The Thread Group Selects UL and Granite River Labs

UL and Granite River Labs to develop the Thread Certification Process and Test Harness

News provided by

Jan 20, 2015, 10:32 ET

FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- UL Consumer Technology, a Trusted Global Leader in Supporting Successful Product Launches and Granite River Labs (GRL), a global leader in engineering services and test solutions for high speed connectivity, announced today that UL and Granite River Labs (GRL) have been selected by the Thread Group to develop the Thread Certification Process and Test Harness.

UL Logo

Thread is a new IP-based low-power wireless networking protocol designed specifically for the home. Using proven standards such as IPv6 technology with 6LoWPAN and standard 802.15.4 radios as its foundation, Thread offers product developers numerous technological advantages over existing wireless standards. Founding members of The Thread Group, the industry alliance chartered with guiding the widespread adoption of Thread, include ARM, Freescale Semiconductor, Nest, Samsung, and Silicon Labs among others. Thread Group has grown to more than 50 members since membership opened up on Oct 1, 2014.

As the premier independent test and certification organization, UL was chosen to collaborate with the Thread Group's Technical Task Group in the development of the certification test plan, manage the validation process and product certification program.

UL will work closely with GRL who will develop the test harness providing Thread product developers with an integrated software and hardware automation tool to validate the Thread protocol stack. Thread product certification is expected to be available in the first half of 2015.

"The certification program is critical to the successful launch of the Thread products. UL's industry leadership and Certification development expertise coupled with GRL's support developing the test harness in cooperation with UL will help ensure that product developers have a seamless experience building, testing and certifying Thread-enabled products," said Chris Boross, president of the Thread Group and technical product marketing manager at Nest.

"The dramatic increase we are seeing with connected devices demands that the experts provide a seamless solution for connectivity..." says Mike Kuo, UL Regional General Manager "...in the world of the Internet of Things (IoT), devices need to negotiate a connection and communicate instantly without human intervention and it's important to have a consistent and reliable certification process in place. UL is delighted to work with GRL to provide Thread with the required expertise for device validation." UL is leading the industry with experience and deep understanding of the issues of interoperability and performance and the ability to develop comprehensive test and certification processes.

"We are excited to support the Thread ecosystem by developing the first test harness," said Johnson Tan, chief executive officer at GRL. "We will leverage our expertise in test automation solutions and are committed to providing Thread members with a robust and reliable tool to help them release their products to market with confidence."

About UL

UL is a premier global independent safety science company that has championed progress for 120 years. Its more than 10,000 professionals are guided by the UL mission to promote safe working and living environments for all people. UL uses research and standards to continually advance and meet ever-evolving industry requirements. We partner with businesses, manufacturers, trade associations and international regulatory authorities to bring solutions to a more complex global supply chain. For more information about our certification, testing, inspection, advisory and education services, visit http://www.UL.com.

About Granite River Labs

Granite River Labs (GRL) provides end-to-end Engineering Services and Test Solutions to help hardware engineers adopt high speed interfaces. A trusted partner of up-and-coming hardware developers to some of the largest companies in the world, GRL combines recognized industry experts, high performance test equipment, and automated test solutions. For more information, please visit us at www.graniteriverlabs.com.

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140721/129100

CONTACT: Richard Hammer
Marketing Manager - Consumer Technology Division
UL LLC
T: 510-771-1125

SOURCE UL Consumer Technology