Home Automation and the 'Internet of Things'
by Ganesh T S on October 4, 2012 10:30 AM EST- Posted in
- Gadgets
- Home Automation
- Wi-Fi
Technologies such as ZigBee came up in part due to the unsuitability of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other such technologies to provide networking with low power consumption, low cost, simplicity and the ability to remain in a suspended state for extended periods of time. Most of the HA technologies were developed when Wi-Fi was unable to satisfy all of these criteria. However, over the last few years, Wi-Fi has slowly, but surely, gained a significant foothold in the home automation industry.
The rise of Wi-Fi's role in home automation has primarily come about due to two factors
- Networked nature of today's electronics: Commonly used electronic devices such as televisions and AV receivers have started becoming part of the home IP network. Even though the networking aspects were added to bring in support for online streaming services or network playback, it became an easy value-add for the manufacturers to expose control of the device functionality over the network.
- Rise of mobile computing devices: The increasing rate of adoption of smartphones and tablets was an added boon. These devices ensure that consumers have access to a portable 'controller' for the electronics connected to the network.
Before proceeding further, I will take a small detour to talk about my personal experience with home automation. Like any other long-time renter, I had no interest in investing money towards fancy home automation solutions. However, as a reviewer of HTPCs and media streamers, I had often used the streamers' Android remotes / XBMC web & Android remote for playback control using my smartphone. I had also installed Sony's remote for my KDL46EX720 TV on my Android smartphone, but rarely got the chance to use it. I realized the full benefit of the Android remote when I found that I could switch on / mute or reduce the volume on the TV without being in the same room.
Sony's Android Remote: Whetting the Appetite for Home Automation
In scenarios such as those outlined above, consumers don't realize that they are actually using some form of HA. The Wi-Fi network already fulfills the basic requirements of a HA system without any extra expenditure on the part of the consumer. For any technology to succeed amongst consumers, price is key. Wi-Fi practically turns out to be free for HA purposes. Hence, it will not be a surprise if home automation with Wi-Fi finally manages to catch the attention of consumers in a way that current technologies haven't been able to.
Addressing Wi-Fi’s Naysayers
We have been through multiple generations of Wi-Fi since the first 802.11-based consumer products appeared in 1999. With maturing technology, the cost of Wi-Fi radios has gone down. They have also become simpler to integrate into systems. At the beginning of this section, we had outlined the reasons as to why ZigBee was developed as an alternative to Wi-Fi for HA purposes. We see that some of these issues have already been addressed. Power consumption and reliable range, however, remain a problem. Towards this, the 802.11 group is working on a new standard, 802.11ah. Expected to be ratified around May 2015, its main purpose is the creation of a sub-1 GHz sensor network. Smart metering is one of the intended applications, but home automation should not be far behind. 802.11ah should help address any shortcomings of current generation Wi-Fi for HA purposes.
Silicon Vendors Target Fast-Growing Market
The primary requirements for the wireless communication modules in these HA devices are:
- Low power MCU integrated in the module along with networking stack
- 802.11 b/g support (802.11n is not strictly necessary)
- Small form factor and full industrial temperature range (-40C to 85C)
- Small host footprint in terms of Flash and RAM requirements
We have a number of Wi-Fi radio makers targeting this embedded Wi-Fi market. TI has the CC3000, launched in January 2012, which is part of LSR’s TiWi-SL self-contained Wi-Fi module. Marvell also launched the 88MC200 microcontroller in January 2012. It is tied along with the Marvell Avastar 88W878x Wi-Fi radio SoCs for smart energy platforms.
Marvell's Pitch to Customers Integrating Wi-Fi in Smart Appliances (The concept remains the same with Wi-Fi modules from other vendors too)
Qualcomm Atheros launched the AR4100P Wi-Fi System-in-Package for the home automation market in March 2012. The AR4100P is a 802.11n single stream Wi-Fi system-in-package with an integrated IPv4/IPv6 TCP/IP stack. Board vendors such as RTX deliver pre-built cards based on the AR4100P along with software support.
If WiFi has to replace specialized HA protocols in simple switch type devices, it has to offer a significant cost advantage at installation. Obviously, support for more than 256 nodes has to also be provided seamlessly in a user friendly manner. Current HA controllers already integrate a hybrid of technologies using different standards where it makes sense (W-iFi + Z-Wave, Insteon or Zigbee). This will be a continuing trend till 802.11ah gains consumer acceptance and everyone realizes that specialized protocols serve no purpose. However, this is quite some time off and it is a concern only for people who have already invested in a HA standard. People starting to explore home automation options simply can't go wrong by choosing a pure Wi-Fi based one.
In this section, we saw control of the media center as one of the HA examples using Wi-Fi. Conventional HA systems include control of power switching, lighting, HVACs and home security systems. In the next few sections, we will take a look at some of the interesting Wi-Fi based HA devices.
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brotj - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
The market is fairly confusing for a non techie customer, We were about to buy 3 Z-Wave locks from Lowes for our home a few weeks back. But then I noticed the lock keypads are not really weatherproof(very important in the northeast), and there is a $12.99/month fee to access your locks online. What a load...$299.99 for the door kit and base station
$129.99/additional door handle
$12.99/mo for as long as you want access remotely to your home....
We want:
-3 outdoor weather resistant locks(only one will be under an overhang)
-outdoor lights defaulted to motion detection, over ridden by secure mobile app or door locks
-indoor lights that can be grouped by zones
-cameras defaulted to motion detection, turned on anytime the doors are open, and overridden by secure mobile app
-thermostat
-All information stored on my own server, and accessible from mobile app.
The wifes primary concern: wants to turn off everything and make sure the doors are locked from her Android tablet from bed when I'm out of town.
...any suggestions
andrewaggb - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
Could get a micasaverde (vera)Personally I don't find their ui very intuitive, but it supports a lot of devices and there are mobile apps with no monthly fee.
I have one I've used for testing a few things but to be honest I don't even have it hooked up right now.
I have an alarm panel module (ip datatel - bat) that lets you control your alarm system from an android or ios app and it works pretty well - my wife can use it. I believe it does have a low monthly fee (I have one for testing/work so I'm not paying personally), but it's nice enough.
One of the things I do is write video surveillance software and so I dabble in home automation and alarm/sensor monitoring. I find many cheap ip cameras try to tie you into their software and online systems etc, but then fail to provide a complete solution (like what you are looking for). A full featured system like you are asking about... Is still hard to come by. Maybe somebody else knows one, but my own software, and any other software I have used (quite a few), don't provide everything you're looking for out of the box. But I don't work in the residential market so there may be a gem out there I just don't know about.
jhh - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
Unfortunately, my smart meter was installed this year, and only supports Zigbee Smart Energy profile. Perhaps someone will build a converter to make it available via WiFi, but otherwise, it's locked into a very restricted license for access, such that it is quite expensive for a hacker to use. One has to get a key from a RIM subsidiary, and the first license is quite expensive. The license is likely restricted to devices which have passed Smart Energy profile certification, and I have no idea how much that will cost. So, if someone wants to build a WiFi to Zigbee converter box, I'd be happy to buy one.Conficio - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
I do not care to much about home automation. However, I have noticed myself to stand in front of my house pushing the car remote and wondering why the door does not unlock ;-)So I think the much more desired use is integration of technology by open standard. For most younger people the cell phone is the key to their life. So why not have the ability to use it as door opener, access badge at work, gym locker key, ATM card, car key (with seat memory and other setting preferences), ...
The key to all this is the ability to register securely the user's device or the operational unit with the user's device. How does current home automation do this?
Also, where is open source on this? I really can't see myself using a third party web service to access my house remotely? Next thing police forces them to open the door? So I want an open source based control server on my own hardware.
Also one of the objects that many geeks want to remote control is their computer(s). What is the state of Wake on LAN to achieve this? Most of what I have seen is standard routers not having the feature.
jhh - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
I have a zoned heating system with 3 zones. I probably could have gotten away with 2, but the third came with only the cost of an extra thermostat. Unfortunately, the zoning system provides no input to the HVAC system other than the 2 stage furnace or 2 stage air conditioner. Ideally, this would all feed back into the control board in the furnace, with information on how many zones need heat/cooling, the size of the zones, whether they are in the sun or not, and the outside temperature. This would allow better control over whether the second stage of the heat/AC is useful, and how fast the fan should run based on the number of open zones. A heating cycle could be extended if one zone was close to needing heat rather than more frequent furnace cycling which is hard on the heat exchanger. The set-points for each thermostat could be maintained in the control board, and controllable through a smart phone app or locally. But, the thermostat could really be reduced to just a temperature sensor with no user feedback. The NEST thermostat is an overly expensive device primarily because its combining a user interface, processor, controls, and temperature sensor. I would rather have the intelligence in the furnace control board (or blower control from outside the control board and intelligence in the HA system).Rick83 - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
Essentially, for HA to really work, there's a higher level protocol that's going to be required. And this has to be standardized.There's currently a big push for this kind of thing, with many patents and standards being published, and I wouldn't recommend to anyone to invest heavily before this has somewhat settled down.
Zigbee still seems to be THE M2M-technology according to what I see at work (M2M research lab at a large European telco), as it is much cheaper to implement than the heavier protocols.
Future 802.11 might change this, but at this time, I'd put the focus there.
Finally, until there are better presence /identification /activity sensors and the required logic to learn usage patterns, it will remain remote control. This is convenient, but it doesn't go far enough for me to truly adopt it. Never mind spending big money on it.
For now it is still mostly faffing about with electronics, and in that case I would stick to rolling your own, in the most modular way possible, so that if eventually a consensus standard emerges, the USB of HA, you can swap out your interfaces, without touching the hardware.
JoanSpark - Saturday, October 6, 2012 - link
+1The market still is too cluttered to propose 'the standard' that will be the USB of HA, especially as most of the ones currently being offered are proprietary and heavily protected by licenses.
I'd also like to point out that there is more going on/needs to be looked at for all those gadgets and helpers to be more efficient (resource usage).
These days every little thing comes with it's own acdc converter if it needs non-neglible power for displays or actors, this means all over the place there are powerplugs with their inefficiencies and clutter. There is (afaik) no venture to standardize the powersupply of things in the 0.5W - 30W range.
Ideal would be some kind of low voltage dc distribution network for each house/apartment that is standardized similar to 230VAC power distribution.
But there is NOTHING going on there - and most importantly the sockets/plugs for this. NOTHING (besides some 600V DC plugs for server environments - google: 'datacenter VDC').
And to tell you the truth, once you got this distribution network, it's easy to just pull some more wires along for some protocol/interface, which would even eliminate the need for wireless most of the time.
That would be the USB of HA ;-)
JoanSpark - Saturday, October 6, 2012 - link
correction: http://www.google.com/search?q=datacenter%20380vdc... ..for the datacenter DC power distribution stuffJoanSpark - Saturday, October 6, 2012 - link
addendum:http://blog.circuitprotection.com/blognews/low-vol...
alek99 - Thursday, October 4, 2012 - link
I have a rather nifty (nutty?!?) application of Home Automation that allows people on the Internet to control my Holiday displays at Halloween and Christmas - http://www.komar.org/cgi-bin/halloween_webcam and http://www.komar.org/cgi-bin/christmas_webcamThese have been around for a while, so using X10 ... and oldie but goldie. Lotta various control & sensor stuff" out there (and cheap) ... but yea, is a bit slow and has some reliability issues ... although many of those can be addressed via some really cool devices from this guy - http://jvde.us/
I'd love to go to a higher tech (and agree that it will converge on Wi-Fi) but am waiting for the marketplace to mature and stuff to get cheaper.
Great overview of HA Ganesh!