Internet of Things (IoT)
Life-Cycle Tracking System of Home Automation Devices (Led Bulbs)
Rahul Vatsa
Data Metica Solutions Private Limited
Pune, India
vatsa.rahul.999@gmail.com
Abstract—Rapid growth in the field of IoT makes our life very
simple and easy. The IoT technology gives rise to a new era
where “Things Speak”. Hitherto we only have heard people
connected to the internet but today the scene has totally changed.
Now every object and machine is getting connected to the
internet. IoT brings life to the machines and we can visualize a
world where a new communication system establish between
Man and Machine(M2M communication).Earlier we have seen
communication between “ man-to man” and “machine-to-
machine”, but today Man-to- Machine communication is also
possible. There are many areas in Home Automation where
researches are going on to make life much better. “Life-Cycle
Tracking System of LED Bulbs” is also belongs to one of that
category. The proposed model will provide a platform to a user to
track the lifetime of a LED bulb. The benefit of using this model
is that, if it is applied to all the connected devices then it can also
be integrated with the Big Data where it provides a lot of data
about an individual device. The idea of Life Cycle Tracking
System may also solve many industrial problems, by giving the
current status of all devices and machines.
Keywords— Internet of Things; Home Automation, Life cycle
analysis of lights, Average lifetime of Light Bulbs, Big Data.
I. INTRODUCTION
A. What is IoT?
The Internet of Things a technology that brings life to the
real world objects. It connects objects like car, home,
television, etc. with to internet, so that, the user can access and
gather information of the connected devices. Many people
think of IoT as a new technology, but this is not true. Actually,
the concept of IoT is evolved from M2M communication
(machine-to- machine communication). This concept is used in
telecommunication where using mobile phones (also a small
machine) connects to another mobile for communication
between two people. The same concept is used in case of IoT,
but, instead of machines it connects man and machine on the
internet which give rise to a new term called ―Man-to-Machine
Communication‖. With the help of this communication the user
has the provision to gather and manipulate information
regarding their devices connected to the internet. For example
in home automation, an application of IoT the user can monitor
their home lights, fans, etc. via internet. Thus, IoT is nothing
but a platform that enables a person to communicate with his
devices (e.g. car, watch, light).[4]
B. Application Areas for the Internet of Things[1]
1. Building & home automation:
IoT offers a wide range of new technologies for monitoring
and controlling, of intelligent buildings and smart homes, by
enhancing security to reduce energy and maintenance costs.
With home automation control system we make our home
devices smart. Smart in the sense that, the devices can be
monitored or perform task according to the user‘s instructions.
For example, a door lock system where if anyone unknown
person tries to enter into the house without authorization then
the door lock will activate an alarm attached to the door and in
this we can say our home is smart enough to provide us
security.
2. Smart cities:
IoT products for lighting, scrutiny, centralized & integrated
system control, reduces cost and resource consumption. There
is also a provision in future to make all the cities smart. The
cities will have a smart traffic system that can reduce many
accidents. A smart road system could be one where the street
lights would automatically turn on if a vehicle comes near it.
There many more ideas are there which could implemented to
make a city ‗smart‘ or we can also term it as city automation .
3. Health care:
IoT is shaping modern technology to improve and enhance the
quality and accessibility of digital products that are
remodeling the health and fitness industries. The IoT brings
many technologies in the field of healthcare that makes human
life more comfortable. There are many apps that have been
developed to track the heart beat and activity of nervous
system of human body .They give the user day to day
information of their health status. This system helps the person
to take precaution before any health problem can occur.
4. Automotive:
IoT provide a wide range of cutting-edge automation for the
modern automobile from headlights to taillights and all
systems in between. In cars there is a sensor that can sense
whether the driver of the car is in drunk or not. This stop
chances of road accidents by stopping the car automatically.
 II. HOME AUTOMATION To compare different types of systems or bulbs in this case

A. What is Home Automation? To determine the most cost-effective system or a bulb

Home automation is a technique where we use one or more
computers or mobile phones to control & monitor home
basic functions and features automatically and sometimes
remotely. An automated home is also called a smart home.
The appliances that we use at home are lights, fans, T.V,
AC etc. Using home automation, we can control our home
appliances using a smartphone from anywhere. This makes
human life more comfortable. In smart home even if we are
away from home and have forgotten to turn off any device.
We can remotely switch off the device using our
smartphone.
―In light bulb industry, the Average Rated Life of any light
bulb is defined by how long it takes to stop glowing light.
For example, in the lab if 100,000 bulbs were tested and
after 1000 hours, 70,000 (70%) of the bulbs had expired
then this product would have an average rated life of 1000
hours at L70. The two important factors when
understanding the life expectancy of our chosen Light bulb
are the Hours and the L rating stated below.‖
1,000 hours at L40 indicates that 40% of Light bulbs had
failed at 1,000 hours.

B. Benefits of Home Automation 6,000 hours at L70 indicates that 70% of Light bulbs had
failed at 6,000 hours
a) Provide security through Automated door locks
system: 10,000 hours at L60 indicates that 60% of Light bulbs had
One of the greatest benefits of a smart home is automated failed at 10,000 hours
door locks. Suppose a man has left for work in the morning and
then realize that he forgot to lock the door. With the help of an
automated system, he can lock the doors with the tap of his
finger. Also if any person tries to enter in the home illegally the Longevity of LED bulb
smart door lock will activate an alarm that gives secure
Among the luminous bulbs, LED bulb is the most efficient
message to the user.
one. LED illumination is about to bring upon us an
b) Enhance awareness through security cameras: intelligent green LED lighting revolution that will help us
save the planet. The reason is illustrated below why LED is
considered as a highest lifetime bulb and more efficient
than any other bulbs.
LED CFL Incandescent

Lifetime 50,000 hours 10,000 1,200 hours

hours
Watts of bulb 10 14 60
Cost per bulb $35.95 $3.95 $1.25
KWh of 500 700 3000
Figure 1:Example of IoT security cameras electricity used
over 50,000
hours
We cannot be present at home all the time. This means we Bulbs needed 1 5 42
are not able to monitor what is happening in our home in our for 50k hours
absence. Security cameras increase awareness of family safety of use
by recording clips of the movement going on in the home. Total cost for $85.75 $89.75 $352.50
50k hours

Table 1: Comparison of different light bulbs[2]

III. LITERATURE SURVEY ON LIGHT BULBS
A. Estimation of lifetime of Light Bulbs
There are many options to calculate average lifetime of a bulb.
Every light bulb has some deadline after which it stops
working. These deadlines can be calculated in terms of time.
As we can see from the table that LED bulb is more
efficient than any other Light Bulbs. This is the only reason
why we have chosen LED in our proposed model. There
are also many benefits of LED bulb in comparison to other
Light Bulbs.

The factors on which the lifetime is calculated are:

 to make this model a cheap and efficient one, first of all we
need to focus on its architecture. There are certain factors that
affect the lifespan of bulb and for implementation we have to
consider all this factors.
1) Frequent on/off cycling: If we switch on and off lights
frequently then it shortens its lifetime.
2) Temperature: If temperature rises then bulb wire will
Figure 2: LED Bulbs burn more than it burns usually from glowing and if
temperature decreases then it burn less what it usually
burns due to glowing.
3) Resistance, voltage and current are also some factors.

LEDs CFLs Incandescent V. IDEA BEHIND DESIGNING THE CIRCUIT

Frequent No effect Shortens Some effect As we know from table LED has no effect on frequent on/off
on/off Cycling lifespan cycling, so our first problem is solved. For temperature effect
Instant turns Yes Slight delay Yes we can add a temperature sensor that will sense the
on temperature whether it rises or falls. To track the lifetime of
Heat emitted Low Medium High Led we can use timer which embedded in microcontroller
Sensitivity to Some Yes No which keep track how much time a bulb remain on. From table
high we know that LED has 50,000 hours of life so whenever light
temperature turns on the timer will start and when it off the timer stops.
Sensitivity to No Yes No
low VI. ALGORITHM
temperature The algorithm to track the life line of a led bulb
Table 2: Comparison on different parameters[2] using the concept of IoT is very simple and straight forward.
As we are not to worry about the frequent on/off in case of led
IV. OUR PROPOSED MODEL: LIFE CYCLE TRACKING SYSTEM so now the factors affecting normal burning of a led is the
OF LED BULBS temperature. We can overcome through this problem by
embedding a temperature sensor in the microcontroller which
After reading many papers on IoT, we have come across an senses the temperature. When temperature rise from its normal
innovative idea that adds many features in IoT. Till now we condition then bulb start burning more than its normal
only have devices connected to the Internet where we can burning. So we will store this value in a variable called error
monitor and know the status of devices. Let us imagine, if we factor. Also all microcontrollers come with inbuilt timer in it
have an provision not only to control the home appliances so we do need to buy it. Thus the system is cost efficient and
remotely via internet but also to track the life of each feasible also.
appliances and have knowledge when our devices going to fail
or stop working properly. Step 1: Take the information about the led bulb from the user
The idea is very simple. Let us understand what we are trying e.g. company name, manufacture date, average lifetime and
to say through an example. Suppose that a person is preparing a calculate lifetime of the bulb using weibull distribution
very important report and also suppose that the laptop is not formula.
giving notification when battery is low. If this happens then
obviously the person has no knowledge whether battery is low
or not and suddenly laptop get shutdown. In this case due to Step 2: Switch on the light with the help of an android app, if
lack of information about battery‘s life the person will lose its the Light is ON timer start and the timer stop when it get
content of the report and again he have to do the work from switched off. When light is on then we will call a function
beginning. The same thing happens in case of home automation clock() which start the timer and calculate the time till light
also. If we have no knowledge about a Light bulb life then we gets off. And when it get off the function clock() stops and
cannot replace it before it fades. Our proposed models solve give the calculated result which we will subtract from the
this problem by giving user information about life of the bulb. actual time and repeat the same process each time light gets on
The idea of tracking life can be applied to every device but and off.
initially we have considered only Light Bulbs and why we have
chosen LED is mentioned above.
Step 3:
If (light==ON)
{
In the field of Technology we consider the most efficient way
i.e. the thing should be cheap in cost and efficient in nature. So T=clock ( );
}
If (Light==OFF)
Time_used=clock ( )-T;
error_factor= (30/temp); // 30 degree Celsius is the standard
temperature and temp is the calculated temperature by sensor.
Case1: If temperature rises
Time_remaining = (Actual_time – Time_used) – error_factor;
Case 2: If temperature decreases
Time_remaining = (Actual_time – Time_used) + error_factor;
Step 4: Status= (Time_remaining/Actual_time) *100;
// calculate the average of health of the light
Actual_time= Time_remaining;// replacing the actual time
with the remaining time
Step 5: Print health status as (100- status);
VII. SIMULATION OF THE PROPOSED MODEL IN PROTEUS
Figure 3: Simulation of the Proposed Model in Proteus
Figure 4: Circuit giving status of life remaining of LED
Thus from the figure we can see that the circuit is giving the
information, of how much time is remaining of a LED bulb.
VIII. BENEFITS OF THE PROPOSED MODEL
A. Information of lifespan of Light Bulbs
B. Can be implemented to Railways to make a smart Rail
System
The proposed model can be applied to the Indian railway also.
If a bulb or fan is not working in any of the compartment a
notification is send to the guard room of the train giving the
information which compartment‘s device is stop working or
which lifetime ends.
C. Prevents illegal use of electricity
Suppose someone is using electricity illegally then with the
help of this model this can be stopped because when it get
implemented it will keep track , for how much time a device is
used. This can also give rise to a new technology were electric
bill is deposited online accordingly their usage.
D. Can be merged with BIG DATA
In future when billions of devices connected to the internet
then automatically data increases. After applying this model
we will have lots of data about a single device which result in
drastic increase in the data of all connected devices.[5]
Before implementing of the proposed model
 LITERATURE REVIEW, ICTACT JOURNAL ON SOFT
COMPUTING: SPECIAL ISSUE ON SOFT COMPUTING
After implementation we can see that the data is increased MODELS FOR BIG DATA, JULY 2015, VOLUME: 05, ISSUE: 04
from the previous one. Thus this model can also be applied in
the world of big data where a recommendation engine can be
developed to generate recommendation which company‘s
[6] Piyushimita (Vonu) Thakuriah, Nebiyou Tilahun amd Moira Zellner,
device is more efficient and last for long time. Big Data and Urban Informatics: Innovations and Challenges to
Urban Planning and Knowledge Discovery, SEEING CITIES
THROUGH BIG DATA: RESEARCH METHODS AND
IX. CONCLUSION APPLICATIONS IN URBAN INFORMATICS, Springer
The Life Cycle Tracking System will be a system that gives
life to the devices. In future the proposed idea will enable home
automation devices interacting with the human being and
speaking to them. This idea has given rise to a new era where
―Things speak‖. The idea of Life Cycle Tracking System will
also solve many industrial problems by giving the current
status of all devices and machines. The proposed system will
bring drastic change not only in the field of IoT, but also in Big
Data world.

X. FUTURE SCOPE
In future if this model is imposed then it give rise to many new
technologies that can be applied in every perspectives. For
example in future with the help of this model an Advance
Train System can be build where the door lock will be
automatic, passengers don‘t need to order for food manually
and the information of the defected lights in the train will be
provided to the guard or station master automatically.
In future when this technology is used to give the information
and tracking life of each device then the data will
automatically increases. To handle these data Big Data will
have to come in to play. Applying Big Data on the collected
dataset and user will have the knowledge of which device last
long according to the lifetime specified by the manufacturer.
In future a recommendation engine can also be developed to
recommend the user which device to be used in their smart
home. The recommendation engine will generate
recommendations on the basis of the life cycle of the devices.

REFERENCES
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http://eartheasy.com/ Last accesed on 8/11/2015

[3] Arduino, Avialable [online] http://www.arduino.cc/ Last accesed on

8/11/2015

[4] Talal Ashraf Butt, Iain Phillips, Lin Guan, and George Oikonomou,
ADAPTIVE AND CONTEXT-AWARE SERVICE DISCOVERY
FOR THE INTERNET OF THINGS, University of Bristol, Faculty of
Engineering, Merchant Venturers Building,Woodland Road, Clifton BS8
1UB, UK

[5] Katrina Sin and Loganathan Muthu,APPLICATION OF BIG DATA IN

EDUCATION DATA MINING AND LEARNING ANALYTICS – A