wilamowski-b-m-irwin-j-d-industrial-communication-systems-2011

Building and Home Automation 26-11
all devices available in the whole network; and service collaboration, which enables a realization
of intelligent services through device collaboration. Currently, IGRS is predominantly used in China;
however, at the moment it is also listed as “under development” standard from ISO (ISO/IEC 14543-5-1).
Also related to the approach taken by UPnP are the Devices Profile for Web Services (DPWS) [12]. As
in UPnP, services for device and service discovery, messaging, and eventing are specified. However, all
services are foreseen to be accessed or exposed via Web services and to be executable on resource constraint
devices. For this purpose, DPWS builds on established Web service standards such as WSDL,
XML, and SOAP, and specifies a lightweight subset of the overall Web services protocol suite. It adds
features that are missing in UPnP, such as a homogeneous security model, standards-based description
language, and the ability for a seamless integration into service-oriented enterprise architectures. In a
prototype exhibition, the interconnection of a lighting system, audio distribution system, security system,
motorized shades, security cameras, thermostats, washers and dryers, and a motorized television
mount was already demonstrated.
The basic concept of the Digital Living Network Association (DLNA) [14] is the realization of a network
of interoperable consumer electronics, personal computers, and mobile devices. The cross-industry
organization develops interoperability guidelines based on existing open industry standards such as
UPnP, JPG, and MPEG-2 to achieve digital convergence. DLNA has defined a set of media devices such
as renderer, server, player, and controller, but also mobile and interoperability devices that guarantee
interoperability when being DLNA compliant. The vision is to provide consumers with services to easily
acquire, store, manage, access, and share any content at anytime and anywhere.
With Echonet (Energy Conservation and HOmecare Network) [15], a Japanese standard that primarily
targets the two applications its name is derived from was defined in 1997 by the Echonet Consortium.
Simple and affordable heterogeneous devices of multiple vendors shall be easily interconnected exploiting
plug and play services and realize applications ranging from the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions
to the assistance of elderly people. For data exchange, a broad range of media including powerline,
RF, Ethernet, infrared, and LonTalk, with a communication middleware handling the communication
are available. Access to functionalities (e.g., a gateway) is provided via a so-called service middleware
Application Programming Interface (API) that contains common processes in the form of libraries.
OSGi [21] defines a dynamic module system for Java that can function as an open standard for
home gateways. Maintained by the OSGi Alliance (formerly known as Open Services Gateway initiative),
it is a powerful, Java-based service platform that has been adopted in various domains, for
example, home automation, automotive and, more generally, embedded or mobile applications. The
main benefit of OSGi core is the definition and management of dynamically loadable modules called
OSGi bundles. OSGi provides the user with commands for the complete life cycle management of
these bundles that can be handled locally or from remote. The OSGi platform introduces a service
concept with a service registry that allows locating and using services of all active bundles. Around
the core, OSGi has defined an extensive set of standard services within bundles that, among others,
provide support for logging, configuration, user administration, events, and preferences, HTTP,
XML, and UPnP.
26.3.3 applications
In home automation, applications also include the traditional HVAC and lighting/shading use cases.
However, the main gain that constitutes a strong argument for the employment of HAS can be found in
more advanced use cases incorporating additional domains and devices. Technologies such as sensing
the environment and setting user actions “in context” as well as (automatically) inferring user intentions
and preferences followed by their execution in control strategies depict the additional value automation
systems have to offer particularly in the home.
Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) aims at improving safety, security, entertainment, and general quality
of life of the home’s inhabitants. Especially when considering demographic developments of the societies
© 2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC