Home Automation Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Biosensors - Research Proposal Example

 Home Automation Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Biosensors Introduction Home automation refers to the use of systems that use different technologies to equip parts of the home with a more intelligent monitoring, and remote control. It allows them to harmoniously interact among themselves in such a manner that the activities of the home run automatically without the intervention of the user or the user controls them in a more efficient, safer and in a less expensive manner using a remote control Home automation has been in the science literature for several decades and only became a reality in the early 20th century after the rapid connection of electricity in homes and rapid technological advancements in the information technology sector. However, a breakthrough in home automation was reached in 2001 where Van Berlos employed staff for home automation and built the smartest home in Netherlands. Through collaboration with several participants, a demonstration home was opened in Tilburg by the end of 2001 (Smart homes, 2011, pp.123-156) Home automation is carried out using electrical devices, which require to be integrated with some form of communication protocols. These protocols usually operate over power line infrared or radiofrequency wireless communication technologies. Power line communication uses the normal house-hold electrical power wiring as he transmission medium without installation of additional control wiring. Transmission of the coded information over the AC transmission lines limits its ability to carry higher frequencies. The most prominent hindrances to power line communication is electrical noise and the propagation problem (Rovsing, 2011, pp.303-327). Wireless communication systems such as the radio-frequency technology are less expensive than the wired systems, easier installation and maintenance the limiting factors of power line communication are eliminated. Where there is a two way flow of information, infrared has been used as the point-to-point control of flow. Non-interchangeability of the universal remotes has limited their use in the home automation even though they have been around for a longer time (Chong & Kumar, 2003, pp.1247-1256). The emerging technology, Wireless Sensor Network (WSN), which is a wireless network, consisting of a potentially large set of small and smart sensor nodes equipped with a processing unit, storage capacity, and sensing unit for sensing physical phenomena. WSN sensing physical phenomena include temperature and pressure, which plays an important role in implementing automated systems in homes. Moreover, it does not require infrastructure, offers a low cost solution, and its self-configuration capability simplifies the setup of automated systems in homes. Home automation requires not only monitoring but also reacting on the physical world with high precision and prompt reaction, the WSN used in home automation systems should be enriched with actuators forming what is known as Wireless Sensor and Actuator Network (WSAN) Sensor technology has developed at a very rapid speed and penetrated almost every facet of the economy ranging from military to medicine, agriculture, and quality assurance and production sector. However, the sector that has embraced sensors is the information communication industry in the development of a variety of applications in the Next Generation Networks using Wireless Sensor Networks and biometric systems. The objective of this project is to develop that can be incorporated in home automation systems to improve the security of the buildings as well as the ease of access to the buildings. The system will be implemented using WSNs. Literature Review A sensor is any device perceives input of some physical stimulus from the environment such as temperature change, motion pressure, light intensity, sound and heat and responds in a particular manner. The output signal is usually transmitted over a network for further manipulation and storage. Conversely, it can be converted by a transducer to a human readable form and displayed on the sensor location. Examples of sensors is mercury liquid thermometer whose input is temperature where the liquid in the thermometer expands or contracts in response to the temperature change thus the level moves higher or lower on the marked scale. This change is human readable. Oxygen sensors in a car’s emission system are another example of a sensor that detects the gasoline: oxygen ratio through an oxidation reaction. The reaction generates a voltage that is detected by a computer in the engine and readjusts the mixture to its optimal ratio. Evolution of Sensor Networks Distributed sensing idea implementations are the most probable origin of Wireless sensor networks. This was first introduced by the military where they used sound surveillance systems to detect and track submarines. These surveillance systems were made up of acoustic sensors that were embedded on the bottom of the ocean surface (Chong and Kumar, 2003 pp.3-19). Application of the sensor networks improved much in the 1980s after the establishment of the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) whose main task was to test the viability of the application of modern approach to machine communication that was first introduced by the predecessor of the internet, Arpanet. The researcher was to develop a network for sensors distributed in an area by using cost effective sensors that are able to work and set data independently. The above specifications became the basis of the research of the modern wireless sensor networks for modern applications. Collaboration between Mellon University, Pittsburgh and Massachusetts Institute of Technology led to the development of a sensor network of acoustic sensors for tracking low flying aircrafts but was only for demonstration purposes (Lacoss, 1987, pp. 1827-1830). Wireless Integrated Network Sensors (WINS) in 1993 and Low-power Integrated Micro-sensors (LWIM) in 1995 were among the first projects of creating distributed sensors for practical use. These networks require a large number of sensor nodes for them to be practically viable. WINS was carried out in the University of California and combined the sensor technology with signal processing, computation and wireless networking. The first device from WINS network was demonstrated in 1996 and supported a great number of sensor nodes with a small area of transceiver coverage, and low data speed transmission. The technology form WINS offered new opportunities in distributed sensing and controlling leading to creation of a range of low power integrated circuits including signal processing and communicative circuits. This was mostly in the military but other new uses of WSNs for civil tasks have been developed LWIM was carried out at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) under the sponsorship of DARPA with objective of developing low-power wireless network modules. The researchers created a module that included a vibration sensor, an infrared sensor and a low power transceiver with a frequency range of 902-928 MHz and a communication range of 30 metres. The module was applicable for both control and monitoring in manufacturing processes, vehicle conditioning, medicine and defence (Kaiser et al., 1996, pp.45). A lot of discoveries, trials and tasks are still unsolved in the history of wireless sensor networks. Conversely, the researches of academic organizations, which took place in 1990s – the beginning of 2000s allowed to achieve the current level of WSN availability and flexibility. Structure and Architecture of Wireless Sensor Networks A sensor network is a network of interconnected sensor nodes that exchange data by wireless or wired communication. A sensor node on the other hand refers to a device that mainly consists of a sensor and optional actuator which is capable of processing the data that has been sensed as well as networking. A sensor node is made up of a large number of nodes distributed in space and cooperates with each other. Each node consists of a sensing element, a microprocessor to process the signals, a transceiver and a source of power. Sensor nodes are distributed over an object so as to gather information about the object as well as the processes taking place in the object. Wireless Sensor networks consist of dozens or thousands of interconnected sensor nodes that are connected through wireless connection to form a single network as shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: An example of a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). Each sensor node is an autonomous device, measures some physical conditions such a temperature, humidity, pressure or vibrations, and converts them into digital data. Sometimes the sensor nodes process and store the data before transmission. It is the basis of WSNs as they collect and exchange data that is necessary for the functionality of the networks. The data from the measurement of the aforementioned parameters may be detailed or statistically averaged depending on the application. However, minimal data processing occurs at the sensor nodes to the low computing power of the sensor nodes and for energy saving reasons. The network sink is type of sensor node which combines all the useful data from the individual sensor nodes in the network. It is connected to a server that processes the data received from the data received from the WSN. The interaction is implemented directly if the server and the WSN are in the same network and remotely if the WSN I accessed through global networks such as the internet. In the latter case, the sink acts as the gate. Overview of the Applications of Wireless Sensor Networks WSNs have been I great demand in number of sectors including agriculture, civil and environmental engineering as well as emergency management. Agriculture The most important field where WSNs have been in great demand is the agricultural sector. The WSNs have been favourable in this sector due to a number of factors. First is the vast tracts of land under agriculture. This has led to development of networks with thousands of sensors for easier monitoring. Operation of the networks has also been favourable due to availability of several parameters that can be measured such as temperature, humidity and chemical composition of the soil. Another contributing factor to the application of the WSNs in agriculture is the emergence of automatically controlled agricultural machinery. This has created a wide range of applications for machine-oriented communications and sensor control networks. Precision agriculture has become more effective with the application of the WSNs. The type of agriculture is based on the concept of utilization of resources such as water, seeds and fertilizer in quantities that are dictated by the soil and environmental conditions such as temperature, light intensity and mineral composition of the soil of every specific plot. This reduces the consumption of the resources while maximizing the output of the land and reducing environmental degradation. Among the most recent technologies in precision agriculture includes areas of soil minerals detection, weed detection, productivity mapping and selective irrigation. Among the most conspicuously successful projects implemented is the Wireless sensor network for precision agriculture in Malawi (WiPAM). The objective of the project was to assist farmers in the rural areas of developing countries by automating irrigation. The sensor nodes in the soil detected the temperature and humidity of the soil and transmitted the measurement results in real time after every 30 minutes. Automatic irrigation procedure was activated when the humidity and temperature of the soil reached the threshold values set (Green, 2012, pp.227-245) Amongst the problems encountered during the implementation is the fast battery consumption but it was partially solved by increasing the data measuring and relay time. Failures of the appearing of the data when the system was working necessitated the remote monitoring of the system to be implemented. Livestock monitoring was found to be a viable area of application of WSNs. For example, sensors are mounted on a cow to monitor the health of the animal and inform the farmer in real time. Technical limitations and legislation is some European countries are the main problems that have hampered the implementation of the technology. Therefore technological advancement must followed by enactment or changing of the available legal framework to enable the implementation of the technologies. Wireless Automation using WSNs and Biometric Technologies (HA-BT System) HA-BT System will provide seven services and therefore will be composed of seven separate components that will be purchase and installed separately or different combinations depending on the customer’s preferences. The components includes the entering system, the burglar detection system, the burglar deception system, monitoring and controlling home components system, home structure health system, plant care system and internet access system. a. The entering system HA-BT System will do away with the dog care policy, loss of keys and the difficulty in opening of the door. The system will use pattern recognition to authenticate the entering of the home. Two factor authentication (2FA) will be used where the user will put the thumb of his left hand in a special place on the wall and open the door by turning the knob with his right hand. The front door of the house will be closed using an electronic knob and bolt. The control of the knob will be through a sensor capable of detecting finger prints of the subject and wirelessly transfer them to a central a personal computer which is a central control unit with a database of all the legal residents of the home. In addition, a palm vein recognition sensor is connected to the electronic knob. If the two patterns match those of one of the legal occupants of the home in the database, it sends a command to the electronic bolt electronic knob instructing it to unbolt the door. b. Burglar detection system Other than accessing the home through the legal front door, intruder can find other points therefore escaping authentication system. In the HA-BT System, motion sensors will be attached on the front doors to detect any motion of the doors and send the signals to the central control unit for determination of whether the motion was as a result of opening of the door or not. The motion is deemed is as a result of intrusion if it is not registered in the central control unit. The control unit then sends a signal to a buzzer and a flash light in the home keeper’s room and home keeper takes suitable action. Several failed attempts to authenticate as intrusion and will send signals to the room of the home keeper as well. The motion sensors can also be attached to other illegal entry points such the windows and the doors of the balcony. Frequently used locations by the residents start with the commands to start and stop will be relayed to the sensors through a remote control using their mobile phones. An application will be installed in their mobile phones that will be able to send simple instructions to the central control unit to instruct there motion sensor to either start or stop. If unregistered motions are detected, signals are sent to the buzzers and an LCD screen mounted on the wall of the home keeper detailing the specific location of the motion. The central control unit can also be programmed to send short messages to the homeowners when they are away alerting them of intrusion in their home where they can be able to take the necessary actions such as contacting the local police station. c. Home monitoring and controlling system The main objective of this unit is to improve some of the home activities and safety of some of the apparatus in the home. The system will automate the opening and closing of the windows, the home lighting and detection of gas leakages and smoke to prevent fires. The lighting system will be controlled by both ordinary and electronic means. The central control unit will switch on some lights such as those of the corridor and staircase for the person entering the home if his or her identity has been authenticated. All the lights will also be remotely controlled by an application installed in the home owners’ mobile phone via the central control unit. The user can therefore choose the lights he wants to switch on or off and the schedule for each activity based on the reports from the sensors in the system. The windows will be closed and opened both remotely by the home owner using his mobile phone and by the central control unit depending on the reports by the motion sensors mounted on the windows. Smoke and gas detectors will be installed in the rooms to measure the required gas concentration. The information will then be relayed to the central unit, which can command the motion sensors to either open or close the windows. This will also improve the ventilations of the room and therefore save energy instead of using electric air conditioners. Moreover, there is a sub-system within the monitoring and control component whose function will be to safeguard major equipment such as the refrigerators form powered upsurges. In case of power problems, a current sensor will detect the malfunctioning and command all the electronic switches in all the electrical outlets of the electrical equipment to isolate them from the main power supply until the current stabilizes. A light intensity controller will also be mounted on the door of the refrigerator, if the door of the fridge is open for a certain period of time, the light sensor runs the kitchen buzzer and sends a notification message to the remote control that closes the door. d. Burglar deception system Where for example a family has gone for a holiday, HA-BT System will simulate the activities that goes on in an occupied home thus deceiving the burglars that the home is occupied or the residents are awake. For example the central control unit can be programmed to switch on and off the lights at different parts of the house at different times. This will increase the security of the home and prevent burglary before it occurs. e. Structure health system For the large buildings with multiple storeys, a three-axis accelerator will be attached to each wall of the vibrations and motion of the structure due to dynamics arising from a variety of sources such as earthquakes, blasts and wind shock. The measurements from the sensors will be sent to the control unit which will record the behaviour of the building in response to the different dynamics. The data will be used to assess the safety and viability of the building and avert damages before reaching critical states. f. Plant care system Sensor will be buried in the soil where the plants are grown so as to detect the temperature and moisture contents and assist in adjusting the conditions to suite the growing conditions of the plants. This will be done displaying the results on an LCD screen that are attached on the individual basins of the potted plants. g. Internet access system The purpose of this unit is to remotely control the automated home from anywhere in the world through the IP connection using proxy based architecture approach for the provision of internet connectivity. This will relieve the sensor nodes form the IP stack activities while at the same time allowing the operation of the network to continue undisturbed. In the HA-BT System, an ordinary radio processor will be used as the base station and will be attached to a personal computer, which will act as the server to provide the protocol and act as a bridge between the sensor nodes and the internet. Dedicated protocols will be used to send the information from the sensor nodes to the base station, which will then forward the information to the server via a USB. The server will then send it to the remote user via the internet and receive any commands and queries to be delivered to the WSN through the base station attached. With this kind of arrangement, a person can be able to monitor and control the state of different things and detect serious events such as attempt to break into the home, gas leakages and damage to home structures. However, the above arrangement requires that the connection be highly secured to prevent attacks from hackers. Figure 2 below depicts an example of the HA-BT System arrangement on common organization. Figure 2: Example of HA-BT System arrangement. The representatives of the numbers is shown in Table 1 below. Table 1: HA-BT System components and their numerical representative. Production Cost for HA-BT System The main raw materials and their approximate cost in order to determine the cost of the system are shown in Table 2 below Component Approximate price (US. $) Quantity Fingerprint reader 20 2 Motion sensor 55+50 2 Home part alarm buzzer 3 1 Electronic door lock actuator 11 11 Current sensors 10 1 Electronic switches 5 23 Smoke and gas leakage sensor 7+2 4 3 axis accelerator 0.6 37 Temperature and humidity soil sensors 8+1.5 3 LCD Displays 8 4 Light Intensity sensor 3 1 Rechargeable battery 5 13 AA Battery Holder 0.26 33 Extension Interface Connector 1.24 57 ADC 15 57 DAC 15 48 Antenna 14 59 CC2420 6.68 59 ATMEGA128L 12.9 59 Keypad 3 1 Palm vein reader 20 2 Table 2: the approximate price of the components of HA-BT System. Addition of the cost of the software, the fabrication cost and installation brings the approximate cost of the system to about $7000. Marketing of HA-BT System. The firm will apply several methods to get the HA-BT System to the targeted customers. The target market for the system are the home owners and real estate developers as well as property management agencies. Amongst the marketing methods will be the use of word of mouth to mouth where the first customers will pass the information about the quality of the system to their friends and extended families, use of print and broad casting media such as newspapers, televisions and radio in order to reach a wider audience. The company will also hire sale people who will be attending home expo seminars and explain the services offered by the system to the attendants on a face to face encounter as well as demonstrate some of the services with the actual system. Conclusion The system proposed will revolutionize home automation by integrating two emerging technologies; the wireless sensor network technology and the biometric one. HA-BT System will provide a complete home automation solution including the burglar detection and deception units, the entering system, home structure health system home plant care system, the internet access system and home component control system. This will be offered at a convenient and currently the lowest price for a home automation system of $6000 including installation and maintenance package which are not offered by other similar products in the market. The flexibility of the system means that it can also be applied in other premises such as offices and clinics. The main limitation of the system is the assumption that the base station is required to be awake for a considerable period of time in each communication. The base system is battery operated and therefore its lifetime is of crucial importance. However this can be resolved by strategically positioning git such that it can be powered by the main electricity lines. Future research is needed to improve the HA-BT System in terms of design and customization as well as better integration future developments in the two technologies integrated in the system. References Rovsing P.E., Larsen P. G., Toftegaard T. S., and Lux D., A Reality Check on Home Automation Technologies., Journal of Green Engineering, River Publishers, 2011, pp. 303–327. Smart Homes, The History of Smart Homes, (Online). Available:http://www.smart- homes.nl/SmartHomes/Geschiedenis.aspx?lang=en-US, (Accessed: December, 2014). Chong C. Y.,& Kumar S. P. Sensor Networks: Evolution, Opportunities, and Challenges” Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 91, No. 8, pp. 1247–1256, 2003. Lacoss R. T., Distributed Mixed Sensor Aircraft Tracking, in American Control Conference, 1987, pp. 1827–1830, IEEE, 1987. Kaiser W.J., Bult K., Burstein K., Chang D., Wireless Integrated Micro Sensors, in Technical Digest of the 1996 Solid State Sensor and Actuator Workshop, 06 1996. 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