Marvell ships first SDK support for Apple's iOS 8 HomeKit with its ARM IoT chips powering connected

Posted:
in iPhone edited March 2015
Marvell announced that it is the first silicon vendor to release a complete software development kit (SDK) for Apple's HomeKit, which it has paired with its controller and wireless components, noting that several manufacturers are already using its products to develop new HomeKit accessories.

Marvell 88MC200


Located in Santa Clara, California, Marvell sells an Easy-Connect platform of chips including 802.11n WiFi connectivity in its Avatar 88W8801 SoC paired with an ARM Cortex M3 microcontroller (88MC200), which uses the same power efficient processor core Apple uses in its M7 and M8 motion coprocessors in iPhone 5s and iPhone 6.

The hardware components "provide the essential pieces for enabling a HomeKit solution," the company notes in its press release. Additionally, the firm's new "SDK for HomeKit is built on top of the field-proven and industry-leading EZ-Connect Software SDK and greatly simplifies the development of HomeKit accessories."

Broadcom and Texas Instruments have been shipping Bluetooth and Wi-Fi chips with firmware supporting Apple HomeKit since November, but Marvell emphasizes its higher level software development support to accelerate bringing products to market.

To be considered a certified HomeKit device, and thus reap the benefit of branding, manufacturers need to buy wireless chips from one of Apple's three silicon partners: Broadcom, Marvell or Texas Instruments.

Marvell says its "Internet of Things" platform has already been adopted by a variety of leading vendors "developing connected home products such as appliances, lighting, and home-automation as well as products in other IoT markets such as toys, wearables, accessories, and commercial applications."

The company, located just 9 miles north of Apple in Silicon Valley, acquired Intel's XScale ARM chip business in 2006 and has long remained a component supplier for AirPort base stations, MacBooks and other products.

In addition to Broadcom and TI, Marvell also competes with other chip designers in components including Intel and Samsung, particularly in the emerging market for IoT. That's a market Apple is targeting within the home with its HomeKit framework for easily configuring and automating connected products and groups of devices, featuring integration with Siri.

By making it easier and cheaper for third parties to develop new HomeKit products using its chip platform, Marvell hopes to leverage Apple's popularity among affluent customers to attract further attention to the nascent, modern home automation market.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    elijahgelijahg Posts: 2,753member
    Hopefully it won't be against Apple's ToS to have an open source API for HomeKit on something like the Arduino, since that's where a lot of people start. There'd be a virtually unlimited number of HomeKit devices if people could make their own. But I fear it'll only be available to $99 paying clients.
  • Reply 2 of 8
    I don't get it... Wouldn't this just be an unnecessary middle man layer? Why not just adhere to the homekit api directly? Unless this is for those tinkerers that want to wire things up without getting a homekit certified all in one product?

    Side note:
    For some reason, the phrase "internet of things" gets on my nerves...
  • Reply 3 of 8
    bizzarebizzare Posts: 62member
    Hopefully will get these embedded soon into products such as bulbls to eliminate gateways.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    chadbagchadbag Posts: 1,999member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ExceptionHandler View Post



    I don't get it... Wouldn't this just be an unnecessary middle man layer? Why not just adhere to the homekit api directly? Unless this is for those tinkerers that want to wire things up without getting a homekit certified all in one product?

     

    I think this is for the low level access for the makers of the home kit certified all in one products.

  • Reply 5 of 8
    Marvell-ous.
  • Reply 6 of 8
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by chadbag View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ExceptionHandler View Post



    I don't get it... Wouldn't this just be an unnecessary middle man layer? Why not just adhere to the homekit api directly? Unless this is for those tinkerers that want to wire things up without getting a homekit certified all in one product?

     

    I think this is for the low level access for the makers of the home kit certified all in one products.




    I think this is correct. HomeKit doesn't know how to do anything other than issue a command or receive a status. It doesn't directly turn on/off stuff. When you buy a smart device and register it on your iPhone, you have to input the commands that the device understands into the HomeKit app interface. That process can be very tedious if there are a lot of functions that a certain device provides. You would enter the  home location (in the event that you had more than one as I do), then the room name, the device name, and the function name. So for example you could tell Siri "California, kitchen, coffeepot, brew." HomeKit would send low level commands to the device.

     

    The device has its own programming logic completely separate from HomeKit to control its features. The Marvell high level API language provides the means to tell the motors, switches and valves to do things like grind coffee, heat water, release water, etc, and then translate those actions to and from the HomeKit app running on the iPhone.

     

    You can think of this Marvell interface as a translation process between the device's own operating system and control signaling and the HomeKit app.

  • Reply 7 of 8
    nobodyynobodyy Posts: 377member

    IoT

    Internet of Things

     

    It all sounds so stupid.

  • Reply 8 of 8
    Try working for Cisco and have no choice but to push IoTs...
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