Virtual Matter Device

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1

I'm a big fan of virtual devices for integration through the Maker API app. However, does anyone know if it is possible to create a virtual matter device so that device would simply be seen by, for example, Apple Home? In this way a virtual Matter switch could be turned on/off through Apple Home and trigger logic running on the Hubitat.

Thanks in advance for the help

2

I think HE would need to be able to commission Matter devices to even think about making this work.

You can however use the Homekit integration to share a regular virtual switch to Apple HK.

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3

Thanks @jtp10181

Apple Home was probably a bad example to use in the post as I'm really looking for ways to integrate HE with other ecosystems that support Matter, not Apple.

In the dialog where you create a virtual device there is the ability to ability to specify the device type as a "Generic Matter Switch". I was really wondering if doing that would allow the device to be seen by other ecosystems. Given how new Matter support is in HE I didn't want to start just doing something that wasn't envisioned by the developers and start breaking things. :smile:

Thanks again

4

Curious question. Since the Matter protocol requires access to the IPv6 routing protocol, I don’t think this is possible with community drivers. It will be interesting if this could be achievable with Hubitat exposing that layer to development.

5

It sounds like you are asking for Hubitat to be a Matter Bridge (whether the underlying device is a "real" device of some non-Matter protocol or virtual doesn't really matter). It is not; it is a Matter controller. This document explains a bit more:

To get what it sounds like you're asking, it would need to be a bridge. That is not currently planned AFAIK.

But this specific request is already possible: create a virtual switch on Hubitat and share it out via the HomeKit Integration instead.

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6

Thats sort of what I was thinking as well, but was not sure if a controller itself could create a fake Matter device. Thinking about that now though, there would need to be a real device to respond to requests. So yes for a virtual device it would need to go through a bridge.

7

Thanks @bertabcd1234

I have already integrated a number of devices with HE so I'm familiar with the process. However, I will give that document a read as there is always something new to learn.

However, as I responded to @jtp10181 , using Apple Home in my original post was a bad example as I'm really interested in integrating HE with other Matter environments, not Apple Home. So, unless Apple Home has the ability to bridge a homekit device to Matter, that isn't a solution that will work for me.

I've found virtual devices to be so useful on HE for integration. It would really be a shame if HE doesn't provide the ability to create virtual Matter devices. I'm seeing pretty much every other smart home manufacturer either release Matter compatible devices or adding bridging capabilities to their hubs so their existing products are Matter compatible. If HE is limiting the Matter functionality they incorporate into their hub, I think it will quickly become a competitive disadvantage.
Thanks

8

What other Matter Controllers would you like to integrate Hubitat Virtual Devices with? Hubitat already has non-Matter integrations working with Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, Home Assistant, etc…

While it would be nice for Hubitat to add Matter Bridge functionality, it really is not limiting its current abilities to integrate with other systems all that much.

There are actually very few systems that currently function as Matter Bridges, that allow for third-party devices to be “bridged” via Matter.

  • The Aqara M2 and M3 hubs only can pair and bridge Aqara devices only.

  • The Philips Hue hub is a Matter Bridge, but it lacks any sort of a sophisticated rules engine. Matter devices cannot to added to it. The native Hue integrations with various systems also support much more functionality today, as the Matter spec is still focused on the basic, lowest common denominator set of capabilities.

Home Assistant is not a Matter Bridge.

Google Home is not a Matter Bridge, but it can share Matter devices with other Matter Controllers.

Amazon Alexa is not Matter Bridge, but it can share Matter devices with other Matter Controllers.

Apple Home is not a Matter Bridge, but it can share Matter devices with other Matter Controllers.

SmartThings is not a Matter Bridge.

In general, none of big Home Automation controllers can act as Matter bridges for the plethora of Zigbee, Z-Wave, LAN, WiFi, and Cloud connected devices that they support.

Note: The above is my current understanding of the Matter landscape today. Things may have recently changed, so please point out any inaccuracies.

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9

Like Hubitat, Apple Home is also not a Matter Bridge.

I still think "virtual" here is a red herring; you really just need the hub to be a Matter bridge, which is the case regardless of what protocol (or real vs. virtual, etc.) the device on the hub is. Unfortunately for your use case, that is not currently how it works. I am not aware of any other general-purpose hubs that do this, either, just some like Philips Hue that work with specific device types. And again, I am unaware of any plans for this, though it may technically be possible some day.

However, there are some third-party "Matter device maker" tools out there. I'm not sure how well they work. I've seen Node-RED users cite one example, probably a wrapper around an underlying JS library that could do it without Node-RED. Maybe one of those may suit your needs -- or some other method of integration like the one I mentioned above but targeted for whatever your actual platform is (if HomeKit was just one example).

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10

Thanks @bertabcd1234

I'm also not aware of any hubs that bridge a virtual device. Aqara and SwitchBot have both added Matter bridging to their hubs to make their existing products Matter compatible. I also know of other companies working on the same thing for their IoT products. But again, these companies are all bridging their physical products to Matter and not virtual devices.

I'm trying to trigger logic from a controller that has the ability to control Matter devices. I don't want to have to purchase a Matter compatible switch for every piece of logic I want to trigger. Hence my looking for the ability to bridge a virtual switch to Matter.

Thanks again