Internet hom control

system usin luetooth

by K. K. Tan and C.Y Soh

This paper presents the development of a systemfor controlling lionze electrical appliances over the Internet.
The needjw a physical conriection to the Internet is removed by usirig Bluetooth wireless technology to
provide a linkfrom the appliance to the Irrternet and the Wireless Application Protocol (WAF') to provide
a data link between the Internet and a mobile phone. The paper describes the hardware and software design
considerations offlie system and discusses possiblefntnre developments exploiting thelini and third
generation wireless techriologies.

0
ne of mankind's greatest dreanls has always
been to have an intelligent home, such as
those depicted in the Hollywood movies
Jctsons and Bark E The Future 11. The
obvious benefits of convenience and conlfort brought
by home automation, as well as the possibilities for
remote operation ofday-to-day home processes such as
gardening and pet feeding, have fuelled the
development of such system over the past decade.
Home automation' involves the use of nucro-
processor-based intehgence to integrate or control
electronic products and systems in the home. These
products and systems include ' floodlight?, coffee
makers,' computers, security systems, heating and
cooling system, lighting control system?, and
audiohide0 (home theatre) systems.
The home automation conmiunity is striving to
develop a technical standard-in the form ofa chip that
can he built into home elecmnics-that d facilitate
intercom~nutucation between devices throughout an
entire house. The oldest standard is X102.The SMART
HOUSE' standard has been utihsed for years, hut in a
limited fashion because of the proprietary nature of the
technology. Other, more open protocols under
discussion include the Consumer Electronics Bus
(CEBus') and the LonWorks systemspan open,
networked automation and control solution for the
building, industrial equipment, transportation, and
home markets. Based on physical transceivers and
application layer software, LonWorks nodes can he
connected to multiple types ofniedia; twisted-wire pair
and power lines are among the niost conmion.
Although there are many home networks already in
existence, and new protocols for wired networks such as
Siinple Conml Protocol (SCP) and the HomePlug
I'owerline technologes arc emerging,to-date no industry
standard ha? prevailed. T h s h z probably acted as a major
disiiicentive to home ownen to h e s t in inihrmctu~.

thermostat

television

dimmer SwnCh

ceiling light

Wll&SS
network

Fig. 1 Hardware interaction

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 0 ' 0 0
-- ---
- - embedded
I SlgnalS to
I Switch appliance
I on or on
Wiring up an entire house (whether new or old) with
twisted-wire pain involves making a big decision. A
wireless (infra-red or radio fiequency) solution is
pmbably more easiiy adoptable.
This paper addresses the control of a home network
through a wireles medium by exploiting the emerging
wireless technologies of Bluetooth and Wirelrss
Application Protocol (WAP). There are reasom for
adoptinga wireless approach apart From ensuring that the
system will he able to work in most existing homes with
nunimum modifications and these will be elaborated
in the following sections. An overview of other
WAl-over-Bluetooth applications can be found in
Reference 6.
Bluetooth and WAP
Bluetooth*' refers to a new ndio technology, expected
to be delivered commercially in hulk h m 2002, which
promises to change sigdcandy the way machines are
used. It is a small-forn-factor, low~-costtechnology that
provides low-power, short-range (up to 1Oni) links
between mobile PCs, cell phones, printers or other
devices arranged in ad hoc 'piconetq' of up to eight
devices. It operates in the 2.4GHz band and uses a
frequency hopping (FH) scheme.
Conceived initially by Ericsson, the Bluetooth
standard has been adopted by many conipanies world-
wide. A Bluetooth clup is designed to replace cables by
talang the information normdly carried by the cable and
trammining it at a special frrquency to a receiver
Bluetooth chip, which will then give the information
received to the computer, phone, etc.
Interest in Bluetooth has been increasingover last few
years and consumers may expect to encounter an
abundance of Bluetooth-enabled products as many
companies have invested in this technolog. Companies
such a Toshiba and Sony are planning to build
*'Bluetooth' 15 rhc Englirh name for thc Danish Viking King
Hanld Blbrand, who lived in rhc latier part of the 10th century
Harald Ullrarid unircd and cunrrollrd Ilcnmark 2nd Noway
Similarly die Biuctooth radio technology i s intended to unite
devices.
ENGINEEKING SCIENCE AND EDUCATION JOURNAL AUGUST 2002
127
Fig. 2 Hardware
connectivity within the
' Bluetooth network
Bluetooth into most of the products they manufacture,
includng consumer electrical home appliances, for
example toasters, video recorders and nucmwave ovens.
Much of the effotr expended around the Bluetooth
technology is aimed at promoting interoperability To
this end the Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has
produced over 400 pages ofproues (publishedas volume
2 of the version 1.1 specification)'. Cross-platform,
cross-vendor interoperability is a goal shared by many
vendors and is a fuudamental objective ofthe technology
as it will allow future home appliances manufactured by
different vendors to talk to each other, thus making the
integration of the appliances into a home automation
system @oweredby Bluetooth) a seamless process.
Bluetooth is a sinipler technoloby than any of the
variants ofthr popular IEEE 802.1 1 standard for wireless
local-area networks. By 'simpler' is nieant here fewer
and/or less-demanding RF semiconductor chips, fewer
passive coniponents arid less complex dgital baseband
chips. Over the next few years it looks 3s if the bdl of
materials (UOM)for a Uluetooth system will be halfthat
of an equivalent IEEE 802.11 system. As more
companies adopt Bluetooth in their product5, the price
of Bluetooth chips is e*pected to drop further.
In view of its cost advantage and greater popularity
amongst home appliance manufactures, Bluetooth was
the candidate identified for the wireless control network
used in the work described in this paper.
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open,
global spechcation that enables users easily and
instantaneously to access and interact with information
and services through mobile wireless devices. In the
work described in this article we have used it for long-
m g e conlmunication between a user at a remote
location and a Bluetooth network in the user's home by
leveraging on the Internet revolution.
System architecture
The hardware needed for our home control systern is
shown in Fig. 1. A Pentium 111 450MHz personal
computer with 192 Mbytes ofmemory is linked to the
Internet by a broadband connection or a modeni. The
Fig. 3 Switching circuit
for controlling AC power

triac
switch
MOC3010
220 V AC

host computer operates on a RedHat 6.2 platform with

an upgraded version 2.4.2 kernel.
The hardware connectivity within the back-end
Bluetooth network, or piconet, is shown in Fig. 2.
Other hardware consideration3
Preferably the home automation system should be
backwards compatible with existing home appliances
that are not Bluetooth enabled. To achieve this, an
external Bluetooth-enabled device has to be wired to
the conventional home appliance in order to integrate
it into the system.
As a pilot system, a simple Bluetooth-enabled
switching device has been constructed to facilirate the
switching on and off of conventional appliances.
Fig. 3 shows the circuit of this device (Fig. 4), which
may be controlled by a PC or via an embedded
Bluetooth-enabled system. A 5 V signal at the input of
Fig. 4 The switching device the MOC3010 optoisolator d turn on the triac,
hence switching on the appliance; a ground signal will
switch off the appliance.
The power to a home appliance can be controlled by
plugging its power leads into the socket of the device,
as shown in Fig. 5. Thus existing appliances as well as
future Bluetooth-enabled apphcances can be part ofthe
home automation network.

Software implementation details

The software architecture is shown in Fig. 6. It is

essentially made up of two subsystem-the hnt-end
graphical user interface (CUI) on the niobile phone and
the back-end Bluetooth powered automation system-
which interact with each other through WN.

Front-end CUI

The hnt-end graphical user interface is implemented

Fig. 5 An electric kettle being controlled by the switching
device using Wireless Markup Language (WML), a markup

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Fig. 6 Interaction of the subsystem software

language based on XML (Extensible Markup
Language)'. The official WML specification is devel-
oped and maintained by the WAP Forum, an industry-
wide consortium founded by Nokia, Phone.com,
Motorola, and Ericsson. This specification defines the
syntax, variables, and elements used in a valid WML
file. A valid WML document must correspond to the
specification or it cannot be processed.
The user interface allows user input h m the phone
keypads using input fielh and presents data in the form
of static text, tables, hyperlinks and monochrome
images. Fig. 7 shows the user interface on a WAP phone.
devices and acts as the bridge for conmiunication
between the individual Bluetooth devices.
In addition, the host computer also rum a Web service
provided by Apache 1.3.12 that coma with the RedHat
6.2 distribution. The Web service facilitates Web access,
connecting the WAE' phone user from a remote location
to the Bluetooth network back at home.
Slave device system: The slave device in our work is the
switching device shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The system
controls the switching circuit, and hence the electrical
appliance, by providing a 0 or 5 V signal according to
commands h m the users.

Back-end sysfem

In a typical Bluetooth network, or piconet, R F

connections are established between a master device,
which controls the network, and up to a maximum of
seven active slave devices, which communicate with
the master when permitted. Slave devices do not
communicate with one another directly.
Master device system: The master device in our piconet
is the personal computer that functions as a server and
w h c h has a Bluetooth module wired to it via a serial
cable. It pmvides critical information related to SeNiCeS
that are active, on the Bluetooth devices. Essentially, it i
handles all connections b m the client Bluetooth Fig. 7 The GUI displayed on a Siemens WAP phone

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Fig. 8 Screenshot of an authenticationprocess on a WAP
phone
Operational principles
Back-end connections
The Bluetooth application that we have developed
resides on top of the host stack and uses the protocol
components malang up the stack to establish
connections between the master and slave devices.
The application program communicates with the
stack using function calls and the stack communicates
with the former using event triggers. In establishing the
connection, the program perform the steps outlined
below:
Inquiry: After initialising all the necessary components
in the stack, the client Bluetooth device begins a 'device
discovery' (or inquiry). When it conies to within
amund lOnr of thc master device it determines the
addresses of other Bluetooth devices in its vicinity as
well as their capability using the class of device (COD)
information. The client device does h s by repetitively
transmittingINQUIRY packets. Other devices wishing
to reveal their presence within a 10m service area
respond with messages containing their unique address,
as well as illformation indcating the seMces they
A
authenucallon
Fig. 9 The authentication process
ENGINEERING SCIENCE AND EDUCATIONJOURNAL
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support and the attributes of these services.
Service search: Upon obtaining the Bluetooth address
of the master devicr in its vicinity the client device
searches the service discovery server ofthe master to get
information about the services offered. Important
information presented to the client includes not only
the services offerrd but also the way that the client must
establish a connection. In our work, a connection will
be made by an emulated serial link.
Eniulated serial comertion: Armed with the necessary
information, the client attempts to access the server,
which it does by senmng a connection request to
establish a connection. The connection is established
upon acknowledgment from the server.
Point-to-point protocol: Next, the Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP) is activated by the application program
to facilitate the use of TCP/IP (Transmission Control
Protocol/lnternet Protocol) components. The server,
in this application, assumes the IP address of
192.168.65.1, which resides in the band of class C
private IP addresses"'. The IP address of the client is
assigned by the server. The application, running on
TCP/IP and on the corresponding sewer node, can
now be started and used.
Application Layer: Next, the application on the client
connects to the server on TCP/IP and initialises a
service database with information on the service
provided by the device and the commands it accepts.
For the switching device in our work, the conunands
'switch:l', 'switch:2' and 'switch:3' will switch on,
switch off and display the power status of the electrical
appliance, respectively
Security
O n the client side, a user begins a session with the
home automation system by logging into the system
(Fig. 8).
Since the Internet is a public network, security
measures have to be used to protect the back-end home
automation system from unauthorised access. It would
be catastrophic if an unauthorised user could access the
system illegally and do things like opening the door of
the house.
The WAP specifications do not include a basic
AUGUST mnz
authentication scheme like that of HTTI? As a result,
security in the system is provided by verifying
information about the users and their passwords stored
in a Microsoft Access database on the host computer
through ODBC (Open Database Connectivity), see
Fig. 9. I
CCI program
CGI (Common Gateway Interface) is used to run
an application on the host coniputer and to form
connections to the Bluetooth devices. For our control
application we have written the CGI program in the
PEKL language. Having S U C C C S S ~ ~ Ilogged
~~Y on to the
system, the CGI program telnets* to the application
program server. A command is issued to the server,
requesting it to search for all Bluetooth devices that
are connected to the system. The names ofthe devices
together with the services they provide are fed back
to the client WAP browser (see Fig. 10). When a
device to he connected to is selected, a menu of the Fig. 10 Screenshot of a WAP interface showing the
devices connected
functions that can be executed on that device is
displayed on the graphical user interface, as shown in
Fig. 11.
Besides acting as a bridge between the WAP phone
user and the back-end Bluetooth devices, the CGI
program also has a certain amount of built-in
intelligence. Upon receiving data fiom a Bluetooth
device, the CGI program WIU parse the data and
recognise any commands embedded in it. The
commands are converted into hyperlinks for
presentation to the user. This enables the user to
control the device without actually keying in
conmunds. Instead, a click on the hyperlink enables
thr user to switch the electrical appliance on or off.

On-demand WAP service

A dial-in server is a host cquipped with a modem and
phone line that allows clients to call in and connect to
it. There are several reasons 3 person nught want to do
this, e.g. to use the resources on the did-in server, or,
if the dial-in server is on a network, to use the dial-in
server to access the network.
We wanted our home automation system to be
avallablr to a wide nnge of users and not just to a small
group of usen having broadband access in their homes.
Hence, the host computer was configured as a dial-in
server, as in Reference 11. A GSM (Global System for
Mobile connnunicationr) modem is connected to the
host on conmunications port 2, through which it
receives data calls 6-om mobile phones and establishes a
PPP connection with them.
The last component needed to allow a WAP phone
user to access the system via dial-up is the WAP
’gateway’ or server. Gateways are pruxies that do
compression before serving them to a hand-held
device. Depending on the vmdor, gateways can have a
variety of enhancements beyond this basic
functionality The trend is for WAP server products to
additionally offer scripting and Java servlet support.
‘Tclnet is a tcrmiod emulation pmgiam for TCP/II’ networks.
Fig. 11 Screenshot of functions supported by the
switching device
Evaluationof the system
WAP emulators that model mobile phones such as the
Siemens SL45, No!& 6210, Nokia 7110, Motorola
Talkahout T2288 and Ericsson R380 have been used
to test the system, which can be accessed and controlled
using all these WAF’ simulators. In addition, a Web-
based WAP simulator from a US-based web site has
been included in the test so as to evaluate the system3
response outside Singapore.
A system based on the Internet can exploit its ever-
changing technologies but at the same time is
subject to its linutations. Internet delay caused by
unpredictable network traffic is the number one
problem facing Internet applications. The local WAP
simulators responded alniost instantaneously whereas

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their Web-based counterpart was a few seconds slower;
nonetheless, the delay was still acceptable.
In adhtion to meeting or exceeding the capabilities
ofconventional home automation system running over
wires, the system presented here is fully wireles. Home
appliances can easily be integrated into the system 3s
there is no need for any retrofitting of the house.
Future trends
The work reported in this paper represents a small but
significant step in the evolution of Internet-based
home automation systems. Although our pilot system
merely switches electrical appliances on or off, it
could be extended to control the speed of a fan, to
control remotely a video recorder or to perform many
other functions by Bluetooth-enabling existing home
appliances as was done with the switching device
described in this paper. This will involve more work
and it may be necessary to use analogue signals.
However, increasing adoption of the Bluetooth
standard among home appliance manufacturers in the
near hture will reduce the amount of work needed
to provide control of appliances in the home network
and interoperability will be guaranteed by the
Bluetooth standard. All that will be requircd will be a
host computer that issues commands specified in its
profile to control the Bluetooth-enabled devices.
Jini
Being a connectivity tool, Bluetooth technology
can provide the physical medium for other emerging
technologies that will enhance the service of home
automation systems. One such technology is Sun
Microsystem's Jini technologyI2. The Jini system is a
network-centric technology that assumes and
requires that the communication between a client and
the services used by that client is accomplished
through a Java interface. Therefore when a device is
needed, it is plugged into the network and Jini
downloads the information needed to connect it. As
a result, a device A can communicate with a device B
that it has never before encountered without a human
having to install the required drivers for B. This non-
protocol based methodology is a new approach in
distributed computing.
One day all of our digital devices will be able to
communicate easily with one another. For example, a
kidge in the home network will automatically
synchronisewith the host computer. Should there be a
shortage of certain groceries, the fridge will alert the
host computer, which will link this information to a
grocery distributor via the Internet. The union of
Bluetooth andJini promises to enable all this and more.
3G networks
The wireless world is undergoing another
revolution with the imuunent introduction of 3rd
generation (3G) wireless technology" based on
wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA).
ENGINEERING SCIENCE A N D EDUCATIONJOURNAL AUGUST 2002
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This should provide a more sophisticated and diverse
range of services than ever before offered. For
example a mobile phone could be used 3s if it were a
camera, video camera, computer, stereo and radio all
rolled into one. Fbch media information wdl be at
our fingertips whenever it is needed as long as we are
within range of a wireless network.
Thc wider bandwidth provided by the 3G network
will allow large amounts of information to be
transmitted across the wireless Internet at a faster
speed. This will makes wireless Internet a very
favourable medium for control in many areas in the
future. For instance, live video images of the home
could be streamed over the network onto the mobile
phone. This would allow users to monitor what was
happening at home and take the concept of the
Internet-based smart home to a new level of
sophistication.
Conclusion
This paper has presented the development of a Web-
based home automation system that provides simple
on-off control and monitoring from a remote
location using a WAP phone. The pilot set-up could
be extended to many other ways of controlling home
appliances. The connection of appliances to the
Internet opens the door to many creative ways of
enhancing the quality of our lives through convenient
and flexible control and co-ordination of these
appliances. We anticipate that our system will be able
to work in conjunction with other existing
technologies in the near future.
References
1 See l , t t p : / / w w w a l b a n y n r t / ~ ~ E ~ ~ ~ l / a(Audio
vc/ Vidco
Connection Web site)
2 'What is XlO!'. See h t r p : / / s m a r t h o m r . c o * ~ / ~ h ~ " ~ l O . h ~
3 See http://www.smart-hourecom/ (Smart House Inc.)
4 See http://wwwcebus.org/ (CEBur Industry Council Inc.)
5 See http://wwwechelon.corn/ (Echelon Corp.)
6 HARTWIG, S., RAUTENBERC, T., SIMMER, M.,
TEMOVIC, D., and VAN BEBBER, A,: 'WAP over
Bluctooth technology and applications'. Proc. ICCE Int.
Conf on Consumer Electronics, Lor Angrlrr, CA, USA,
19th-2lrtJune 2001, pp.12-13 (IEEE, 2001)
7 See http://~.bluetooth.com (the official Bluetooth
Web rite)
8 'Bluetooth specification'. See hrtp://~.bluetaoth.com/
dev/rpecificarions.ap (Huetooth SIG)
9 'Extensible Markup Language'. See http://\nuww3.arg/
XML/
10 'RFC1918. See ftp://ftp.iri.edu/in.notes/*cl918.~t
11 GENTRY, JOSH: 'Lmux di&n S C W ~ T setup guide'. See
http://~.swcp.com/-jgenny/pers.html
12 lini technology'. Sec http://\n\?YJini.org/
13 'Third generation mobile telephony'. See http://
\\Ruwerics~ron.com/technoloW/3G.rhnlll
QIEE: 2002
The authors are with the Dcpartnient of Electrical and
Computer Engineering, National Univrrriry of Singpopore,
4 Engineering Drive 3, Singpore 117576.