26-03-2012, 04:54 PM
Activation of Home Automation System via Mobile Technology
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INTRODUCTION
As a student at Massey University a project is
required as part of the final year work. The project
chosen in this case was the activation of Home
Automation via mobile technology. This was
selected because of our keen interest in
incorporating mobile technology with Home
Automation, which we believe is the next
important step to realize the Home Automation
dream.
This paper covers the range of the development of
this project including: the concept of the system,
the technology involved in implementation, and the
prototype product developed.
INVESTIGATION
When starting this project there were many aspects
to consider. We started with the specifications
needed to develop a cost-effective method for
controlling and activating home appliances
remotely. Among these specifications were that
this system would need to work in most places
where a house may exist, also there would have to
be two-way communication to ensure that the
messages had been received. The system would
also have to be affordable and easy to use as this
would be marketed to the general public.
THE PROTOCOLS
This section describes the protocols and concepts
used for the implemented SMS (Simple Messaging
System) house control and for the proposed but not
implemented GPRS (General Packet Radio
Service) house control.
HOUSE SERVER SYSTEM DESIGN
This section gives an outline of the house server
that was designed including both a description of
the hardware designed and the software.
4.1 Harware Design
The first part of the house server design was the
choosing of a suitable micro-controller. The
requirements for the micro-controller are; a RS232
port, a fair amount of output Digital I/O, and a
reasonable speed. Also a reasonable amount of
EEPROM was needed to allow for the software to
process text commands, to provide Flash program
data memory for storage of device status, and
username and passwords related to login, so that
data is not lost in the case of power outages.
6. CONCLUSIONS
This project has demonstrated the possibility of
using cellular technologies such as SMS and GPRS
to control home automation and with further
development could lead to a breakthrough in the
way we interact with our homes.