The average home is full of electronics: radios, TVs, PCs, CD/DVD players, microwave ovens, central heating systems. They may also have security and even surveillance systems. Everything works, but not together. Right now they are electronic islands, but networking is coming to the home in many different ways.
There used to be a joke about this development. "Just because you can network your home does not mean you have to." Networking was for nerds; it was complex, expensive, impractical, and there was no real value for consumers.
Today the situation is different, largely as a result of the two technologies that reshaped our lives in the last decade: the Web and wireless. Accessing information on the Internet and exchanging e-mails is something we take for granted. And low-cost wireless solutions eliminate the need to run wires around the home.
Thus, the networked home is coming and for some it has already arrived. For example, all members of a family can access the Net simultaneously via a single wireless LAN base station. PC peripherals such as a printer can also be shared using the same air interface. Right now this technology is mainly used in large enterprises, but a report from Analysys Research predicts growth rates of over 100% for home use from 2003 through 2006. And Yankee Group says that 17 million American households are interested in buying networking systems.
In addition to sharing access to the Internet, there are a number of interesting applications coming off the drawing board, eg the idea of using the same wireless interface to allow all TVs in the house to share the same set-top box. Currently, one box is needed for each TV and for many families the hardware cost is prohibitive. Content vendors are also keen on this development since it enables them to increase their revenue stream.
Security, surveillance, automation
Security can be enhanced in many ways in a networked home. Doors and windows can be fitted with electric locks and their status (open, unlocked, locked) signalled to a central control point. If a door is left open an alarm signal is generated. Burglary or other movements in the house after locking also cause an alarm. These signals can also be sent to a mobile phone.
Homes can also be equipped with low-cost video cameras having a WLAN interface - enabling surveillance from remote locations. Thus, an alarm can be sent to the phone from the security system and the intrusion subsequently monitored on a mobile device that has a browser.
Home automation is rapidly becoming a hot issue, the most obvious reason being the need to conserve energy. This is particularly important in Scandinavian countries, which are seriously cold in winter. The home of Kaija and Risto Linturi in Helsinki, Finland is a state-of-the-art example of eminently sensible home automation and now something of a showcase. In this home there are a number of networked automation centres as well as a normal computer network, audio matrix plus wireline and wireless telephone networks. Altogether there are 10 km of cabling and almost 100 network nodes.
Sensors collect information about air temperature and floor temperature. This information is collected in order to affect the way the heating and ventilation is operated. In the sauna (mandatory in Finland) there is one for humidity. Mr Linturi works from his dream home and the main meeting room also has a separate carbon dioxide sensor for guaranteeing fresh air supply during meetings with many people. All rooms have infrared presence sensors which serve to notify the system giving information on which rooms are occupied and which are not. This information is used to automatically control air circulation, audio system, lighting and telephony and locking/burglary.
Not many people take home automation as seriously as the Linturis, but those who do can find more information at www.coba-group.com.
Entertainment and electronic toys
There are numerous scenarios for this sector, which are waiting for low-cost ($1-3) wireless chips to be developed and implemented in consumer electronics goods and electronic toys. The first goal, agreement on a pervasive wireless specification has been agreed: see sidebar: 'The ZigBee Standard'.
Right now the only relevant standards are Bluetooth and 802.11b (the current standard for wireless LANs). However, while there is a place in the wider wireless market for Bluetooth, ZigBee is emerging as the favourite. Semiconductor vendors are talking about the day when it will be common to find 50 ZigBee radio chips in a house. They could serve duty in a home's 10 to 15 light switches, several fire and smoke detectors, thermostats, five to six toys and interactive game machines, and other human input devices. The ZigBee specification is based on a Philips specification and this particular chip vendor is talking (optimistically) about sales of more than 500 million chips in 2005.
Systems based on WLAN are too expensive for many applications, and Sony's famous electronic dog is a seriously up-market toy. Prices range from around $1000 to $1800. The technology behind this 'toy' is simply amazing. For example, it works with a wireless LAN card and barks when you get new e-mail. The Aibo can also read messages out aloud and be programmed to wave, dance and do push-ups.
If we push the fast-forward button and imagine a networked home having 50 or more ZigBee chips, then electronic toys can be used to educate children while they play. For example, when the toy is within range of the PC the intelligence of this device can be used to seamlessly enhance that of the toy. It might ask the child if it wants to hear a story, ask which type of story and respond accordingly. Thus, the toy will take on some of the personality of the child and be able to make suggestions in future while at the same time maintaining the illusion of a talking toy. The PC could hold a stock of stories selected by the parents and downloaded from the Internet. Songs and nursery rhymes could also be played via the toy.
Another possibility is the use of toy PCs and mobile phones. Children could play games and communicate with each other on a fun basis while at the same time using a toy that semi-replicates the real thing. This idea is likely to appeal to young children who see their older brothers and sisters using real PCs and mobile phones, ie it allows them to mimic their siblings.
The ZigBee standard
ZigBee is an emerging standard in the wireless world. The name is new but it is based on earlier work and less appealing terms such as HomeRF Lite. This technology focuses on low-cost, low-power applications and the initial price per chip is likely to be around $2. These chips will transfer data at speeds ranging from 10 Kbps up to 115,2 Kbps. Range will be from 10-75 m. ZigBee's wireless modules are expected to last between six months and two years if powered by a pair of AA batteries.
ZigBee enables various types of networking and it can designate one of its devices to take on the function of coordinator, charged with waking up other devices on the network - all in a sleep mode - moments before data packets are sent to them. ZigBee also allows coordinators to talk to one another. Under the mesh mode any ZigBee device can set up a network even when it cannot see all the other ZigBee devices that may exist on the net. First, it connects to its nearest ZigBee neighbour, which can function as a coordinator, and then the other devices gradually sign on. This makes it possible for a ZigBee device on the top floor of a large house to communicate with another device in the basement.
Information supplied by Anritsu representative in South Africa, ETECSA, 011 787 7200.
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