<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
is	O
an	O
IPv6-based	O
,	O
low-power	O
mesh	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
technology	O
for	O
Internet	B-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
things	I-Operating_System
(	O
IoT	B-Operating_System
)	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Thread	B-Protocol
protocol	O
specification	O
is	O
available	O
at	O
no	O
cost	O
;	O
however	O
,	O
this	O
requires	O
agreement	O
and	O
continued	O
adherence	O
to	O
an	O
End-User	O
License	O
Agreement	O
(	O
EULA	O
)	O
,	O
which	O
states	O
that	O
"	O
Membership	O
in	O
Thread	B-Protocol
Group	O
is	O
necessary	O
to	O
implement	O
,	O
practice	O
,	O
and	O
ship	O
Thread	B-Protocol
technology	O
and	O
Thread	B-Protocol
Group	O
specifications.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
uses	O
6LoWPAN	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
,	O
in	O
turn	O
,	O
uses	O
the	O
IEEE	O
802.15.4	O
wireless	O
protocol	O
with	O
mesh	O
communication	O
(	O
on	O
the	O
2.4	O
GHz	O
spectrum	O
)	O
,	O
as	O
does	O
Zigbee	B-Protocol
and	O
other	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Thread	B-Protocol
is	O
IP-addressable	B-Protocol
,	O
with	O
cloud	B-Architecture
access	O
and	O
AES	B-Algorithm
encryption	I-Algorithm
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
BSD-licensed	B-Operating_System
open-source	B-License
implementation	O
of	O
Thread	B-Protocol
,	O
called	O
""	O
,	O
is	O
available	O
from	O
and	O
managed	O
by	O
Google	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
In	O
2019	O
,	O
the	O
Connected	B-Application
Home	I-Application
over	I-Application
IP	I-Application
project	O
(	O
later	O
renamed	O
"	O
Matter	B-Application
"	O
)	O
,	O
led	O
by	O
Zigbee	B-Protocol
Alliance	O
(	O
now	O
Connectivity	O
Standards	O
Alliance	O
)	O
,	O
Google	B-Application
,	O
Amazon	O
,	O
and	O
Apple	O
,	O
announced	O
a	O
broad	O
collaboration	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
royalty-free	O
standard	O
and	O
open-source	B-License
code	O
base	O
to	O
promote	O
interoperability	O
in	O
home	O
connectivity	O
,	O
leveraging	O
Thread	B-Protocol
,	O
Wi-Fi	O
,	O
and	O
Bluetooth	B-General_Concept
Low	I-General_Concept
Energy	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2021	O
,	O
Thread	B-Protocol
was	O
awarded	O
the	O
from	O
The	O
Ambient	O
's	O
Smart	O
Home	O
Awards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
July	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
Thread	B-Protocol
Group	O
alliance	O
was	O
formed	O
as	O
an	O
industry	O
group	O
to	O
develop	O
,	O
maintain	O
and	O
drive	O
adoption	O
of	O
Thread	B-Protocol
as	O
an	O
industry	O
networking	O
standard	O
for	O
IoT	B-Operating_System
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
Group	O
provides	O
certification	O
for	O
components	O
and	O
products	O
to	O
ensure	O
adherence	O
to	O
the	O
spec	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Initial	O
members	O
were	O
ARM	O
Holdings	O
,	O
Big	O
Ass	O
Solutions	O
,	O
NXP	O
Semiconductors/Freescale	O
,	O
Google-subsidiary	O
Nest	B-Application
Labs	I-Application
,	O
OSRAM	O
,	O
Samsung	B-Application
,	O
Silicon	O
Labs	O
,	O
Somfy	O
,	O
Tyco	O
International	O
,	O
Qualcomm	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
Yale	O
lock	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
August	O
2018	O
Apple	O
Inc	O
.	O
joined	O
the	O
group	O
and	O
released	O
its	O
first	O
Thread	B-Protocol
product	O
,	O
the	O
HomePod	B-Device
Mini	I-Device
,	O
in	O
late	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
is	O
a	O
low-power	O
and	O
low-latency	O
wireless	O
mesh	B-Architecture
networking	I-Architecture
protocol	O
built	O
using	O
open	O
and	O
proven	O
standards	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
uses	O
6LoWPAN	B-Protocol
,	O
which	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
connecting	O
router	B-Protocol
,	O
called	O
an	O
edge	B-Protocol
router	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
calls	O
their	O
edge	B-Protocol
routers	I-Protocol
Border	O
Routers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
solves	O
the	O
complexities	O
of	O
the	O
IoT	B-Operating_System
,	O
addresses	O
challenges	O
such	O
as	O
interoperability	O
,	O
range	O
,	O
security	O
,	O
energy	O
,	O
and	O
reliability	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
networks	O
do	O
n't	O
have	O
a	O
single	B-Architecture
point	I-Architecture
of	I-Architecture
failure	I-Architecture
and	O
include	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
self-heal	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
is	O
based	O
on	O
existing	O
technologies	O
in	O
all	O
its	O
layers	O
:	O
from	O
routing	O
,	O
packeting	O
,	O
and	O
security	O
to	O
its	O
wireless	O
radio	O
technology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
Wi-Fi	O
,	O
with	O
its	O
broad	O
range	O
of	O
devices	O
,	O
Thread	B-Protocol
is	O
an	O
open	O
standard	O
that	O
is	O
not	O
tied	O
to	O
a	O
specific	O
manufacturer	O
,	O
which	O
minimizes	O
the	O
risk	O
of	O
incompatibilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
’s	O
IP	B-Protocol
foundation	O
is	O
application	O
agnostic	O
,	O
offering	O
product	O
manufacturers	O
the	O
flexibility	O
to	O
choose	O
one	O
(	O
or	O
multiple	O
)	O
app	O
layers	O
to	O
connect	O
devices	O
across	O
multiple	O
networks	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
Internet	B-Operating_System
of	I-Operating_System
things	I-Operating_System
(	O
IoT	B-Operating_System
)	O
protocols	O
include	O
Bluetooth	B-General_Concept
Low	I-General_Concept
Energy	I-General_Concept
(	O
including	O
Bluetooth	O
Mesh	O
)	O
,	O
Zigbee	B-Protocol
,	O
Z-Wave	B-Device
,	O
Wi-Fi	O
HaLow	O
,	O
Bluetooth	O
5	O
,	O
Wirepas	O
,	O
MiraOS	O
and	O
VEmesh	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thread	B-Protocol
is	O
complementary	O
to	O
many	O
of	O
these	O
protocols	O
and	O
addresses	O
use	O
cases	O
with	O
low	O
data	O
rate	O
,	O
low-power	O
consumption	O
,	O
reliability	O
and	O
extended	O
range	O
requirements	O
.	O
</s>
