 |
| EMagazine Volume 5 Issue 5 Oct / Nov 2000 |
Features |
|
|
|
New Products |
|
Free
Email Updates |
|
|
 |
| Home
Toys Article - October 2000 - [HTI Home Page] |
DIY Marketing Program Promote Your Products and Services [Click Message To Learn More] |
|
|
Home automation requires the collaboration of a group of companies, each focused on its particular area of expertise. One group delivers data to and from the house; another distributes it within the house; another provides light and power; another produces washers and dryers; another VCRs. . . Carol Recht is a freelance business writer and editor based in Newtown, Connecticut. |
Consumer demand for enhanced control over various home systems is rising. The U.S. market is expected to grow from $1.1 billion by the end of 2004 to approximately $2.5 billion by the end of 2007, according to Parks Associates, a Dallas-based market research and consulting firm specializing in emerging residential technologies.
To further enable the networked home requires a symphony, not a solo. "The unique problem people need to recognize in home automation is that there is no one company that can do it on their own," said Mitch Carr, product manager for Invensys Network Systems, a subdivision of Invensys Control Systems Division, based in Richmond, Virginia.
Home automation requires the collaboration of a group of companies, each focused on its particular area of expertise. One group delivers data to and from the house; another distributes it within the house; another provides light and power; another produces washers and dryers; another VCRs. . .
Recently,
Invensys plc ( www.invensys.com ) and Pace
Micro Technology plc ( www.pace.co.uk ), two
UK-based companies, agreed to jointly develop home networking technologies. The
two companies will combine their expertise to enable such consumer devices as
"white goods," heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC)
systems, and security systems, to communicate via Pace's (STB) Home Gateway and
Invensys CommunicationsModule™ technology.
Invensys develops and manufactures the controllers that are incorporated into home appliances, HVAC equipment and other electronic devices. The company also makes wall thermostats, smoke detectors and metering devices. Pace focuses on the design, manufacture and distribution of digital receivers and decoders for the reception of digital satellite, cable and terrestrial television.
"Invensys control technology is incorporated today in more than 100 million home controls," said Rod Powell, Chief Executive, Invensys Control Systems. "We have developed technology that enables existing appliances with electronic controls to communicate and become part of a home network. Our partnership with Pace will allow consumers to benefit from new home services that enhance their lifestyle, comfort, and safety."
The networked home enables consumers to link the growing number of electronic devices throughout the home to the outside world via a high bandwidth data pipe. This technology also enables utility and service companies to remotely monitor electrical equipment and diagnose problems before they become a crisis. With this two-way communication, utility companies can also remotely read gas and electric meters.
"Imagine a world where your washing machine automatically requests a new part before it fails, you arrange a mutually convenient appointment with the repair person, who arrives with the correct tools and parts. And all without any interruption in your ability to conduct the family's laundry!" said Malcolm Miller, Pace's Chief Executive Officer.
"Through interactive digital television and existing home wiring, the essential technology to establish a networked home to make this possible is already in place. This is an exciting development for any company interested in exploring the commercial benefits of home automation as it creates a new environment for companies such as British Gas, who can utilize home networking technologies to extend their consumer services," said Miller.
A Gateway and a Hub
As
the STB is the gateway to the networked home, the Invensys ControlServer™
(ICS) is its hub. Designed in concert with emWare Inc., the ICS allows for
cost-effective control and management of information on electronic devices that
employ an Invensys microcircuit known as the SmartModule™, which makes the
device Internet-ready. The emWare software, known as EMIT, embedded in the
SmartModule™ provides a complete networking platform for electronic devices
built with 8 and 16-bit microcontrollers. The ICS can seamlessly integrate
multiple protocols in one network.
The ICS will also support Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) and OSGi (Open Services Gateway Initiative) technology. OSGi is a 33-member trade group dedicated to furthering the use of open specifications for wide-area and local networks. "The architecture we have chosen is so flexible that we are supporting most protocols that are out there today," said Dave Peachey, Vice President of R&D for Invensys Network Systems.
Through its Gateway technology, Pace will collate all signals throughout the house. It will then pass these through the "always-on" two-way connection in the STB, which could communicate via DOCSIS or DVD/DAVIC Cable Modem. The STB may literally sit on top of the TV, and the four-inch square ICS "is something you wouldn't mind seeing on an end table near the sofa in the family room," said Carr. "Industrial designs are attractive. They don't look like a circuit breaker box."
Home Entertainment
|
Peracom's Avcast system allows up to 16 personal channels, which can be assigned to the VCR, the DVD player, Cable TV, Internet, etc. "It is the single strand of cable that makes the difference. It takes content from any TV, VCR and DVD and makes it available on any PC or TV in the house," said Carr.
Invensys is partnering with key industry players to deliver high-speed information into the home and distribute it around the house. The high-speed data distributed over telephone lines does not interfere with the low-speed, low-cost access to home appliances and devices, such as the alarm sprinkler system head, ventilating controls, front door security camera, kitchen and laundry appliances, swimming pool and hot tub.
"That data has to get out of the house. When you want to use your phone, you don't want to be competing with your refrigerator or your dishwasher," said Carr. "You need a lot of access to get your data upstream to the lonely appliance repairman."
'No New Wires'
With home automation technology evolving as rapidly as it is, how can homebuyers and builders future-proof their structures to accommodate them? "Future-proof is a very interesting phrase to use," said Carr, indicating that the future, in a sense, has already arrived in terms of existing networks in the home - the phone line, the power line, the coaxial line, and RF. "These are four perfectly viable networks in the house."
Invensys focuses on low-cost solutions that the average family of four can afford. "We're designing our system to be easily installed in existing homes with existing devices and without the need for structured wiring," said Carr. "Our goal is to net-enable the home appliances, HVAC and other devices with minimal wiring or no new wires; however, we can take advantage of structured wiring when it's there."
According to an article in Building Operational Management, installing a structured cabling system at the outset of new construction is a sound strategy. A structured cabling system treats the miles of copper and fiber optic cables as a total system rather than an afterthought. The goal is to avoid costly moves, additions and changes, and to provide ready access to any communications device, any time, from any work area.
Security Issues
Because Cable TV is a very secure and very high-quality network, "we can put a lot of data on that," says Carr. "In terms of home automation, Invensys needs only a very thin slice of the bandwidth available on that cable."
However, transmitting sensitive data often raises security issues. "There's always the fear that data from inside the house doesn't get outside the house," said Carr. "Maybe my neighbor is going to get my data. Maybe somebody will park in front of my house and get my data." The best way to avoid hackers is to use the same precautions regarding your Internet access that you use to secure your house, your car and other valuables. "Install firewall software," he said.
As various forces continue to drive the enabling of the networked home, expect to see alliances continue to proliferate among companies which produce the appropriate products, systems and services. What is needed, said Carr, is to get the emerging technology finalized and on the market, with a price pushed down by high volume.
Pace Micro Technology plc, the world's largest dedicated developer of digital set-top box technology, has played a key role establishing the international market for pay television services. Since its establishment in 1982, Pace analogue and digital technology has been installed in over ten million homes worldwide. Pace is now actively involved in all digital platforms - satellite, terrestrial, cable, wireless and xDSL - through alliances with broadcasters, network operators and technology partners in the UK and around the world. Headquartered in Shipley West Yorkshire, Pace has 1,000 employees, over a third of whom are research and development engineers. The company's shares are traded on the London Stock Exchange (PIC).
Invensys plc, a global leader in the automation and controls industry, was formed on February 4, 1999, through the merger of BTR plc and Siebe plc. With its head office in London, England, Invensys operates in all regions of the world through four focused divisions-Software and Systems, Automation Systems, Power Systems, and Control Systems. With over 90,000 employees, the company's products and services range from advanced control systems and networks for automating industrial plants and controlling building environments to electronic devices and controls found in residential buildings and light commercial applications, plus complete power systems for telecommunications and information technology industries. The Invensys Network Systems Group was formed in April 1999 to apply Invensys' extensive device networking technology to the home market. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ISYS).
