Apple has told developers that it’s open-sourced portions of the HomeKit ADK to accelerate development of the new Project Connected Home Over IPstandard that it, Amazon, Google, Zigbee Alliance, and others are working on. Developers can now use the HomeKit ADK “to prototype non-commercial smart home accessories.”

Apple says HomeKit has grown to become the most extensive, powerful and secure smart home platform available on more than a billion iOS and iPadOS devices. By open-sourcing its HomeKit technology,  the tech giant says it “will be helping to jump-start the initiative and ultimately deliver an even better experience to customers.”

Starting today, developers can use the HomeKit Open Source ADK to prototype non-commercial smart home accessories. Apple will also contribute its HomeKit Accessory Protocol to the working group.

Existing HomeKit accessories will continue to work after the new protocol becomes available since Apple plans to continue to support HAP for communication with smart home accessories in its ecosystem. For more information about the project and how to participate, visit www.connectedhomeip.com.