Future Home

Wireless Home Network

Objectives

Many technologies known from facility management are just about to enter the average homes for so-called home automation purposes. In addition, there is the desire to integrate other home devices like consumer electronics and white ware with home appliances into a single, coherent home network. Even all these technologies exist, the integration of the different islands of devices within a single network is still an open issue. Another hindering factor is the “no new wires” requirement. The Future Home project therefore aims to create a solid, secure, user friendly home networking concept based on wireless networking technologies.

Key issues

  • The key issues to be addressed by the project are:
  • Specification of a wireless home networking architecture based on IPv6 and UPnP as common middleware
  • Definition of generic device interfaces that enable home appliances, consumer electronics devices and various types of terminals to be connected to the wireless network in a plug&play manner
  • Provision of enabling technologies for ambient intelligence
  • Validation of the proposed solution by building a prototype of the wireless intelligent home network
  • Identification of market-driven business models

FOKUS Contribution

  • Within Future Home, FhG FOKUS is responsible for the following main activities:
  • UPnP as common device middleware
  • HAVi/UPnP Gateway
  • Rule Service as enabling technology for ambient intelligence scenarios
  • Integration of the car into the home network