Security. Future Direction

Security (the need to prevent unauthorized nodes from reading or writing information) is an issue of concern for every networking product. Many manufacturers have decided to create a security context on their products and have the key information on them, which means that one object of one context sends a message to another context object, and thus both have to be built by the same company so that the security encoding algorithm can be exchanged between them.

Security in the home automation systems literature is seen as follows:
- Security in terms of physical access control and alarm systems.
- Security in terms of the well being of house inhabitants through systems that monitor health status and prevent health problems.

- Security of the building itself in terms of a safe construction and the subsequent monitoring of this status.
- Security in terms of confidentiality of the information exchanged.

The latter is being achieved by the use of various security techniques in use, including message authentication algorithms, which are of two main types. Two-way authentication algorithms require the nodes involved in the checking to know the encoding algorithm, and each node must have an authentication key in order to accept the command issued.

A one-way authentication algorithm verifies only the transmitter and the information that goes on the APDTU (packet in the application layer); it requires only one authentication key, but the encoding algorithm must be known by the nodes. Both types of algorithm require a random number that is encoded with the authentication keys.

Encryption is also used in order to obtain greater security in the message and in the data sent on the APDU. The algorithm or technique used has to be known by the receiver and transmitter. Encryption is implemented with the help of the authentication algorithm ID in the second byte.

Future Direction. Home automation systems have been presented as a promising technology for bringing the computer and communications revolution that has swept the office and industrial environments in the last decade to the home environment.

However, we have not seen an use of home automation systems and an increase in the market share as predicted from market analysts. This lack of acceptance can be attributed to marketing problems, costs of installation and retrofitting, slow growth of new housing, and a lack of standards that synchronize with the developments in the other technological areas.

The wide availability of powerful computers at homes and the availability of high-speed telecommunications lines (in the form of cable TV, satellite channels, and, in the near future, fiber) make a redirection of the home automation industry necessary. More emphasis should be on applications that require access to external sources of information—such as video-on-demand and the Internet—or on access from outside the home to home services—such as the load management application discussed above from utilities or individuals and remote surveillance.

User-friendly customer interfaces combined with reasonable pricing will certainly move the industry ahead. The availability of the Internet and the World Wide Web should be exploited in different ways. First, the interfaces and the click-and-drag operations could be adopted and then the high use of bandwidth could be accomplished. The above considerations should be viewed in light of cost and retrofitting issues in existing dwellings and the availability of appliances that are compatible with standards and that can be purchased from multiple vendors.

Wireless technologies seem to dominate the future of home automation systems. With regard to the future of fiber optics at home, several observations can be made. External or non premises service providing networks, and second-generation television, receivers such as high-definition television (HDTV) are two main areas in which developing technologies will impact the design of the FOBus.

One external network that the FOBus will have to accommodate is the public telephone network. The current public switched network uses copper wire in its local loop to provide service to a neighborhood; but in the future, the use of fiber in the loop (FITL) will be gradually phased in.

Neighborhood curbside boxes will be replaced with optical network units (ONUs) that will provide plain old telephone service (POTS) as well as extended network services. Initially, the service to the home will be provided on copper medium, but it will eventually be replaced with fiber as well. The FITL system will support broadband communications, especially interactive applications.

Another external network that will impact the FOBus design is the cable television network, which is also gradually being replaced by fiber. The FOBus specification will have to accommodate the high-bandwidth services delivered by the cable network (generally in the form of broadcast channels); it may also have to support interactive services that are envisioned for the future.

The other developing technology that will impact the design of the fiber optic CEBus is the emerging advanced television (ATV) standard, which will most likely include HDTV. In the United States, the EIA is examining digital standards for HDTV transmission. Most require bandwidth of 20 Mbps, which the proponents of the standards claim can be transmitted on a standard 6-MHz channel using modulation techniques such as quadrature amplitude multiplexing.

In addition, the ATV receiver will likely have separate input ports for RF, baseband digital, and baseband analog signals. The choice of which of these ports to use for the CEBus/ATV interface has not been made. Each has its own advantages. Using the RF port would allow a very simple design for the in-home fiber distribution network, and the interface would only have to perform optical- to-electrical conversion.

The digital port would remove bandwidth constrictions from the broadcast signal and also allow for interactive programming and access to programming from various sources. The ATV could become the service access point for all audio/visual services in the home.

An important issue in home automation is the integration of Internet technologies in the house. Several companies have proposed technologies to embed network connectivity. The idea is to provide more control and monitoring capability by the use of a Web browser as a user interface. In this new technology, Java and http (standard Internet technologies) are accessed through a gateway that manages the communication between the Web browser and the device.

Among the advantages of this new technology are the following:
- Manufacturers can provide their products with strong networking capabilities, and increase the power of the Internet and the available intranets.
- The use of a graphical user interface (GUI) allows a simple display of the status, presence, and absence of devices from the network.

- Java, Visual Basic, and Active X development environments reduce the development time of device networking projects.
- Interface development is easy.
- Batch processes to gather data are easy and fast.

Standard technologies to network devices via the Internet provide for the development of internetworking solutions without the added time and costs of building proprietary connections and interfaces for electronic devices.

Manufacturers of home automation systems must take into account several factors. The users are the first to be considered. Their physiological and psychological capabilities as well as their socioeconomic characteristics must be considered before a new technology is adopted.

Another issue is the added value provided by such systems in terms of the reduction of repetitive tasks and the skills and knowledge required to operate them. Health and safety considerations must be taken into account. Also, one needs to examine the current status of technologies and the dynamics of these technologies in order to offer a successful product in the market and, mainly, in order to create a new healthy market sector.

The suggested technologies should be able to enhance the life in a household but certainly not dominate it. The systems should be reliable and controllable but also adaptive to specific user needs and habits. They should also be able to adapt to changing habits.

Bibliography:
1. Draft CEB US FO network requirements document, Washington DC: EIA, May 15, 1992.
2. HomePlug 1.0 Specification, HomePlug Alliance, June 2001.
3. Interface Specification for HomePNA 2.0: 10M8 technology, December 1999