“Smart home” – the technical side of the issue

Recommendation points

• “Smart home” – we open the veil of mystery
• “Smart home” – package solutions
• Smart Home Networking Services
• Biometric systems for smart home
• “Smart home” for an apartment

It is generally accepted that modern society shapes its tastes under the powerful influence of digital technology. Technological progress has undermined the conceptual principles associated with all aspects of life, transformed public consciousness and tastes, the ongoing processes have affected the organization of living space.

Formal rules and ideas about a comfortable life that have been formed over many centuries have undergone significant changes. These changes, at the same time, were not re-emerging, but gradually formed, starting from the beginning of the industrial revolution. Discussion of the technology of the future related to the organization of living space is on the agenda. This well-known Smart Home technology.

Conceptual smart home shell “ArtArchitect” (Japan)

Try to imagine the future for yourself, first in color, then in form, try to name epithets that will describe your impressions of the living space that arises in your mind. Most people associate the space of the future with smooth smooth shapes, minimalism, transparent air and a house that changes with a wave of the hand. Almost all consumers perceive “Smart Home” as something vague, more like a dream than a reality. However, this is a reality that has a very specific technical implementation.

“Smart home” – we open the veil of mystery

The “Smart Home” system (eng. Digital home) is a robotic engineering system capable of controlling the functionality of the system using sensors. In the simplest version, the management of utilities is implemented: the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to ensure the required parameters of the microclimate, electrical supply, lighting control, and the security system. It is safe to say that there are no single solutions, since the functionality of such systems is constantly being reorganized and complicated. The functions of the “Smart Home” can be completely changed according to the requirements of the customer. Despite the costly complex solutions, they are quite affordable for self-assembly and installation, these works can also be performed by small companies specializing in digital solutions.

The multi-room system in the room monitors the movements of a person and redistributes the sound throughout the room, the “Tracking sound” function

The concept of a “smart home” or more precisely a digital home consists in recognizing situations occurring in the monitoring area, in this case, a house or apartment, and organizing appropriate reactions. The following components are considered as mandatory components: a room access control and surveillance system, a microclimate control system, a lighting and water supply control system, as well as a multi-room system for controlling the distribution of an audio signal, etc. As a rule, such systems involve not only conventional control, but also control via an on-line interface. For example, utility meters with GPS are already widely known, which allows you to receive data and manage your payments remotely..

High-end systems feature specially designed devices, such as touch screens, that make it easy to control devices from different places in the house. But it is possible to create a “Smart Home” with an average income, it is profitable and convenient.

There is an opinion that it is necessary to install “Smart Home” in houses with a total area exceeding 150 m², and this is a classic delusion. It is advisable to organize comfortable living using modern technologies even in a one-room apartment. For these purposes, you need to purchase special software that controls the system, and devices that connect to a single network and provide the functionality of the system.

“Smart home” – package solutions

Crestron Wireless Touch Panels for Smart Home Control

According to the professional magazine “Essential Install” in the field of automation systems for residential houses and buildings, there are currently several large manufacturers implementing the concept of “Smart Home” in their products, these are Crestron, EIB, Domintell, C-Bus, etc..

Let’s note, first of all, the Crestron system, which is installed on the yacht of Roman Abramovich. Crestron offers a wide range of devices for its system and is considered the most complete solution in the implementation of complex Smart Home systems. The company has developed stylish touch screens, which are wireless media centers that provide access to the software core of the system. Crestron offers to organize control of its systems via a mobile phone, and also provides collegial work of all subsystems.

The technical side of the Crestron system deserves a separate comment. To implement the lighting control function, a special digital addressable DALI lighting interface with an energy-saving function has been developed. DIN-DALI-2 assumes control of distributed lighting systems, which can be used in large offices, shopping centers. Crestron also produces the budget Prodigy series. A starter pack based on sensor networks, ZigBee standard, offered for $ 700. The controller allows you to connect multiple touchscreen remotes, as well as 100 wireless devices. A full Prodigy-based package will cost $ 5500. The system is controlled using the free Prodigy Composer software.

Greenchip NSP – wi-fi – chip for controlling a light bulb for Smart Homes

DOMINTELL is a Belgian home automation system that is distinguished by a more democratic cost and reliability of building automation solutions. The system supports the installation and control of individual system components, these can be touch panels, switches, sensors and actuators – blinds, lighting devices, solenoid valves, speakers and fans. Perfectly customizable and easy to install.

Devices of the X10 / S10 standard, plugged into the power grid, for Smart Home systems

KNX / EIB (European Installation Bus) is an industrial system that controls building engineering equipment based on the X10 / S10 standard. The system uses devices that are connected to the electrical network and do not require additional laying of an Ethernet cable. The following possibilities can be realized by the EIB protocol – turning on the light by turning the key in the keyhole, turning off the iron in the absence of a person in the room, and so on. The sensors are controlled using additional data transfer protocols. EIB is a rather complex system in terms of implementation, but a flexible system that allows you to create individual solutions with a high level of adaptation.

The C-Bus is a semi-industrial system that, unlike the X10 / S10 standard, requires cabling. The system is very reliable and provides high data transfer rates. This standard is suitable for professionals who create their home automation systems based on industrial solutions. Also on industrial buses are INSYTE and iNELS (CAN) systems.

Smart Home Networking Services

Google has announced a web-based solution for managing Smart Home systems via the Internet and the Android @ Home platform. The intent of the developers is to provide a user-friendly web interface for managing home electronics via mobile phones for each user. The project is attended by the company Project Tungsten, which develops acoustic solutions.

Google also introduced a new service for voice recognition Google Speech API, which can be successfully used by developers, Google offers the ability to use the service in their applications. Good recognition quality is implemented in English, connection of a web application makes it possible to control the “Smart Home” by means of voice commands.

Biometric systems for smart home

Biometric solutions or fingerprint access allow you to organize a security system at a completely new level of privacy. Biometric systems are an integral part of the “Smart Home”, although today they are not offered in package solutions. Biometric access control systems are used in video surveillance or authentication systems, these solutions are an order of magnitude superior to systems based on plastic RFID cards.

If we consider biometric technologies in aggregate, then there are two main groups, depending on the type of readout parameters. The first group of devices works with statistical objects – hand geometry, fingerprints, drawing of the retina, face geometry, the second group of biometric identification works with dynamic parameters, this type includes identification by personal voice commands, signature dynamics, etc. Biometric parameters imply the reading of a person’s unique characteristics; the most popular characteristics for processing are the iris, fingerprints, and DNA. Other characteristics refer to parameters that change over time, such as handwriting or voice.

BioLink’s products are considered the most advanced fingerprint recognition technologies. Low-cost high-tech solutions include the products of the Chinese company ZKSoftware, products are certified by UL, CE, FCC, ISO.

ZKSoftware Touch Lock with OLED Display

At the moment, devices that can be used at home for biometric identification are biometric locks. This type of locks is presented by several manufacturers, including ZKSoftware, the cost is about $ 500.

“Smart home” for an apartment

Everyone can use new technologies in their apartment. First of all, you need to decide on the functionality of the system, it is the set of functions that determines the cost. Moreover, it is not at all necessary to implement all the functionality at once. Classic budget automated systems consist of the following implementations:

• turning on the light from the remote control, a cotton sensor can be used instead of the remote control. The light can be dimmed. The curtains can be opened from the remote control. As an option, the light can be turned on by a motion sensor, taking into account the calculations of the time of the dark, depending on the season. Installing smart lighting will be useful outdoors, the light is triggered by the signal of the motion sensor and the IR sensor.
• video surveillance and tracking can be implemented using a conventional video recorder, video system and biometric lock. Biometric locks allow you to enter about 100 fingerprints. Installing webcams will allow you to monitor the apartment from a closed website.
• It is advisable to install microclimate control in apartments located on the territory of megalopolises; this is an alternative option to installing an expensive air conditioner with microclimate sensors. The microclimate assumes clean and evenly heated air without harmful impurities; to implement these functions, when setting certain scenarios, the system turns on air conditioners, ionizers, ventilation and opens / closes windows.

Mini-systems “Smart Home” provide for connecting a home theater and simulating the functionality of a multi-room system. An important element of mini-systems are safe sockets that turn off in the absence of owners, this solution allows you to protect household appliances from an unexpected power surge.

The most convenient way to manage the parameters of the “Smart Home” is through an on-line interface, which will contain information on energy consumption when connecting meters to the system, monitor dangerous conditions, including fires or leaks, and transfer information to the owner. Most importantly, the functionality of the “smart home” can be scalable, and the system configuration is selected by the user.

There is a wide range of software for managing the “Smart Home” system on the market. When choosing a product, one should take into account that it supports the protocols of Crestron, EIB, Domintell, C-Bus, and others. QuiiQ Home Automation software deserved popularity among consumers among several offers. This is a special client-server application that serves as the core of the Smart Home system. Zones and groups can be effectively managed from the program interface. QuiiQ Movie is offered to control multimedia equipment and create a video collection of files..

In conclusion, let’s summarize. Of course, the presented overview gives each person a clear idea of ​​how they can improve their living space using digital technologies. Contrary to the general opinion that “Smart Home” systems are a luxury inaccessible to the average consumer, we can confidently assert the opposite. “Smart home” can and should be installed in almost any apartment, and this system helps not only to improve the level of comfort, but also to protect oneself from troubles associated with fire, flooding, network overload and failure of devices, this is an opportunity to provide a completely different level the safety of your children. Today, Smart Home systems are available for everyone solutions for managing living space.