Smart Home Technologies: Building a

Connected Home

Let me just tell you a situation.

Just image yourself to be alone in your house. You just wake up
from your sleep in the morning and immediately smooth interior
lighting which mimics the sunrise turns on. Soft music from your
favorite radio station begins to play. As you get out of bed, your
smart assistant tells you your important messages and due tasks
which are to be finished urgently. It also provides you with the
day’s weather forecast and gives a brief summary of the day’s
tasks. You get out of bed and find that the coffee machine has
brewed your favorite blend according to pre-set schedule you
programed the day before.
You get out of the house for work or school and remember that
you forgot to turn off the AC. So, now you take out your phone and
through voice command or through an application, you turn off the
AC remotely. This is not anything which we will be able to
accomplish in the near future. Infact It is possible now. How is it?
Well, such a technology was achieved due to the advancements in
Smart Home Technologies which are, in other words known as
IoTs ( Internet of Tings ). These 2 depict the same thing but are a
little different. Now, to understand Smart Home Technology, we
need to understand some certain Concepts of IoTs.
What Are IoTs:
IoTs are a concept which gives the ability of communication to
ordinary devices or machines, like Cars, ACs, Washing machines,
Coffee Makers, Wearable Devices, Smart Phones, Lights etc. They
connect to Wi-Fi networks and can communicate with each other.
Every device which has the capability to connect to a network or
other devices, whether wireless or wired and can communicate is a
part of IoT hence the name Internet of Things. So, our Computers,
Phones, TVs, etc. which can connect to Wi-Fi or Ethernet is all a
part of IoT.
All of us has had instances where we lock our doors and go out and
then 3 secs later, we wonder whether we locked the door or not. We
also have instances where we are outside and unexpectedly some
guests or a delivery comes to our house. In such cases, With the
help of IoTs, we can Lock and Unlock the doors and watch the
things happening in our house using our SmartPhones remotely.
Some such examples are LG ThinQ, Google Home, Apple Home
etc.
Why IoTs (Benefits):
One of the major benefits is that it helps us to perform our day-to-
day activities with ease.
Now it is also being adapted in health care, IoT devices like
wearable fitness trackers monitor our physical activity and health
metrics. Remote patient monitoring also allows healthcare
providers to keep a close eye on patients without the need for
frequent hospital visits. This helps to not only improve patient care
but also contributes to preventive health measures.
It is also being used to manage traffic and many other vital issues
faced by the society.

Working Of IoTs:
There are 4 layers in this process.
We should not actually call them layers, it’s not recommended. But
for understanding purposes,

-Layer 1 (Sensors/Devices):
This is the main hardware of the system. We can include all the
hardware devices like sensors which sense temperature, humidity,
Mood and devices like Light, Fridge, Phone, Computer etc.
The sensors collect the data and process it. This data is then sent to
other devices connected to the network.
-Layer 2 (Connectivity):
This is through where the data which is collected and stored is sent
to the cloud. This can be through wires like ethernet, or wireless
(Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, RFID, NFC etc.). This connection need not have
access to the internet, but in most situations, there will be a server,
which will provide storage capabilities and extra computational
power over the Internet. Small scale systems will have a small
server like device connected to the home network or might be even
integrated to our home Wi-Fi routers.
-Layer 3 (Cloud/Server):
This is where the data sent from each device is collected and
processed. Based on this analysis, the server will decide various
tasks to do based on the situations. These commands are then sent
to the Layer 1 (Physical Device) through the same communication
channel. The device then undertakes the command which is
received from the Server or Computer.
-Layer 4 (Application Layer):
This is where all these processes are represented in Graphical
methods. This involves the presence of an App or a software
running in a pc or Phone which shows the real time update of the
process. We can also control this process through this layer. This is
mainly applicable to the systems which have internet access.
Through the internet and the app we can access the control Centre
of the server in the cloud or in our home router and control the
various tasks.
Example:
An AC, will be the Layer 1.
A Wi-Fi connection between the Ac and the Server will be the
Layer 2
The server and the data processing there will be Layer 3
And an App which connects to the server and the AC Through the
server will be the Layer 4.
The temperature data collected from the thermostat in the AC will
be sent to the Serever through Wi-Fi. The computer which analyses
(Layer 3) this data and knows the desired temperature of the owner
will give a command to change the temp. We can access the
computer and Ac through the app. So if we are outside in the Gym
and come home exhausted, we can turn on the AC remotely from
our phone while leaving the Gym and come to a cool house.
This is the basic strip down version of the process. There is much
more involved.
Difference Between IoTs and Smart Home Systems:
As I said in the beginning, there is a major difference between IoTs
and Smart Home Systems.
IoTs are aimed at the communications of various devices which
each other whereas Smart Home Systems are Aimed at these
communications within the house environment. Smart Home
Systems will analyze our routines and activities, or we feed these
into them, and they help us in making our day more systematic and
efficient.
E.g. I will feed in my Daily routine, The tasks for the day etc. and
set a priority level for each of these tasks. So, I will get notified
about my next task when I get one completed. If it has an
integrated AI system, it will also add events which come to my
mail and Messages to my calendar. Like a meeting scheduled by
my teacher, it will add it in my day’s task or my calendar and also
give it a appropriate priority level.
Some Examples/Applications of Smart Home Systems:
Most of you already know Amazon Echo (Alexa) and Google
Home.
We can go like "Alexa, turn on the Light" or "Hey Google, Turn on
Movie Night Mode" and it will control the home environment.
We also know other devices like the Robot Vacuum cleaners, and
other devices which are connected to an app, and we can control all
of them with that single app.
There are also systems which are connected to Our lighting and the
solar panels. When the Sun comes up, the system through the solar
panels understands its day time and turns of the lights. At night, It
recognizes the absence of the sun and turns on the lights.
So, through these technologies we can remotely lock and unlock
doors, turn on and off Electronic Devices, monitor our houses
through Cameras, and ensure safety of our houses.

Challenges of Smart Home Systems:

Along with many Benefits, Smart Home Systems also pose 2 major
Challenge.

1. Privacy
2. Security
These Smart Home Systems have all the data of our daily routine
and activities. These devices are connected to a network, most
often which has access to internet. Therefore, a hacker can easily
access our systems and know what we are up to. There will be a
higher chance of our data getting exploited.

So, I would like to conclude by Borrowing and Modifying a

famous quote,
With great connectivity comes great responsibility.

Thankyou