The Computerized integrated smart home

The emergence of multiple home computers and the need to network them together are dramatically increasing in our society. At the same time, more and more methods of networking home computers are being developed. As our society becomes more reliant on using digital devices in our everyday lives, the possibility of a smart home can actually become a reality. My thesis will research currently available home automation products, and will propose a complete smart home system using current and possible future technologies. It will also include the various services that can be offered via home networking and automation. There are several component areas that must be considered and combined to create the complete system. Some of these areas include communications, device control, temperature, security, and most important, the user interface. One of the main components of the system will be the concept of a console , which will be the primary interface. My thesis will explore different kinds of consoles using existing and proposed technology, how they can be internetworked together to form a complete communications system, and how they can be connected to the outside world. The feasibility of offering home automation services using these consoles is another area that will be explored. For instance, can a home be considered secure if doors and locks are automated and integrated into the smart home? With the smart home, a user should be able to enter the house without a key, solely by communicating with the system. It could even be possible to lock a door from any console within the house, in case the user forgot. I believe the smart home is becoming a reality, and can propel our society into a new way of life as an advanced civilization. My thesis will attempt to provide various ways of making it a reality using current and possible future technologies. Although it will not provide a concrete example of a complete smart home system, that area of expansion exists for future research. Perhaps one day it will become a standard in new home development, and will change how we perform everyday tasks at home

Remote Control and Monitoring of Smart Home Facilities via Smartphone with Wi-Fly

Due to the widespread ownership of smartphone devices, the application of mobile technologies to enhance the monitoring and control of smart home facilities has attracted much academic attention. This study indicates that tools already in the possession of the end user can be a significant part of the specific context-aware system in the smart home. The behaviour of the system in the context of existing systems will reflect the intention of the client. This model system offers a diverse architectural concept for Wireless Sensor Actuator Mobile Computing in a Smart Home (WiSAMCinSH) and consists of sensors and actuators in various communication channels, with different capacities, paradigms, costs and degree of communication reliability. This paper focuses on the utilization of end users’ smartphone applications to control home devices, and to enable monitoring of the context-aware environment in the smart home to fulfil the needs of the ageing population. It investigates the application of an iPhone to supervise smart home monitoring and control electrical devices, and through this approach, after initial setup of the mobile application, a user can control devices in the smart home from different locations and over various distances

Internet of Things-aided Smart Grid: Technologies, Architectures, Applications, Prototypes, and Future Research Directions

Traditional power grids are being transformed into Smart Grids (SGs) to address the issues in existing power system due to uni-directional information flow, energy wastage, growing energy demand, reliability and security. SGs offer bi-directional energy flow between service providers and consumers, involving power generation, transmission, distribution and utilization systems. SGs employ various devices for the monitoring, analysis and control of the grid, deployed at power plants, distribution centers and in consumers' premises in a very large number. Hence, an SG requires connectivity, automation and the tracking of such devices. This is achieved with the help of Internet of Things (IoT). IoT helps SG systems to support various network functions throughout the generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of energy by incorporating IoT devices (such as sensors, actuators and smart meters), as well as by providing the connectivity, automation and tracking for such devices. In this paper, we provide a comprehensive survey on IoT-aided SG systems, which includes the existing architectures, applications and prototypes of IoT-aided SG systems. This survey also highlights the open issues, challenges and future research directions for IoT-aided SG systems

Smart Grid Communications: Overview of Research Challenges, Solutions, and Standardization Activities

Optimization of energy consumption in future intelligent energy networks (or Smart Grids) will be based on grid-integrated near-real-time communications between various grid elements in generation, transmission, distribution and loads. This paper discusses some of the challenges and opportunities of communications research in the areas of smart grid and smart metering. In particular, we focus on some of the key communications challenges for realizing interoperable and future-proof smart grid/metering networks, smart grid security and privacy, and how some of the existing networking technologies can be applied to energy management. Finally, we also discuss the coordinated standardization efforts in Europe to harmonize communications standards and protocols.Comment: To be published in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial

A survey on cyber security for smart grid communications

A smart grid is a new form of electricity network with high fidelity power-flow control, self-healing, and energy reliability and energy security using digital communications and control technology. To upgrade an existing power grid into a smart grid, it requires significant dependence on intelligent and secure communication infrastructures. It requires security frameworks for distributed communications, pervasive computing and sensing technologies in smart grid. However, as many of the communication technologies currently recommended to use by a smart grid is vulnerable in cyber security, it could lead to unreliable system operations, causing unnecessary expenditure, even consequential disaster to both utilities and consumers. In this paper, we summarize the cyber security requirements and the possible vulnerabilities in smart grid communications and survey the current solutions on cyber security for smart grid communications. © 2012 IEEE