Integrated Multimedia and Sensor Data Management in Heterogeneous Home Networks: a Concept Proposal

Abstract

Home Area Networks designed for the delivery of both multimedia contents (e.g. TV programs, movies, music) and home automation services (e.g. household appliances commands, lighting and surveillance controls) are becoming widespread, especially thanks to the latest developments in wireless sensor and communication devices. This kind of networks, however, represents a new challenge for the networking field, particularly with respect to the integration of many different home and building automation solutions, that are not originally conceived to coexist and exchange data. Consequently, it is necessary to introduce an operational infrastructure able to interconnect differentdevices on the same communication link, or over different links, by means of a single user interface and a unified intelligence, thus making possible a complete and efficient management of the system. This paper outlines the main components in the design of an integrated home network architecture based on both commercial and customized devices developed ad-hoc, and provides preliminary results about the performance obtainable in the delivery of different data flows. The convergence of many differentiated services over IP-based architectures dramatically increases the amount of IP traffic to be delivered to the clients, so that Quality of Service management issues arise, and are to be taken into account.

NFC-Based User Interface for Smart Environments

“…The home automation system we refer to in this paper is built upon a centralized framework, exploits common commercial hardware, and opens source software, suitably modified and adapted to the target application [20]. From a functional point of view, the system is composed of room control nodes, a module for handling in-the-room and external communications, and a module for the delivery of entertainment signals.…”

“…Parameter pin locates the actuator to be activated among the three controlled by the same board; func is a three-valued parameter (0 = off, 255 = on, and 160 = Toggle command) that represents the state of the load, whereas time denotes the time validity of the command issued (time = 0 means immediate execution of the command). Further details about the management of system commands may be found in [20]. When the user activates a command through one of the available system interfaces (touchscreen, voice-based, and NFC-based), the underlying logic composes the corresponding http request by properly setting the required parameters (e.g., the MAC address of the board in the target room, which will activate the given load, or the pin necessary to locate the actuator to be activated).…”