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Z-Wave Alliance Summit & Unplug Fest
AGENDA

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 | Unplug Fest & Welcome Reception

Facilitator: Eric Ryherd

  • 8:00 a.m. – 8:45 a.m. | Unplug Fest Registration Check-in
    Hotel Lobby 
    5805 Armada Dr.
    Carlsbad, CA 92008

    Unplug Fest participants will meet in the hotel lobby at 8:00 a.m. to check in.

  • 8:45 a.m. | Board Bus
    Unplug Fest participants will board the bus to Lake Elsinore to commence Long Range testing.

  • 9:00 a.m. | Bus Departs
    The bus will depart at 9 a.m. sharp.

  • 9:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. | Bus travel to Skydive Elsinore

  • 10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | RF Range Testing
    Skydive with Z-Wave tracking will occur if weather allows at anytime.

  • 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Lunch
    Box lunch will be provided to those who pre-registered. RF Range Testing continues through lunch.

  • 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Continued RF Range Testing
    Small groups should travel by car to Rome Hill and other hillsides as ZWLR easily reaches several miles.

  • 3:00 p.m. | Bus Boards
    Board bus for return to hotel.

  • 3:15 p.m. | Bus Departs
    The bus will depart at 3:15 p.m. sharp.

  • 3:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. | Wrap Up Discussion
    Attendees will wrap up the day with a discussion on the bus. 

  • 5:30 p.m. – Van departure from The Cassara
  • 6:00 p.m.  -6:30 p.m. – Arrival and refreshments
  • 6:30 p.m. -6:40 p.m. – Opening Welcome Remarks by Avi Rosenthal
  • 6:40 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. – Unified Connectivity: Why Multiprotocol is the Future of IoT—and How Z-Wave Fits In

Speaker: Mariusz Malkowski, Trident IoT

As the smart home and smart building ecosystems evolve, the demand for interoperability, reliability, and future-proof designs is pushing manufacturers and developers toward multiprotocol solutions. This keynote explores the critical role multiprotocol chipsets and SDKs play in accelerating product development, reducing time-to-market, and enabling seamless user experiences. Special attention is given to Z-Wave—including Z-Wave Long Range—as a cornerstone technology offering unmatched reliability, battery life, and scalability for secure IoT deployments.

We’ll cover:

  • The fragmentation challenge in IoT and the rise of multiprotocol SoCs
  • Real-world use cases where Z-Wave + Matter, Zigbee, or BLE coexist
  • Key design considerations and how unified SDKs simplify integration
  • Certification, security, and the business case for Z-Wave in a multiprotocol world
  • A look ahead: How next-gen tools and silicon are reshaping developer workflows


Why it matters: This keynote positions Z-Wave not as a legacy technology but as an essential pillar in the modern multiprotocol stack—particularly in high-security, low-power, and scalable environments like smart security, MDUs, and aging-in-place.

  • 7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. – Cocktails, food, and  networking
  • 8:00 p.m. – Van departs back to The Cassara

Wednesday, October 29, 2025 | Opening Session & Joint Sessions

Breakfast snacks & refreshments will be available for attendees. 

State of the Union
Speaker: Avi Rosenthal, BlueConnect partners & Chairperson of the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors

We’ve arrived at a pivotal moment not just for the Alliance, but for the global smart home and building market. In the five years since Z-Wave became a fully ratified open standard, we’ve evolved from a proprietary protocol into a globally recognized SDO driving interoperability, innovation, and real-world impact at scale.
Today, we open the Summit by recognizing how far we’ve come and spotlighting the powerful momentum building across our ecosystem while looking forward at what’s to come.

Moderator: Kevin Kraus (Fortune Brands)

Speakers: Michael Lamb (Trident IoT), Tim Rader (ADT), Larsen Webb (FireAvert), Paulus Schoutsen (Home Assistant), Scott Laing (Vivint)

The smart home market is evolving – but Z-Wave has seen transformation before. This summit-opening session will blend historical insights with real-time leadership perspectives. This session will begin with a brief address from serial entrepreneur Michael Lamb, reflecting on the evolution of the connected home industry from a business-first lens. Lamb draws on decades of experience across a varied career to frame what has changes, what hasn’t, and why Z-Wave is uniquely positioned to thrive in the next chapter.

Lamb will be joined by long-time members with historic successes alongside new members who are at the beginning of their Z-Wave membership to discuss the why and how building with Z-Wave will drive future opportunity. This dynamic panel will dive further into the current state of the industry and how companies are successfully leveraging the new multi-vendor SDO structure of the Z-Wave Alliance to collaborate and develop community. This conversation sets the tone for the summit ahead, offering a preview of themes including professional market momentum and opportunities, as well as the future of Z-Wave.

Speaker: Laura Mitchell, GrandCare Systems

As the demand for supportive, independent living solutions grows, GrandCare Systems is at the forefront of redefining what it means to live well at home. While our roots are in aging-in-place innovation, today GrandCare serves a broader community—including individuals living with intellectual and developmental disabilities—delivering technology that promotes safety, autonomy, and connection for people of all abilities.

Our comprehensive platform integrates activity monitoring, telehealth, and social engagement tools to create smarter, safer home environments. For aging adults, this means improved physical function, enhanced mental well-being, and reduced isolation. For individuals with developmental disabilities, it means greater independence, personalized support, and increased self-determination in daily life. Families and care teams benefit from better oversight and simplified coordination, helping shift care models from reactive to proactive.

The rapidly evolving living-in-place market is no longer one-size-fits-all. GrandCare is meeting that moment with intuitive, empowering technology that makes daily life more manageable, meaningful, and connected—supporting people to live where they choose, with dignity and confidence.

Speaker: Inventures

Run through of new tools available to Z-Wave Alliance members including the Portal, documents, systems, etc.

Speaker: Eric Ryherd

Unplug Fest represents the heart of innovation of the Z-Wave Alliance Summit. During this session, we’ll recap the standout moments, the tech triumphs, the obstacles overcome, and the collaborative spirit that continues to define the Z-Wave Alliance.

Moderator: Agnes Lorenz, Zooz
Panelists: Kevin Kraus (Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.), Gustaf Lonaeus (Alarm.com), Tai Nguyen (ADT), Mark Umina (Silicon Labs)

Join us for an insightful panel that explores the groundbreaking collaboration behind the industry’s first Z-Wave certified smart lock featuring the innovative User Credential Command Class (User Credential CC). Moderated by Agnes Lorenz of Zooz, this session brings together key players from Alarm.com, Yale, ADT, and Silicon Labs, who will share their journey from identifying a market-driven need to developing and certifying a new standard.

Attendees will gain a behind-the-scenes look into how competing industry leaders collaborated effectively to enhance the Z-Wave ecosystem. The discussion will address the process of proposing and creating a new command class, navigating intellectual property considerations, and ensuring smooth certification. Panelists will also reflect on how this collaborative effort translated into a successful product launch and discuss how companies without immediate use cases can still significantly benefit from participating in technical working groups.

This session is essential for those interested in influencing future Z-Wave developments and leveraging collaborative innovation for broader market success.

Speakers: Bettina Roll ( Z-Wave Alliance), Mirko Klefker (MKLogic), and Jon-Luke West (Homeseer)

The Z-Wave Certification program continues to evolve as the Alliance enforces higher standards, expands its tooling, and strengthens protocol compliance across the ecosystem. In this session, we’ll provide a fast-paced overview of the current state of Z-Wave Certification—from the number and categories of certified devices to key updates on the Compliance Test Tool (CTT), Emulator, and the newly refreshed Certified Product Catalog. We’ll discuss emerging device categories, trends from recent summits, and the role of certification houses including MK Logik and the newly added Trident IoT.

We’ll also cover the critical shift toward protocol-level certification, why it matters, and the challenges we’re seeing—particularly around SDK use and the rejection of devices using non-certified protocols. With changes in chipset support (e.g., ZIP Gateway’s phase-out) and a renewed push for certified protocol enforcement from chip vendors, developers and manufacturers alike need to stay alert. This session will close with a Q&A and workshop-style troubleshooting discussion for those actively navigating certification today. Whether you’re technical, marketing-facing, or somewhere in between, this is your chance to get clear on where Z-Wave Certification stands—and where it’s heading.

Moderator: Avi Rosenthal, BlueConnect partners & Chairperson of the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors
Speaker: Eric Smith (SAVI IQ), Hsin-Yu Liu (Arcitul8 AI), Keaton Chia (UCSD Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) 

Artificial intelligence is transforming the smart home from a reactive environment into a predictive, adaptive ecosystem. In this session, experts from industry and academia explore how AI and machine learning are redefining automation, efficiency, and energy intelligence in connected living spaces.

Eric Smith, CTO of SAVI IQ, will examine how AI is currently being embedded into home control and AV systems to drive more personalized experiences, improve system responsiveness, and enable predictive diagnostics. Hsin-Yu Liu, Applied AI Researcher at Arcitul8 AI, will present his research into reinforcement learning for optimizing thermal comfort and energy usage—highlighting how AI can dynamically adapt to both human behavior and environmental variables in real time.

Joining the panel is Keaton Chia, R&D Engineer and Project Manager in UCSD’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, whose work focuses on building energy efficiency, solar power forecasting, and microgrid planning. Chia will bring a critical grid-aware perspective to the conversation, exploring how AI can support the integration of distributed energy resources, enable smarter load balancing, and power grid-interactive building strategies that enhance resiliency and reduce operational costs.

Together, the panel will discuss real-world applications and research-backed innovations, while offering insights into how AI will drive the next generation of smart home platforms—ones that are not only more intuitive, but also more sustainable, scalable, and responsive to the energy systems they inhabit.

Speaker: Avi Rosenthal, BlueConnect partners & Chairperson of the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors

The actions taken by the FCC on the NextNav front have been closely monitored by the Z-Wave Alliance. By the time of this Summit, we expect to have additional clarity. This session will provide a timely update on everything that has unfolded in 2025 as well as a real-time assessment of where this initiative stands. Do we face additional regulatory action, or is the work complete? Join us to find out whether it’s time for next steps, or a well-earned victory lap.

Speaker: Avi Rosenthal, BlueConnect partners & Chairperson of the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors

6:30 p.m. – Bus Departs Hotel (5805 Armada Dr., Carlsbad, CA 92008)

7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. – Z-Wave Networking Event 

Alesmith Axe Throwing & Brewery

9990 AleSmith Ct
San Diego, CA
92126

Thursday, October 30, 2025 | Working Groups & Closing Session

Breakfast snacks & refreshments will be available for attendees.

Speaker: Avi Rosenthal, BlueConnect partners & Chairperson of the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors

Speaker: Mariusz Malkowski, Trident IoT

The EU’s Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) imposes sweeping requirements for hardware and software products with digital elements, covering aspects such as risk assessment, vulnerability handling, transparency, and lifecycle security. This session will break down what Z-Wave product-makers need to know, when compliance becomes mandatory, and how to integrate CRA obligations into planning, design, manufacturing, and product support.

  • 9:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. | Rethinking Connected Device Manufacturing: Nearshoring, Standardization, and the Future of IoT Production 
    Speakers: Avi Rosenthal, BlueConnect Partners & Chairperson of the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors and Derek Jackson, Seacomp 
    In a thought-provoking fireside session at CES 2025, Seacomp’s Derek Jackson provided a compelling analysis of shifting global manufacturing dynamics—arguing that Mexico represents the most strategic long-term solution for connected device production. By comparing labor, logistics, and supply chain efficiencies between Asia and Mexico, he revealed the growing economic and operational advantages of nearshoring. This session will revisit those insights and explore how the Z-Wave ecosystem supports this shift by offering a standardized, interoperable framework that reduces development complexity, accelerates time to market, and lowers production costs. With geopolitical pressures, rising freight costs, and increasing regulatory demands to reshape global sourcing strategies, manufacturers of connected devices must adapt quickly.

    The conversation will explore how Z-Wave’s standardized, interoperable ecosystem further streamlines this transition—simplifying development, reducing integration complexity, and accelerating time to market. Attendees will gain actionable insights into how nearshoring, coupled with a mature and secure technology standard like Z-Wave, can future-proof connected device strategies while optimizing both operational efficiency and regulatory readiness. Join us to examine how Z-Wave and nearshoring together are unlocking a smarter, more resilient path forward for IoT production. 

  • 10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. | Unlocking the MDU Market: Real-World Wins with Z-Wave
    Moderator: Kevin Kraus, Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc.
    Panelists: Matthew Correnti, PointCentral

    The multi-dwelling unit (MDU) market continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments in smart home technology—and Z-Wave is at the center of that growth. In this dynamic panel, hear directly from Matthew Correnti at PointCentral as he shares how Z-Wave’s reliability, interoperability, and long-range capabilities enable scalable solutions for apartment operators, residents, integrators, and DIYers, alike. Alliance members will walk away with actionable insight into how to position Z-Wave for MDU success, navigate deployment challenges, and drive adoption in this high-value vertical.

  • 10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. PT | Break

 

  • 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Z-Wave Marketing Committee Roadmap – 2026 – 2028
    Speaker: Tai Nguyen, Marketing Committee Chair, Z-Wave Alliance
    This session we will define the marketing strategy for Z-Wave over the next three years. We’ll align on key goals to grow brand awareness, support product innovation, and expand into new markets like energy management and assisted living. Topics include brand evolution, global positioning, collaboration with Matter and other protocols, and marketing tools for partners. We’ll also cover plans for data-driven campaigns, trade shows, and digital outreach. Attendees will help shape the vision for Z-Wave’s continued leadership in smart home and IoT solutions.
  • 9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. | S2v2, the Next Chapter for Z-Wave Security
    Speaker: Julien Tiron, Silicon Labs
    Security is a major topic in today’s IoT landscape. The presentation will show the continued evolution and improvements Z-Wave brings. It will also focus on how the Z-Wave open-source community was involved in the feature development.
  • 10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. | Z-Wave JS: Accelerating Z-Wave Product Development with Open Source
    Speaker: Dominic Griesel, Nabu Casa
    Attendees will gain insights into the Z-Wave JS project, its real-world applications, and how it can help them accelerates the development of both software and hardware Z-Wave products. We will also explore its powerful automation and debugging capabilities, which simplify hardware testing, enhance reliability, and reduce time-to-market.
  • 11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. PT | Break
  • 11:15 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. | Unlocking the Future: How AI, UWB, and Open Ecosystems Are Transforming Smart Access
    Speaker: Raj Sundar, Xthings
    The smart access industry is undergoing a major shift as edge AI, ultra-wideband (UWB), and secure identity frameworks, such as Aliro support, converge to redefine what’s possible. Consumers now expect faster, smarter, and more secure experiences, with full interoperability across devices and platforms. In this session, Raj Sundar of Xthings shares real-world insights from working with Z-Wave and explores how next-gen protocols, AI at the edge, and evolving ecosystems are accelerating innovation in smart locks and access control.
  • 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Benefits of the Alliance Marketing
    Speaker: Caster Communications
    Caster to present how to work with the Z-Wave Alliance on marketing opportunities including PR, content, social, campaigns, and sponsorships.

  • 1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. | Events Task Force Roadmap 2026-2028
    Speaker: Tai Nguyen, Marketing Committee Chair, Z-Wave Alliance 
    Be part of shaping Z-Wave’s global event strategy for the next three years. In this collaborative session, we’ll define the Events Task Force committee roadmap for 2026–2028, identifying the most impactful opportunities to elevate the Z-Wave brand and spotlight member innovation. We’ll explore key industry events—including CES, ISC West, ISE, Parks Connections, EMEA conferences, along with our own Z-Wave Summits —and discuss how to maximize our presence, messaging, and member support at each. Together, we’ll build a roadmap that amplifies our voice, drives adoption, and reinforces Z-Wave’s leadership in the smart home and IoT space.

  • 2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. |Break
  • 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Z-Wave Content Planning
    Speaker: Tai Nguyen, Marketing Committee Chair,  Z-Wave Alliance 
    In this workshop, we’ll focus on building a strong pipeline of content that highlights real-world use cases, industry trends, and Z-Wave leadership across key verticals like energy, security, aging-in-place, and MDU. We’ll brainstorm topics and campaign ideas that members can take ownership of — whether that’s writing articles, sharing case studies, or leading thought leadership in their respective segments. A significant part of this session will be the launch of the “Content Use Case” track, where members can sign up to showcase their expertise and help promote the broader Z-Wave story. This is a working session—let’s collaborate and create content that brings value to the whole ecosystem.
  • 3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Z-Wave Messaging and Branding 2026 Workshop
    Speaker: Tai Nguyen, Marketing Committee Chair, Z-Wave Alliance
    In this session, we’ll lead a working discussion on Alliance messaging and branding.
  • 1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. | Protocol Optimization for Finite Energy-Harvesting Z-Wave Devices
    Speaker: Mike Riddell, WePower Technologies
    Energy-harvesting Z-Wave devices present exciting opportunities thanks to their innovative approach to power management. This presentation highlights the impressive advancements in Z-Wave protocol-layer modifications that are tailored to support energy-harvesting devices, with a particular focus on LR (Long Range) optimizations. We will explore the improvements made to reduce energy consumption of S2/S2v2 implementations, showcasing how these adjustments significantly enhance the efficiency and reliability of intermittently powered IoT networks. Through visual comparisons of energy consumption graphs before and after these optimizations, the benefits of these advancements become strikingly clear, positioning Z-Wave technology as a leader in innovative energy solutions for the future.
  • 1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m. |  Empowering Z-Wave Development Through Open-Source Innovation
    Speaker: Peter Shorty, Open Source Work Group Chair, Z-Wave Alliance 
    The open-source Z-Wave stack continues to grow in features and stability and is now actively being used for development of new features in Z-Wave and as the foundation for certified Z-Wave chips. But the open-source initiative is not just the protocol stack any more, with the donation of more tools from Silicon Labs we are getting closer to the vision of the alliance being able to deliver a full development environment for Z-Wave. See the full list of features and tools that are now available for all Z-Wave members to use, build and modify, including XML files and tools, PC controller PC sniffer and more.
  • 2:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Break

     

  • 2:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. | Adventures with Z-Wave Bootloaders: Running Every Z-Wave Firmware OTW
    Speaker: Dominic Griesel, Nabu Casa
    Participants will gain a high level overview into how Z-Wave bootloaders and applications play together. We will then focus on making it possible to run and swap out Serial API controller, end device and Zniffer firmware on the same hardware, without requiring a hardware programmer to swap them out. The talk will highlight the challenges faced during the process and how they can be overcome.
  • 3:00 p.m. -3:30 p.m. | Z-Wave  Roadmap Update
    Speaker: Abitzen Xavier, Technical Committee Chair, Z-Wave Alliance
    The open-source Z-Wave stack continues to grow in features and stability and is now actively being used for development of new features in Z-Wave and as the foundation for certified Z-Wave chips. But the open-source initiative is not just the protocol stack any more, with the donation of more tools from Silicon Labs we are getting closer to the vision of the alliance being able to deliver a full development environment for Z-Wave. See the full list of features and tools that are now available for all Z-Wave members to use, build and modify, including XML files and tools, PC controller PC sniffer and more.

Speaker: Avi Rosenthal, BlueConnect Partners & Chairperson of the Z-Wave Alliance Board of Directors