A ZIGBEE-BASED HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEM USING PIC

MICROCONTROLLER

BY

JOSEPH AKOL DENG

17/258/BSEE_J

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING IN PARTIAL
FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE AWARD OF A BACHELOR OF
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
DEGREE OF INTERNATIONAL
UNIVERSITY OF
EAST AFRICA

©SEPTEMBER 2021
 DECLARATION

I JOSEPH AKOL DENG the undersigned do hereby declare to the best of my knowledge that
the research dissertation submitted for the award of a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree
is my original work and the project has not formed the basis of the awards of any degree,
associateship, fellowship or any other similar titles.

The concerns of this report are intension to present an account of the activities that transpired
during my research at the station. I, the author claim responsibility and apologize for all the
incurrence that may appear.

Joseph Akol Deng

17/258/BSEE_J

Signature

………………………………………………………

Date

……………………………………………………….

i
 APPROVAL

This piece of work has been read, approved and closely monitored by;

Signature…………………………………...Date………………………………

Dr. JOSEPH KIMBOWA

Supervisor

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EAST AFRICA

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 LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1- 1: Complete working structure of home automation.....................................................10

Figure 1- 2: Conceptual Architecture Overview...........................................................................11
Figure 1- 3: Zigbee Home Automation Architecture....................................................................13
Figure 1- 4: System Implementation.............................................................................................16
Figure 1- 5: Home Gateway..........................................................................................................18
Figure 1- 6: Virtual Home Flow Chart..........................................................................................20
Figure 1- 7: (a) ZigBee operated light bulb in the off state; (b) ZigBee based automatic radiator
valve; (c) ZigBee safety sensor......................................................................................................21
Figure 1- 8: Radiator Valve Replacement.....................................................................................24
Figure 1- 9: Set Temperature and Measured Temperature............................................................25

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 LIST OF TABLES

Table 1- 1: ZigBee and wi-fi controller access delay....................................................................23

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 ABSTRACT

Industrial automations rely heavily on power systems and necessitate distance-controlled and
regulated systems. Wireless technology that balances cost, speed, and distance will always be a
study topic of interest. Using ZigBee technology, this study presents a microcontroller-based
wireless remote control for electric system parameters such as voltage and current. The PIC
controller is widely used because it has a large number of peripherals, allowing various devices
to be easily interfaced. It is also inexpensive and simple to assemble and program. The devices
are controlled by the PIC controller, which communicates sensor values to the PC via the ZigBee
module. Although Bluetooth has a faster transfer rate than ZigBee, ZigBee uses less electricity.
As a result, ZigBee is commonly used to monitor communication transmission systems 24 hours
a day, seven days a week. The ZigBee protocol is used as the communication channel between
the transmitter and receiver modules, which is its fundamental characteristic. It demonstrates
how effectively the new ZigBee standard functions in industrial settings.

Keywords – Microcontroller; wireless control network; ZigBee.

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

DECLARATION........................................................................................................................................i
APPROVAL..............................................................................................................................................ii
LIST OF FIGURES.................................................................................................................................iii
LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................................iv
ABSTRACT...............................................................................................................................................v
TABLE OF CONTENTS.........................................................................................................................vi
CHAPTER ONE........................................................................................................................................1
INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................................1
1.0 Introduction...................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background of the study...............................................................................................................2
CHAPTER TWO.......................................................................................................................................6
LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................................................6
2.0 Introduction...................................................................................................................................6
2.1 Existing Home Automation Technologies....................................................................................6
2.2 Analysis of the Existing Systems...................................................................................................8
2.3 Features of the proposed System..................................................................................................9
2.4 Related Work.................................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER THREE.................................................................................................................................11
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................................................11
3.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................11
3.2 Used Design Approach................................................................................................................11
3.3 System Architecture....................................................................................................................12
CHAPTER FOUR...................................................................................................................................18
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION............................................................................................................18
4.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................18
CHAPTER FIVE.....................................................................................................................................25
RESULTS, DISCUSSION, AND CONCLUSIONS..............................................................................25

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5.1 Introduction.................................................................................................................................25
5.2 Conclusions..................................................................................................................................28
REFERENCES........................................................................................................................................29

vii
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.0 Introduction

In recent years the introduction of network enabled devices into the home environment has
proceeded at an unprecedented rate. Moreover, with the rapid expansion of the Internet, there is
the potential for the remote control and monitoring of such network enabled devices. However,
the new and exciting opportunities to increase the connectivity of devices within the home for
the purpose of home automation remain largely unexploited.

By linking numerous sensors and devices to the PIC microcontroller and ZigBee modules with
the PIC controller for data transfer, the purpose of the article is to establish intelligent device
control and secure environmental working conditions. In our day-to-day lives, wireless-based
industrial automation is a major worry. Power systems are required for industrial automation,
which necessitates distance control and controlled systems. Wireless Control Networks (WCNs)
have transformed embedded system architecture and sparked a new wave of possible
applications. WSNs are predicted to benefit industrial automation in terms of speedier
installation and maintenance, cost savings, and easier plant reconfiguration, in addition to
building automation, environmental surveillance, and military operations. ZigBee is a new low-
power, short-range wireless network technology. In addition to power economy, timeliness, and
scalability, ZigBee has other potentially interesting qualities for supporting large-scale
ubiquitous computing applications.

It is apparent that standard wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth may be used on
the factory floor to manage the wireless transition. The problem is figuring out how to use
wireless solutions designed for IT applications as wired system replacements in time-critical
scenarios like those found on factory floors. To present, the majority of wireless systems in
production systems have been designed for applications that demand polling frequency of
seconds or greater. Technology standardization plays a significant part in the globalization of
these profile developments once again. ZigBee will be a suitable wireless interface approach due
to its standardized operational and network administration features. ZigBee also has low data

1
rates over a medium distance and AES encryption capabilities, which are again ensured for the
desired communication system.

1.1 Background of the study

Research into the intelligent home has been ongoing since the1980s. Casimir described and
predicted the possible technologies which may be involved in the exciting new home design
(C.S.Skrzypczak 1987). In Casimir’s description, some scenarios were used to present a brief
picture of what the intelligent home can be and what it can do. For instance, the home owner can
control the whole progress of pipe repair service in the office when the repair person comes to
the home during day time. Users can subscribe to electronic newspapers, which only contain the
news they are interested in. The author also identified two research areas which need to be
explored to improve home automation system. These are Informatics and Ergonomics. Due to
the high level of complexity and difficulty, which existed in the early days of the development of
the home electronics system, home automation products in the early days were not practical for
use. As defined by the famous Moore’s law (the capability of the computer hardware increases
doubly and meanwhile the cost reduces to approximately half), the continuously developing
technologies have contributed tremendously to realize home automation systems in the 1990s,
such as energy management units, security systems and lighting control systems etc. However,
the obstacle was that these systems can only be controlled individually, even those produced by
the same manufacturer. The cross-product compatibility and complete system integration were
still a problem. Technologies such as Power Line Bus, X-10, Consumer Electronic Bus, and
Infrared were proposed as possible solutions for integrating the system (C. Douligeris, 1993). In
the past few years, many innovative technologies such as Internet, WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, and
smart sensors have become mature and widely supported by the market. In particular, embedded
systems with microcontrollers are being used in most of the electronic appliances currently on
the market which provide a convenient opportunity for intelligent control. Through the
integration of relevant technologies, home automation systems can be properly designed for the
purpose of offering residents comfort and security.

2
Microcontroller

An embedded system is a set of computer hardware and software, as well as mechanical and
other components, that is designed to execute a certain task. Embedded systems are frequently a
component of larger, more complicated systems. Dedicated apps are implemented and embedded
in systems to carry out specialized tasks. These embedded apps must work in tandem with the
rest of the enclosed system's components. The majority of the time, embedded application
components interact with the non-human external world. They collect data from sensors or other
computer components on a continuous basis and process it within real-time restrictions.

Microcontrollers are "embedded" into another device (usually a consumer goods) to control the
product's features or activities. As a result, "embedded controller" is another name for a
microcontroller. Microcontrollers are committed to completing a single task and running a single
program. The program is stored in ROM and does not change in most cases. It's common for
them to be low-power gadgets.

About Zigbee

The ZigBee Alliance is a group of manufacturers dedicated to creating a networking technology

for small, ISM-band radios that could allow even the most basic industrial and household end
devices to connect wirelessly. The ZigBee specification was finished in December 2004, and
ZigBee-compatible products are only now starting to hit the market. ZigBee is a wireless mesh
technology that is supposed to be low-cost, low-power, and low-data rate. The ZigBee
specification distinguishes three types of ZigBee radio-enabled devices, all of which can be
found in a typical ZigBee network.

Basic Requirements of the home automation system

3
The basic functionality of a home automation system is home appliance. In general, the home
automation system should be capable of controlling those devices which can play important roles
in the daily life, such as light control system, heating system, garden irrigation system, home
security system and so on. Since different systems have different working styles, the use of home
automation system is to deliver users’ commands to the devices rather than create a universal
mechanism to take the place of the existing working procedure in the targeting system. Making
devices controllable is the fundamental purpose of home automation systems. Figure 1 shows the
typical relationship between home automation system and other home appliances. The home
automation system only gives instruction to “Turn On/Off” appliances without directly
intervening.

Figure 1: Relationship between the home automation system and home appliances

Intelligence

The term “intelligence” is achieved by adding additional functions to help the home automation
system decide how to control the appliances. This will be a little more complex than the
“On/Off” signal. Typical algorithms such as PID (proportional integral derivative) control and
machine state are the most commonly used. Fuzzy logic and neural network are rapidly
developed technologies being used for many intelligent control systems. Although intelligent
control algorithms have been studied for many years, they are not widely applied to home
automation systems because of the operating cost and limited hardware capacity. This problem is

4
being solved gradually as a result of the increased computing capability of MCU
(Microcontroller Unit) and DSP (Digital Signal Processing).

Independent Platform

The lack of system integration is a serious obstacle for the development of home automation
systems. Although manufacturers have produced efficient products and achieved satisfactory
results for specific applications, these products are still not able to integrate together to build a
complete system. One solution to the problem is to use an independent platform to establish a
bridge which can connect different home appliances and convert their status into a standard
format for the further processing. Figure 2 shows the principle of this platform.

Figure 2: Principle of the independent platform

The independent platform consists of two parts: transfer and signal conversion. The transfer part
is responsible for the communication between appliance and platform. The signal conversion
part is used to convert data into a standard format which can be understood by the home
appliances and the module for information processing. Then the home automation system will be
capable of dealing with several home appliances. Through the analysis, we have an
understanding that the home automation design is a process of system integration. Then the
home appliances can share information on an independent platform and also be managed.

5
 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction

To provide academic background and empirical support to this study, and also to make this work
comprehensive, the literature was reviewed under the following subheadings; Existing Home
Automation Technologies; Analysis of the Existing Systems; and Features of the proposed
System.

2.1 Existing Home Automation Technologies

In the literature, there are numerous definitions of home automation. Home automation is
defined by (K. Bromley, M. et al., 2003) as the introduction of technology into the home to
improve the quality of life of its occupants by providing services such as telehealth, multimedia
entertainment, and energy efficiency. The field of home automation has received a lot of
attention. The X10 industry standard, which was developed in 1975 for communication between
electronic equipment and provides limited control over household electronics through the home's
power lines, is the earliest standard identified in the author's review. Recently, academic research
into the topic of home automation has gotten a lot of interest. A Java-based home automation

6
system was developed by (A. R. Al-Ali and M. Al-Rousing 2004). An embedded board
physically connected all of the home automation devices and enabled remote access to the
system via integration with a PC-based web server. A safe solution is achieved by the use of Java
technology, which includes built-in network security capabilities. However, the system
necessitates a time-consuming and costly wired installation as well as the use of a high-end PC.
A Bluetooth-based home automation system, consisting of a central controller and a number of
Bluetooth sub-controllers, was introduced by (F. Tan et al., 2002). A local Bluetooth sub-
controller is physically attached to each home device. Wired communications are used to connect
the home gadgets to their respective sub-controllers. Wireless communications are used to send
all communications from the sub-controller to the major controller. A specialized Bluetooth
module for each home device is desirable. However, because Bluetooth technology is expensive,
a single module is shared by numerous devices. Through the use of wireless technology, this
architecture decreases the amount of physical cable required and hence the intrusiveness of the
installation. However, due to the inclusion of some wired connectivity, the architecture does not
totally remove the installation's intrusiveness. Furthermore, sharing a single Bluetooth module
among multiple devices has the drawback of causing an access latency. A phone-based remote
controller for home and office automation was introduced by (H. Ardam and I. Coskun, 1998).
The system is distinct in that all communications take place over a fixed phone line rather than
the Internet. Any phone that supports dual tone multiple frequency can be used to access the
system (DTMF). This method has three drawbacks: users do not have access to a graphical user
interface, they must remember an access code, and they must remember which buttons to press
to control linked devices. T. Baudel and M. Beaudouin-Lafon suggested a unique control
network based on hand gestures (T. Baudel and M. Beaudouin-Lafon 1993). Hand motions are
relayed to the system via a glove worn by the controller. The system's flaw is the inaccuracy of
hand gestures, which can lead to regular arm movements being mistakenly perceived as
instructions. Furthermore, if repetitive hand motions are required, the user may become fatigued.

The introduction gives a quick rundown of the current academic research on home automation.
The majority of publicly available home automation research is in the academic realm, with only
a small amount of industrial research available. The integration of home automation technologies
into commercial systems has been restricted, and consumer adoption has been gradual when it
has been made available.

7
The aforementioned systems aren't particularly interoperable. The development of home
gateways has attempted to provide network compatibility and remote access to home automation
devices. A home gateway, according to (J. Ami et al., 2000), is the point of entrance between a
personal area network and a public access network. They created a web server-based home
gateway to connect IEEE1394, a home automation system based on power lines, and the
Internet. A real-time AV transcoding feature was introduced to make the system more appealing
to house owners. The system provides an informative view into the construction of a house
gateway; however, the usage of power lines as a communication medium restricts device
placement within the home to regions near power outlets. Suzuki et al. (2003) presented a home
gateway focusing on energy management that connects the home network to the Internet. In the
Tokyo area, the system was installed in twenty homes. (S. Ok and H. Park 2006) suggested a
home gateway based on the OSGI (Open Service Gateway Initiative), which allows service
providers to administer and maintain home automation systems. There are two subsystems in the
proposed system. The DSM (Digital Home Service Distribution and Management System) is the
first of these, and it provides a user interface for controlling and monitoring linked home
automation equipment. The Home Gateway, on the other hand, is in charge of controlling the
home automation system. This open architecture creates privacy concerns that, for certain users,
may outweigh the benefits of allowing third-party access. (H. Kim et al., 2007) creates a home
gateway that accepts mobile phone signals and turns on or off an LED that represents a home
gadget.

These systems have made a substantial contribution to the creation of a home gateway; however,
while selecting networks for integration with the respective home gateways, the existing network
architecture within the home environment has not been taken into account. Furthermore, prior
research has mainly ignored exploring the integration of existing local networks, focusing
instead on the provision of remote connectivity.

2.2 Analysis of the Existing Systems

The adoption of home automation technology by consumers has been limited. I propose that,
from the home automation domain analysis, the problems limiting wide spread consumer
adoption can be grouped into five general categories. Firstly, complex and expensive

8
architecture: the existing systems architectures generally incorporate a personal computer for the
purposes of network management and provision of remote access. This adds additional
complexity to the system, hence increasing the overall fiscal expense. Secondly, intrusive
installation: the majority of systems require varying levels of physical wiring in their
architectures. This, in some cases, is due to the expense of the alternative wireless technologies.
Hence, these systems require intrusive and expensive installations. Thirdly, lack of network
interoperability: both home networks and the home automation systems which utilise them have
been developed and adopted in an unplanned and ad-hoc manner. This has led to a home
environment consisting of a complex maze of heterogeneous networks. These networks and the
systems that utilise them normally offer little interoperability; leading to three potential problems

• duplication of monitoring activities, due to lack of interoperability;

• the possibility of interference, between co-existing networks; and

• the potential for two simultaneous, autonomous actions on co-existing networks, interacting
and resulting in an undesirable outcome.
Fourthly, interface inflexibility: the existing systems offer varying approaches for users to
control and monitor the connected devices. However, this is normally limited to a single method
of control, which offers users limited flexibility. The systems which provide more than one
interface device normally provide different user interfaces and risk confusing users. Finally,
security and safety: the existing approaches have not focused on security and safety problems
that may arise from their implementation. Moreover, the systems that offer some degree of
security have neglected the problems with sharing information between devices produced by
multiple vendors for the purposes of establishing security.

2.3 Features of the proposed System

This research provides a revolutionary ZigBee-based home automation system that is self-
contained, low-cost, and versatile. The architecture is intended to reduce system complexity
while also lowering financial costs. As a result, the system tries to avoid using sophisticated and
expensive components like a high-end personal computer whenever possible. The system is
adaptable and extensible, allowing more home appliances from a variety of suppliers to be added

9
to the home network securely and safely with minimal effort. The system allows homeowners to
monitor and control linked items in their homes using a number of controls, including a ZigBee-
based remote control and any Java-enabled Wi-Fi device. Users can also use any Internet-
enabled device with Java capability to remotely monitor and control their home equipment. A
home gateway is used to provide for interoperability between heterogeneous networks and to
give a consistent user experience independent of the accessing device. All communications are
pre-processed in a virtual home before they are realized on the real home automation system.
Before being allowed to continue to their respective destinations, all communications are
examined for security and safety.

2.4 Related Work

Various researchers have commented on the research gap revealed in prior studies in the domain
of smart homes and smart buildings. This clearly identifies a study gap in existing studies in the
areas of smart homes, buildings, and surroundings. Unsecured user authentication and the device
registration system, which includes keeping track of signals between many transmitters, are two
major difficulties in smart environments. Other solutions have drawbacks include longer time
delays in turning on/off appliances, high costs, simply showing temperature, lack of secure
communication among connected devices, and security and user authentication. Restricted
management of light and device on/off, as well as limited GUI support for Symbian OS cell
phones, are further concerns; limited range (50–100 m).

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 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This section describes the conceptual design of a flexible and low-cost home automation
infrastructure.

3.2 Used Design Approach

In this study, a smart home automation system is described that allows the user to inspect and
adjust the status of electronic home appliances and the operating state of sensors. Electronic
equipment for lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning are examples of appliances.
This tool not only saves time but also provides energy-saving options by indicating which of
your home's devices consumes the most power. This energy-saving and cost-effective technology
can also be used in hotels and industrial/domestic settings. Even if you are on a journey far away
from home, you may stay in contact with your home thanks to the application's simple GUI icon-
based interface and notifications. The concept of automating regular installed household gadgets
is far less expensive than specific IP-based (RJ-45) (G. Chong et al., 2011) devices, delivering
originality and a solution that is affordable to middle-class families. The operation of the
suggested home automation system is represented in Figure 1-1. The user will be able to draw
the entire structure of his or her home utilizing an easy drag and drop interface on the admin side
of the app. The user begins by adding floors to the house, then selects any added floor to add

11
rooms to it. Following the selection of a room, the user will be able to add appliances and adjust
their placement in accordance with the actual construction of a home. Custom floors, rooms, and
devices can also be added to the interior structure of the house. After completing the setup of
home from the admin application user sync database in the form of JSON (G. F. Khan et. al.,
2013) to our server, when a user logs in using credentials, he will able to see the complete
structure of home the same as he made in the admin side as complete data are fetched from the
server and get updated using VOLLEY (G. F. Khan et. al., 2013) service after 30 sec. At the
main screen of the program, the user may view the number of total devices installed at home, and
the floor details are provided. Three more tabs can be found at the bottom of the program. The
second tab displays all of the sensor status information. The third tab shows the history of each
device's state, as well as the name of the user who changed it and when it happened. The logout
tab is the fourth tab in the application. Credentials are controlled using shared preferences, and
the data is preserved.

GSM module

Raspberry Pi board Smart home appliances

Smart phone user

Figure 1- 1: Complete working structure of home automation

Moreover, the SVM classifier is applied to classify the status of home appliances used in the
smart home automation system. It classifies the status of home appliances into two categories,
i.e., “ON” and “OFF” according to the use of these appliances. We have also compared the used
prediction model with other models and choose the best one. Furthermore, blockchain
technology is used to secure the whole communication and authentication between IoT devices
and users that request to make “ON” or “OFF” any home appliances. Blockchain technology also
ensures the security of data transfer between IoT devices, servers, applications, and users of the
smart home automation system.

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3.3 System Architecture

The home’s low data rate, control and monitoring needs are catered for using Zigbee. The
home’s high data rate needs, such as multimedia applications, are met by the Wi-Fi (IEEE
802.11g) standard.

A home gateway is implemented to provide interoperability between the heterogeneous Zigbee

and Wi-Fi networks, and facilitate local and remote control and monitoring over the home’s
devices. A virtual home is implemented for the provision of real time security and safety for the
home and its inhabitants.

Figure 1- 2: Conceptual Architecture Overview

As depicted in Figure 1-2, the proposed system consists primarily of four steps. Remote user can
access the system using the Internet. The remote user’s communications traverse the internet
until they reach the home network. They are then wirelessly transmitted to the Home Gateway
using the homes Wi-Fi network. The Home Gateway is integrated with a virtual home. These
communications are checked and processed by the home gateway and virtual home, as discussed
in greater detail later. This checking process involves communication with the home networks
coordinator, which is integrated with the home’s device database and contains the status of all
connected devices. Once checked the communications are sent to the real home automation

13
system and the respective device. Additionally, a local ZigBee based remote control can be used
to directly control connected devices.

(a) Residential Networks

As discussed, the proposed system architecture implements a ZigBee based home automation
network and a Wi-Fi based multimedia network. Alternative standards could have been
integrated with the home gateway. However, the use of Zigbee and Wi-Fi offers certain
advantages. Zigbee technology is designed to be used on applications that require low data rate,
low-cost, low power consumption, and two-way wireless communications. The Wi-Fi standard is
designed to provide relatively high data rate communications. Wi-Fi has the advantage of an
existing and wide spread presence in homes in the United Kingdom. The combination of Zigbee
and Wi-Fi technologies has the potential to provide a comprehensive home automation solution.

Zigbee technology

ZigBee is a radio frequency (RF) communications standard based on IEEE 802.15.4. Figure 2
depicts the general architecture of a Zigbee based home automation network. The Zigbee
coordinator is responsible for creating and maintaining the network. Each electronic device (i.e.,
Washing Machine, Television, Lamp etc) in the system is a Zigbee device managed by the
coordinator. All communication between devices propagates through the coordinator to the
destination device. The wireless nature of ZigBee helps overcome the intrusive installation
problem with the existing home automation systems identified earlier. The ZigBee standard
theoretically provides 250kbps data rate, and as 40kbps can meet the requirements of most
control systems, it is sufficient for controlling most home automation devices. The low
installation and running cost offered by ZigBee helps tackle the expensive and complex
architecture problems with existing home automation systems, as identified earlier.

Wi-Fi Technology

In the proposed system architecture, Wi-Fi is used for two primary purposes. Firstly, it is the
chosen communication standard for multimedia applications in the home. Secondly, it is used to
provide access to the home automation system from Wi-Fi enabled devices, as an alternative to

14
the Zigbee based local controller. This approach was taken because homes increasingly have Wi-
Fi networks and Wi-Fi enabled devices such as PDA’s and mobile phones. The additional cost of
a Zigbee based controller in these situations is unwarranted. Moreover, the high data rate nature
of Wi-Fi allows for greater flexibility in interface design. Wi-Fi implements the IEEE 802.11
standard and offers wireless networking through the use of radio frequency. There are different
versions of this protocol. The dominant protocol in use today is IEEE 802.11g, which operates in
the unlicensed 2.4 GHz band and provides a maximum raw data rate of 54 Mbps.

Figure 1- 3: Zigbee Home Automation Architecture

The use of Wi-Fi offers several advantages over alternative technologies. The Wi-Fi standard is
more established in homes in the UK than alternatives such as Bluetooth as a wireless home
networking technology. The result is less equipment expense for the consumer, and the use of a
technology users are familiar with.

Network Coexistence Heterogeneous and homogenous home networks may coexist with each
other in the same environment. The problem of interference between these networks increases as
more and more standards emerge which use the same communication mediums. The interference
problems between the possible standards have been investigated. (A. Lakas et al., 2006)
researched the coexistence of Zigbee, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi. The three protocols use the same 2.4
GHz ISM band. It was found that Zigbee interference has an insignificant effect on Wi-Fi
throughput. The effect of Wi-Fi on Zigbee throughput is a 10% reduction in throughput, which
provides an operational solution. The experiment was repeated using Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The
results showed a significant reduction in Wi-Fi throughput and Bluetooth throughput. It can be
concluded that the use of the unlicensed part of the wireless spectrum by Zigbee causes
interference problems. Technologies such as Bluetooth, microwave ovens and cordless

15
telephones can cause interference with Zigbee (Jennic 2007). However, Zigbee and Wi-Fi can
exist together with less interference problems than alternative technologies currently available,
hence offering the best combination available for use in our purposed architecture.

(b) Home Gateway

The home gateway, as depicted in Figure 1-3, is charged with providing interoperability between
different connecting networks. The home gateway provides two primary functions for the
proposed architecture. Firstly, the home gateway provides data translation services between the
Internet, Wi-Fi, and ZigBee networks. Secondly, the home gateway provides a standardized user
interface for devices connecting to the ZigBee home network, remotely using the Internet or
locally using the Wi-Fi network. The home gateway does not provide a standardized interface for
the local ZigBee remote control (See Figure 1-3). This decision was made to provide greater
freedom for interface design and avoid limitations that have to be taken into consideration in the
design of the low data rate, low power ZigBee remote control interface. Although, as depicted,
the close cooperation between the home gateway and device database allows for the real time
control and monitoring of all home devices, regardless of the access device and network used.
The home gateway is implemented in the system architecture to overcome the problem of
insufficient network interoperability, identified in existing home automation approaches.
Moreover, the proposed approach looks at the existing network structure within the home
environment and integrates networks which are predominantly established in the existing home
environment. Additionally, the home gateway reduces the inflexibility in the control modes of
existing home automation systems; this is undertaken through the prevision of manual, local and
remote control. Furthermore, the interface of the controlling devices is standardized across the
control modes.

(c) Virtual Home

The virtual home, as depicted in Figure 1-3, is responsible for the administration of security and
safety for the home automation system. The virtual home, as the name suggests, is a virtual
environment where the actions requested by users are checked. For the purposes of security, all
the messages received by the virtual home are checked by authenticating the senders, checking

16
the integrity of the messages to ensure they have not been tampered with, and protecting the
confidentiality of messages through the use of encryption. The system’s safety is protected by
ensuring the commands received are appropriate for the respective home network and that all
changes requested fall within the specified safety limits. The primary objective of the virtual
home is to prevent any event that may pose a security or safety concern from implementation in
the home networks. The virtual home is included in the proposed architecture to tackle the
security and safety problems.

(d) Device Engine

The home automation system is designed to be flexible, allowing different devices designed by
multiple vendors to be connected. Each device incorporates a dedicated engine, responsible for
providing the necessary application functionality and ZigBee network connectivity. Moreover,
each device engine may contain dedicated security and safety measures. Critical devices should
check all requested operations to ensure that they will not result in an undesirable outcome.
Furthermore, collaboration with the virtual home should provide the necessary information to
facilitate secure communications.

17
 CHAPTER FOUR
SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION

4.1 Introduction

The proposed system's implementation is depicted in Figure 1-4. For the monitoring and control
of household gadgets, a ZigBee-based home automation system is used, as shown. A Wi-Fi
network is installed to meet the household's high data rate needs, such as multimedia
entertainment. Interoperability between these networks has been achieved through the
development of a home gateway. Users can access home networks both locally and remotely
through the home gateway's unified interface. The construction of the previously stated virtual
house on the home gateway ensures the security and safety of the home automation network.

18
Figure 1- 4: System Implementation

To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system four devices, a light
switch, radiator valve, safety sensor and ZigBee remote controller have been developed and
integrated with the home automation system. This section provides a thorough discussion of the
system implementation.

(a) ZigBee Home Automation Network

A coordinator, routers, and many end devices make up the ZigBee home automation network.
The coordinator is in charge of getting the ZigBee network up and running. The coordinator
analyzes the available radio channels during the network initialization phase to determine the
best one. In order to reduce interference, this will usually be the channel with the least activity. It
is possible to limit the channels searched, for example, by omitting the frequency ranges used by
the proposed Wi-Fi network. However, our tests have revealed that scanning all accessible
channels takes an average of 9 seconds (to the nearest second). This scan time is quite short, and
given how infrequently the home coordinator is activated, it is a reasonable delay when
compared to the performance boost available by using a channel with less interference. The PAN
ID (Personal Area Network Identifier) is preprogrammed into the coordinator, although it is
possible for the coordinator to dynamically search for existing network PAN IDs at the same
frequency and construct a PAN ID that does not conflict. A fixed 64-bit MAC address is
assigned to all home devices linked to the ZigBee home automation network. A dynamic 16-bit

19
short address is also assigned to each device, which is fixed for the lifetime of the network. The
coordinator sets itself the short address 0x0000 at this point in the network's setup. After the
startup phase, the coordinator enters "coordinator mode," where it waits for requests to join the
network from ZigBee devices. A light switch, radiator valve, safety sensor, and ZigBee remote
control are among the ZigBee devices developed for the home network, as previously indicated.
These devices are equipped with a ZigBee end node. During the initialization stage of each
device, the node looks for available channels to choose which network it wishes to join. Multiple
networks might exist in the same channel, and these networks are usually identified by their PAN
ID. Based on the PAN ID, the node decides which network to join. To join the network, the node
sends a request to the network coordinator. The request is transmitted directly to the coordinator
or via a neighboring router on the desired network that the node shares the best signal with.
When the coordinator receives the request, he or she determines if the requesting device is
allowed to connect to the home automation network. Most ZigBee networks utilize a standard
approach that prohibits illegal devices from entering the network by allowing them to join for a
brief amount of time set by the user. This, in our opinion, does not provide enough network
security on its own. To improve system security, the proposed solution uses a private key to
encrypt all device communications, including requests to join the home network. Only those
devices that have the correct private key can connect to the home network successfully. The
network coordinator keeps track of the devices that are allowed to join the network in the device
database. The ZigBee home automation network has a partially linked mesh architecture. The
benefit of expanded communication routes accessible through the deployment of a mesh
topology overcomes the added routing complexity in the residential setting, where
communication interference is continually shifting.

(b) Wi-Fi Network The homes

Wi-Fi network was implemented through a standard Wireless (802.11b and 802.11g) ADSL
Modem Router, with a 4-port switch. The modem provides two primary functions. Firstly, the
modem provides the connection between the Internet and local Wi-Fi network; hence extending
access to the Wi-Fi enabled home gateway to any location with Internet access. Secondly, any
local Wi-Fi enabled device within range of the home’s Wi-Fi network can directly access the
home gateway. This provides a low-cost communication method with the home network,

20
reduced infrastructure costs where Wi-Fi devices are already in use. Moreover, home owners can
monitor and control the home automation network, using familiar technology and devices.

(c) Home Gateway

A thorough review of existing home gateway technologies revealed that no off-the-shelf solution
exists that provides the functionality specified in the requirements for the home gateway, as
previously discussed. This included the provision of interoperability between the Internet, Wi-Fi
and ZigBee networks. Hence, it was necessary to develop a bespoke home gateway, as shown in
Figure 1-5 below. The home gateway consists of a Wi-Fi module, a ZigBee Microcontroller and
a power supply. The Wi-Fi module provides low cost and embedded serial to Wi-Fi connectivity.
The ZigBee Microcontroller provides the connection to the ZigBee network. The Wi-Fi module
connects to the home’s local Wi-Fi network and the ZigBee microcontroller connects to the
ZigBee home network as an end device. The home gateway once started enters the configuration
stage. During the configuration stage the embedded Wi-Fi module establishes a connection with
a local Wi-Fi network.

Figure 1- 5: Home Gateway

The parameters for the Wi-Fi connection such as network SSID and security parameters are
preconfigured. Simultaneously, the ZigBee microcontroller searches for a ZigBee home network
and, as discussed, establishes a connection. As with the Wi-Fi module, the ZigBee
microcontroller’s connection parameters are preconfigured. This concludes the configuration
stage. Once the home gateway has been initialized, an idle state is entered into until input is
received. Input can originate from both the Wi-Fi network for input to the ZigBee network, or

21
conversely from the ZigBee network for output to the Wi-Fi network. Input from the Wi-Fi
network normally takes the form of commands from user interface devices. The input from the
ZigBee network normally takes the form of responses to commands received earlier from user
interface devices.

(d) Virtual Home

The virtual home is a software construct developed in C. The virtual home is implemented on the
home gateway. All communication and instructions are checked, as illustrated in Figure 1-6
below, for security and safety, in the virtual environment, before implementation in the real
home environment. The virtual home waits for input from an external source. All devices on the
ZigBee network incorporate the ZigBee microcontroller and a dedicated AES Coprocessor.
Sensitive communications on the home network are encrypted. Hence, the message payload of
sensitive communications received by the virtual home from legitimate sources will be encrypted
with a valid symmetric key. Once the security of messages has been established, the virtual home
checks the safety implications of the messages. After decryption the destination device address is
extracted from the message and checked in the device database for its existence. Once the
device’s existence on the network has been established, the command and parameters included in
the message are extracted. The existence of the command for the respective device is checked to
ensure the real device offers the requested functionality. The extracted parameters are compared
against predefined safe ranges for the respective device and command. Only after the message
has been processed by the virtual home algorithm for security and safety and declared safe is the
message is re-encrypted and forwarded to the real home network device.

(e) User Interface Devices

To evaluate the effectiveness of the system architecture for the provision of easy to implement,
and flexible modes of control; three control modes were developed.

22
Figure 1- 6: Virtual Home Flow Chart

ZigBee Remote Control: A low cost, simple-to-use remote controller, for the local monitoring
and control of devices was developed. The controller board includes a ZigBee microcontroller,
LCD display, four push button switches, and is powered by four AA batteries. Instructions from
the remote control traverse the home network until received by the destination device.

Remote Access Device and Wi-Fi Remote Control: A standard mobile phone with built in
support for Wi-Fi and J2ME was used to access and control the system. While locally accessing
the system the mobile used Wi-Fi to freely access and control the system. When a Wi-Fi
connection was not available the mobile established an Internet connection to access and control

23
the system. In both scenarios the instructions sent from the mobile phone are received by the
home gateway, which translates the communication and forwards it to the virtual home, as
discussed, before being sent to the destination device.

(f) Home Automation Devices

To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system three devices; a light
switch, radiator valve, and safety sensor, were developed. These devices are depicted in figures
1-7 (a), (b), and (c) respectively.

a. b. c.
Figure 1- 7: (a) ZigBee operated light bulb in the off state; (b) ZigBee based automatic radiator
valve; (c) ZigBee safety sensor.

Light Switch: A conventional light switch was integrated with a ZigBee microcontroller, as
shown in Figure 1-7 (a). In this prototype the user could access the light switch, detect the lights
current state (“On” or “Off”), and adjust the state accordingly.

Radiator Valve: A prototype automatic radiator valve was developed and integrated with a
ZigBee microcontroller, as shown in Figure 1-7 (b). The valve can be manually controlled as are
conventional valves, but also remotely monitored and controlled.

Safety Sensor: The safety sensor has special characteristics of interest. For instance, unlike most
devices, the safety sensor has to continuously monitor its environment and provide feedback.
This reduces the time the device can operate in sleep mode, hence considerably reducing the
battery life. A safety sensor was developed (see Figure 1-7 (c)) to investigate the potential
viability of the system with a mass market end device that places a large demand on system
resources. The safety sensor developed incorporated temperature, carbon monoxide, flame, and
smoke sensors.

24
 (g) System Configuration

This section has described in detail the individual elements that combine to implement the
proposed system architecture. A user can login to monitor and control the home automation
systems end devices, using one of three user interface devices (ZigBee remote control, Wi-Fi
remote control, and Remote access device). All messages from the devices using the Internet for
communication are sent to the home’s IP address. The messages are forwarded to the home
gateway’s IP address on the local Wi-Fi network, through a Wi-Fi enabled ADSL modem.
Similarly, communications from the devices using the Wi-Fi network for communications are
forwarded to the home gateway’s IP address. Once the home gateway has received the messages
they are forwarded to the virtual home. Messages from the ZigBee controller are sent directly to
the end devices, over the ZigBee network. The virtual home checks the security and safety of all
received messages. Those messages that fail to validate are rejected; the validated messages are
forwarded to the destination device on the real home network. All responses from the device
(i.e., acknowledgments, device status notifications, sensor readings) are relayed from the device,
through the ZigBee network to the virtual home, through the home gateway, across the Wi-Fi
network and, where appropriate, across the Internet to the user interface device.

25
 CHAPTER FIVE

RESULTS, DISCUSSION, AND CONCLUSIONS

5.1 Introduction

Both quantitative and qualitative evaluations were conducted on the established system. Four
devices, a light switch, radiator valve, safety sensor, and ZigBee remote control, were built and
connected with the home automation system to demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of
the proposed system. To replicate a high degree of everyday usage, these systems were put
through a cycle of demanding operations. Using the ZigBee remote control and the Wi-Fi
controller, the light status was changed 20 times. The status of the radiator valve was altered 20
times using the ZigBee controller and 20 times using the Wi-Fi controller, in the same way. The
devices were found to work correctly 100 percent of the time in the testing. Table 1 summarizes
the average time between requesting a modification and having it implemented using Zigbee and
Wi-Fi controllers.

Table 1- 1: ZigBee and wi-fi controller access delay

Light Switch Radiator Valve
ZigBee Controller access
670 *N/A
delay in ms
Wi-Fi Controller access
1337 613
delay in ms

N/A indicates that the time delay was too short to be recorded by the test equipment

26
As seen in Table 1, the Wi-Fi controller had a longer average access delay than the ZigBee
controller. However, when operating the light switch, the ZigBee controller had an average
access delay of 670 ms, whereas the access delay for controlling the radiator valve was tiny and
hence could not be recorded with our recording tools. This means that the majority of the access
delay is caused by the light switch actuation and subsequent bulb status change, rather than the
control method. In Table 1-1, this is indicated by a N/A. Taking this into account, the access
delay for the light bulb (1337 ms) may be reduced by deleting the 670 ms switch actuation
access delay, resulting in a 667 ms access time for the Wi-Fi controller for the light switch. The
613 ms access delay reported for the radiator valve backs up this average access delay. Real-
world testing of the proposed system with the created radiator valve was used to assess the
viability of the home automation architecture. The radiator valve shown in Figure 6 (b) was put
to the test in a real home. The radiator valve was found in the living room of the test house, on
the ground floor, as shown in Figure 7. The prototype automatic radiator valve was installed in
place of the radiator's current TRV valve. The local controller was linked to a laptop and placed
on a desk 2 meters distant from the radiator. This arrangement allowed test software running on
the local controller to print out the user's intended temperature, the current temperature around
the radiator, and the time it took the automatic radiator valve to reach the target temperature.
The experimental environment is depicted in Figure 8.

Figure 1- 8: Radiator Valve Replacement

Figure 1-8 summarizes the outcomes of the experiments. The graph compares the user's desired
temperature (Set Point) to the actual temperature (Measured Value) of the radiator at 15-minute
intervals. The actual temperature of the radiator immediately adjusted to the intended

27
temperature set by the user, as indicated, and this is true for the majority of temperature ranges
chosen by the user. However, the real temperature could not exceed 250°C, leading to the
conclusion that the radiator was insufficient to heat such a huge space to this temperature. The
radiator valve evaluation demonstrates the suggested system's applicability to a real-world end
product. The experiments revealed that a radiator valve could be successfully installed using the
ZigBee communication standard, as well as monitored and controlled using the suggested
system. This successful study backs up and confirms the suggested system's ability to quickly
transition from the lab to the commercial sector.

For the qualitative analysis of the proposed system, a focus group was conducted on the 4th of
March 2008 to evaluate end user’s perspectives of the proposed architecture and obtain feedback
as to areas for further work. The focus group consisted of ten members from a Housing
Association (HA) who were chosen to reflect the views of the end customers. From the
comments made the majority of participants felt that the proposed system’s ability to remotely

28
diagnose and check potential errors with systems such as communal lighting was an attractive
feature.

Figure 1- 9: Set Temperature and Measured Temperature

The ability to identify when illumination fails without requiring physical human monitoring
would save money and encourage investment in the adoption of such a system. The flexible and
comprehensive range of interfaces given for the control and monitoring of devices linked to the
home automation network was also deemed to be a desirable feature. This function was thought
to be particularly beneficial to persons with mobility issues. The concept to allow users to
immediately access the home automation system from a mobile phone without the requirement
for a physical Internet connection to the home was highlighted by a participant and garnered
universal agreement by the group.

5.2 Conclusions

This report examined the current state of home automation systems and identified and addressed
five barriers to consumer adoption of these technologies. The complexity and cost of existing
systems' architectures, the intrusiveness of system installations, the lack of interoperability
between different home automation technologies, and the lack of interoperability between
systems developed by different manufacturers that use the same technology are just a few of the
issues. Inconsistent approaches to security and safety, as well as interface inflexibility, are issues.
Using the relatively new ZigBee communication technology, a unique design for a home
automation system is developed and realized. The adoption of ZigBee communications

29
technology reduces the cost of the system as well as the intrusiveness of the installation process.
The virtual home concept brings the security and safety efforts of the system together in a
transparent and uniform manner. The addition of a home gateway aids in the resolution of
network interoperability issues. In our approach, the home gateway allows interoperability
between the local ZigBee and Wi-Fi networks, as well as the Internet. Furthermore, the home
gateway can simply be expanded to provide interoperability with additional communication
standards. Furthermore, the home gateway unifies the system's interface across the various
networks and devices that are used to access it. Experimentation and user trials have effectively
evaluated the feasibility and appropriateness of the suggested architecture and technologies in the
building of a low-cost, adaptable, and secure system. Experimentation has shown that the unique
architecture selected is stable, with the incorporation of the virtual house having a little influence
on system performance. With the deployment of a real home automation system, the potential for
successful coexistence and interoperability of Wi-Fi and ZigBee has been actually established.
The designed system has received favorable feedback from focus groups, with strong acceptance
for the many modes of control, monitoring, and integration with current home networks such as
Wi-Fi.

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35