadgroup.org/ThreadSpec [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21825822 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21825822

tiniuclx 7y ago

It looks like Connected Home over IP will be compatible with Thread - they are developing the stack on top of WiFi, Bluetooth and Thread: https://www.connectedhomeip.com/ https://www.connectedhomeip.com/