Home Automation System: A Comprehensive Analysis of Design, Implementation, and Security

This minor thesis delves into the intricacies of home automation systems, exploring their historical evolution, current trends, and future prospects. It examines the various technologies employed, including GSM, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, and cloud-based solutions, and analyzes their advantages and disadvantages. The thesis also addresses the critical issue of security vulnerabilities in home automation networks, providing a comprehensive risk assessment and practical recommendations for mitigation. Furthermore, it discusses the role of ICT in smart homes and smart grids, highlighting the impact of these technologies on energy consumption and the overall living experience. The research concludes with a critical analysis of the challenges and opportunities facing the home automation industry, emphasizing the importance of responsible design and implementation practices.

SIT 792 Minor Thesis
Assignment-4: Minor Thesis

Table of Contents
Abstract......................................................................................................................................2
Introduction...............................................................................................................................3
Background................................................................................................................................4
History of Home Automation.....................................................................................................5
Motivation/rationale of the Project...........................................................................................7
Problem Statement....................................................................................................................8
Related Work..............................................................................................................................9
Research Methodology Used...................................................................................................10
GSM Based home automation system.....................................................................................11
Advanced and integrated understanding................................................................................13
Characteristics of Home Automation.......................................................................................14
Challenges faced by using Home Automation System............................................................15
Types of Home Automation System........................................................................................17
Complexities of Home Automation System.............................................................................19
Pros and Cons of Home Automation System...........................................................................20
Critical analysis and reflection of Home Automation System.................................................21
Characteristics of smart home technology:.............................................................................22
How smart grid became the best source of communication?.................................................23
Role of ICT in smart homes and smart grid..............................................................................25
Security risk assessment and recommendations.....................................................................27
Security in the home automation system................................................................................28
Research issues regarding the home automation system.......................................................30
Marketing of products.............................................................................................................32
Responsibilities of Practitioners...............................................................................................33
Home Automation System Design and Implementation.........................................................34
Features of 6LoWPAN..............................................................................................................36
Results/Evaluation/Discussion.................................................................................................37
Conclusion................................................................................................................................38
References................................................................................................................................39
1

Abstract
Due to increase in population, energy consumption has increased across the globe. It is has
become mandatory for the people to conserve energy for having a sustainable environment.
For saving a large amount of energy remote access is required to control the operations
which cannot be found in the older versions of home automation systems. However,
engineers are trying to improve the abilities of home automation system using android
based applications. To support such android based applications, there are different types of
communication methods like Bluetooth, ZigBee and others are required. Earlier, the systems
were used to be controlled manually and used long wires and cables for connecting
different electrical appliances. Since, most of the cabling was used; it created complexities in
the network and sometimes leads to network failure due to short circuits. Later in the
1990’s evolution of smart devices and smart homes took place replacing completely the
traditional type of system. The difference between these two was smart homes used
automated tools like android/web-based applications, configurations of censoring devices,
integrated software application, and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth based connectivity for controlling and
monitoring such digital appliances. When home automation came into existence, it was not
much liked by the people. But later o it became a trend in most of the countries like US and
UK. This research paper describes about the investigations that has been made about the
home automation system. Home automation system consists of the hardware and software
systems to provide services to the people which are broadly discussed in this research
paper. Software applications like installed programs and Android applications to monitor the
accessibility of the system. Hardware devices like router, smart devices, computers, tablets,
smartphones and other useful hardware components in the network. When using Wi-Fi
network for providing internet services to the users, ICT companies also have to create
strategies to avoid security vulnerabilities. This issue is reflected in this paper and
consequently its mitigation strategies are developed. Internet of things (IoT) technology is
used as an infrastructure for the home automation network. This technology has enabled
smart devices to integrate with the electrical appliances which are used for developing
smart homes. This paper concludes that home automation network is most liked by the
people across the globe.
2

Introduction
The home automation system is generally used in an electronic environment in which the
system has a whole is being set up for a specific purpose. All the necessary appliances like
television, refrigerator, fan, motors etc. are accessed remotely in a home automation
system by the users in an electrical environment. These appliances are controlled and
monitored by using a single interface including Android and web-based applications. Home
automation is the technology evolved to build smart homes. These smart homes have
changed the lives of people and have proved the effectiveness of the technology. This minor
thesis will describe in depth about the home automation system and its requirement in the
market today (Xcubelabs, 2017). It is defined as the effective controlling of the electrical
devices are interconnected using smart grids. It helps in managing the energy consumption
so that it does not affect the environment. The purpose of this research is to find the
relevance of home automation system for the people living in different countries of the
world. This research is about providing information regarding the importance, advantages,
disadvantages, limitations, and use of home automation system. In the previous
assignments, research has been made on the existence of home automation system and the
use of internet of things (IoT) technology. This research is based on acknowledging
important information regarding the implementation of the home automation system. This
minor thesis will describe security vulnerabilities that could occur in automated systems, the
technology associated with it and security solutions that are recommended for the users
who have installed home automation system. This research will be based on considering the
global aspects of managing and controlling the accessibility of the home automation system.
3

Background
When the home automation system was not a part of technology, people used to perform
most of their regular operations manually. Manual work created inconsistency and it used
to take a lot of time to accomplish a certain task. The IT companies then worked on
improving the use of electrical appliances for the people as most of these created short
circuits and breakdown in the electricity network. It also included the higher cost of
maintaining such appliances and controlling them manually. Then after years of hard work,
there are a lot many improvements that have been taken place in the field of the home
automation system. Technology like the internet of things has been used to integrate the
smart devices with the Android and web-based applications. The ICT companies are now
focusing to develop enhancements in the field of home automation system without
affecting the environment. Smart grid technology is used to reduce the carbon emission that
is being generated from the electrical appliances of the automated network. It has been
recorded by the researchers that automated systems consume more electrical energy. The
observations of technical experts also state that the home automation systems have
replaced the use of traditional systems. Home automation systems were started as the
evolution of smart homes. The devices are controlled by a gateway. There is a user interface
which is mounted by the control systems. Tablet and the desktop computers can be
accessed off-site without using the internet service. Home automation systems were used
since the 1990’s and have now reached a level where almost every country of the
worldwide is making expectations to use it. These are cost-effective and easy to manage.
The internet of things technology has been used as an interface for the home automation
system. Mostly, a Wi-Fi network is used to provide internet connectivity to the automated
network.
4

History of Home Automation
1901- 1920: Introduction to ‘Smart’ technology
Within these years, the home automation system was invented by IT professionals. They set
their target to achieve ‘smart’ homes for the people across the globe. They took the help of
electrical and electronics engineer to introduce such technology in the market. No doubt
this was liked by almost everyone across the globe. Through many years, washing machines,
fans etc. were used by the people in their homes which brought up this idea of creating a
fully automated system by the technical experts. At that time, fewer people used to
implement smart technology for their homes as they were not sure about the reliability and
efficiency of such systems.
1966-1967: ECHO IV
It is the first ever launched smart device that was commercially used by the people. This
device was used to provide information regarding weather forecast, reading of electrical
appliances and many others. This was the good source of gathering information and to
memorize small things like the shopping list. This technology reduced the workload of
people who were more focused on their work rather than other jobs at their home.
1991- Gerontechnology
This type of technology was used to give alerts about something. If anything weird used to
happen then an alarm used to ring to provide an acknowledgment to the users.
Gerontechnology became beneficial for the older people who felt difficulty in managing
their daily routine activities. The government has also facilitated this technology as an
effective innovation for the old age persons living in the society. This was the reliable
product to perform safety for the disabled individuals.
1998-2000 Smart homes:
People have found smart homes technology innovative and interesting and therefore, use of
smart home technology began in early 2000’s. It ensured the users that less energy is
consumed by having all the electrical appliances all together under one roof. The internet of
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things (IoT) technology is used as an infrastructure for constructing smart homes. These
provide devices like sensors and actuators to transmit the information to the users on their
smart devices like computers or tablets (Hendricks, 2014).
This was all about the trends that took place in the history of the home automation system.
Nowadays, the home automation system is used with the help of Android-based
applications having the user-friendly user interface. Users can manage the automated
network for own using their smart devices like tablet or smartphones. These systems also
allow users to access the internet services 24 hours a day with complete security. This is the
reason why people are choosing a secured automated network over the traditional method
of accessing their electrical appliances at home.
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Motivation/rationale of the Project
With the advent of the home automation system and the use of internet of things
technology, research about its advantages and disadvantages promoted to create a research
about this. I took guidance from my academic teachers for understanding the concept
behind home automation system. Using the different academic journals and articles, I have
gathered information regarding the existence of home automation. This project is important
for me to create better opportunities for knowing more about the automated systems and
their importance. This thesis is based on the proper understanding of the topic ‘Home
Automation System’ which is developed by ICT based organisations to provide best of their
smart home services to the customers worldwide. This research is more about the
investigation about the methodologies that are used in an automated network. This
investigation will be based on the data collected from qualitative data analysis method. My
motivation behind choosing this topic is the trend of smart homes nowadays. People choose
to have secured and modern homes to have a better lifestyle. Practitioners have concluded
that now people believe in change and innovations that they observe in the market today.
Earlier, people used to implement traditional systems which are connected with long
transmission lines and were likely about electro-mechanical equipment. These were highly
expensive in their maintenance as compared to the automated networks. Considering these
aspects, I have selected the home automated system to research on this. I will be going to
create a thesis about what it is about, which technology is used for this, security issues,
challenges in the market and the cost required for the implementation of such systems.
7

Problem Statement
While researching about the home automation system, security issues and proper
management of operating costs came out to be the problem. Research issues for this
project are to know what are the security risks associated with the automated network and
their mitigation strategies. When it comes to the understanding of Wi-Fi-based networks
and software applications, security is the main concern. However, ICT (Information and
Technology) companies are making research about providing ease of access to home
automation system to the users worldwide. Identification of strategies could be used to
handle costs. The research problems could be sorted by studying about the home
automation network using relevant internet sources such as academic journals.
8

Related Work
Technological advancements have proved that people are now more interested in
innovations. Innovations have become the part of their lives creating a modern living. Home
automation system makes the domestic operations much more convenient to perform.
There are different components of home automation system like user interface, controller,
mode of transmission, and electronic devices each of these have their own importance in
the digital world. Artificial intelligence has contributed a lot in making people understand
the effectiveness of automated networks. It provides the information regarding the real-
time scenario about the electrical appliances that are used for a domestic purpose. The
home automation system is the part of the Internet of Things (IoT) technology that is
tremendously growing in the markets worldwide. People from different countries are
approaching ICT organisations to enhance the processes of smart homes and also to provide
a user guide so that they can effectively use such systems. Most of the issues faced by the
users were the energy consumption that these devices have. Each of the electrical
appliances is connected to a smart device to consuming a lot of energy. However, ICT
companies are still working on reducing the power consumption and providing feasibility in
the home automation network for the people who want to use such technology. The
research work is based on the home automation network and the different types of
technologies associated with it (Gunge and Yalagi, 2016). This journal by (Tiwari and
Gedam, 2016), describes the brief description of the home automation system and its
effectiveness for the people. It is studied in this journal that micro-controllers are used to
monitor the activities of a home automation system. Micro-controllers are used to provide
information to the smart devices like the request made by the users. The journal by (Saad al-
summit, Ahmed, and Salama, 2014), describes the importance of internet of things
technology for the growth of home automation systems in different countries of the world.
Author has focused on the advantages of the internet of things in making the automated
systems much reliable to use. It is reflected in this paper that smart devices that are used in
home automation systems are user-friendly, reliable, better in performance and is effective
to use. This paper is the literature review about the home automation system which
describes the different types of smart devices that are used in it. The author has described
the challenges that companies face in implementing home automation technology. The
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main role is of communication in such automated systems; this helps in transferring
information about the functionality of a smart device to the users.
10

Research Methodology Used
Research Methodology is a type of systematic plan that is used to describe the research
activities that is performed for understanding a particular topic. A research methodology is
based on assumptions, approaches and the philosophy to some related topic. Researchers
use research methodology as an essential tool for getting reviews about the predictions
made about a research topic like that of the home automation system (Eyisi, 2016). The
research questions are identified and solved on the basis of information gathered for a
topic. Although, there are different research methodologies, qualitative research
methodology will be used for this project. This is because it provides in-depth knowledge
about a topic. I will be using different case studies taking academic journals as a reference.
Qualitative approach is about exploring a problem using surveys, interviews, questionnaires,
focus groups and other fact-finding technique as a medium of study. This method is quite
complex as the raw data is collected from the views that people provide to the researchers.
I want to focus on the predictions and requirements of people for the home automation
system. That is why, I have found qualitative research methodology as an important tool for
completing my minor thesis project. As the method of data collection, I will be conducting
surveys on various ICT organisations and the phenomenon based on home automation
system. I want to collect the theoretical knowledge about home automation system and
hence chose qualitative data analysis method to study about different facts and figures
related to smart homes (Almalki, 2016).
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GSM Based home automation system
Figure 1: GSM
GSM is specifically used in home automation to acts as a communication medium for all the
electrical appliances at home. There is a GSM modem which is used to send AT signals to the
electrical and electronic appliances. J2ME programming language is used access the
software interface for the appliances. The server engines in this type of system is as follows-
a web server to provide internet connectivity to the users, database to store information,
main control program to manage the overall system and speed recognition program. SMS
process is used to send or receive messages in this type of home automation system. A
dynamic wrapping algorithm is used to perform speech processing which is a kind of digital
signal processing. These are used to digitally represent a signal in a home automation
network. There are four different fragments of an application node in a GSM network that is
microcontroller, input and output device, receiver and a transmitter. These devices provide
information which is based on the real scenario.
Figure Description: a GSM network is shown in the figure shown above. GSM is used to
conduct the primary communication in the network. There is a voice control system to
enable and disable the notifications from the appliances. In such a network there is an
Arduino kind of board which is responsible for managing and controlling the user interfaces
of electrical appliances used in a GSM network. It is important for an Arduino board to use
peripheral devices to send and receive messages to perform interfacing operations for
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example smartphone. There is a visual programming tool is used that is used to manage the
Android and web-based applications. The GSM receives the messages transferred from such
applications so as to make electrical appliances perform some action. The drawback for such
a network is that it cannot be customized as it is based on visual programming and most of
the time users face issues corresponding to reliability and the increasing costs of a GSM
network (Palaniappan, Hariharan, Kesh, and Vidhyalakshimi, 2015).
Technology is developing rapidly changing the way people live their lives. Now, people are
more dependent on online communication than to meet people. Most of the business
meetings are conducted online to save time and money. This technological development has
increased the economic expansion and increasing demands of people. Now, the families are
transformed to the modern one leaving away the traditional method of living. Home has
been transformed into smart homes using technology like the internet of things and home
automation. Lifestyle practitioners have concluded that home automation has brought a
tremendous change in the lives of people.
This journal describes the developments required in the field of home automation. Although
people are satisfied with the working of electrical appliances, there are many more things to
explore about it like remote controlling approach. Earlier the home automation system used
to be controlled using phone systems, which were connected through an interface. Modems
were used to provide a connection between the home appliances and the remote control.
Technologies like Bluetooth, GSM, etc. were used to control the home-related devices
(Soliman et al., 2017).
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Advanced and integrated understanding
From the time technology has driven into the lives of people, it has completely changed the
lifestyle of people. Home automation allows people to enjoy living in their homes
peacefully. People can entertain them, perform business operations and can relax in their
homes. This automated system can be controlled by the users and can turn it into the sleep
mode whenever they leave the house. The idea behind home automation is to provide
comfort and easy usage of home appliances to the people. People using home automation
can change their home cooling according to the weather change. Mostly, the home
automation system is based on the Global System Messaging which provides security to the
electrical appliances. Android system is used for visual programming of the human
controllable systems. Although GSM provides security to the home network, most of the
systems are hacked. Users must provide strong passwords to their Wi-Fi system so that no
one can crack it. Also, users should keep on changing their Wi-Fi passwords which will make
it difficult for the hackers to break it. Security breaches can be harmful to the home
automation system because hackers find the confidential information of the users important
for their profits (Jivani, 2014).
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Characteristics of Home Automation
 Reduced installation cost: there is less cabling required for the system therefore cost
is quite low. In such systems wireless connections and Android applications which
are cost-effective. Such applications can either be installed on the smart devices like
tablets or smartphones or in the computer systems. These use internet connectivity
to install applications and their updates whenever available.
 Internet connectivity: the home automation system can be controlled as it is
connected to the internet which will enable users to access the system from
anywhere anytime. This makes it easier for the users to access the system
effectively. Users can switch off and on the home automation system when it is
needed.
 Scalable: wireless networks are in the trend these days, therefore, home automation
systems are made available for the users providing the feature of scalability for the
users. There are most of the areas where the internet connection is not supported
for such areas it is important for the automated network to be scalable.
 Security: an integrated home network can be designed for the users who want to
design the home automation system to manage their electrical appliances efficiently.
When the internet and android based applications are used, users show their
concern about security vulnerabilities. It is recommended for the users to frequently
update their system to avoid security vulnerabilities.
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Challenges faced by using Home Automation System
Home Automation System has highly affected the Global economy by the implementation
new and trending technologies available in the market. Experts have concluded from their
researches that home automation system is now influencing people a lot more than before.
People find it easy to manage all the electrical appliances effectively at their homes as
recorded. The standard of home automation system has now become advanced for the
people. Engineers are now trying to provide scalable and reliable systems.
 Reliability: earlier the traditional systems were completely dependent on the
manually based operations but now the home automation systems provide
independence to the users. Users can control the appliances by simply using a
remote control device. The currently developed automated systems ensure that
there will be less number of service failures as there is an integrated system of smart
devices with the software applications. Users installed a broadband connection in
their homes to support the smart devices for which service outage is one of the
important aspects that need to be considered. For protecting the sensible devices
from service failure, companies are trying to manage such conditions by developing
low energy consumption devices to be used for the automated systems.
 Data collection and use: A value proposition for each of the product that is launched
in the market depends on the number of functionalities that it has. However, the
smarter use of resources can be a part of increasing value of a product in the market.
For achieving this, smart devices need to have an effective communication between
them. When the computer systems and the application programs are user-friendly
then there is no chance of system failure that could lead to loss of information.
When the data is saved and managed properly, it provides opportunities for the
marketers to improve their sales process.
 Data Transformation and Integration: earlier [people used to stay connected socially
and managed their electrical appliances manually. About now companies have made
advancements in the process and have introduced digital services to the customers
worldwide. Therefore, it can be said that traditional homes are now transformed to
the modern ones. This has helped the companies to reach competitive advantage in
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the market. Data Transformation and Integration has become an integral part of
technological developments
 Liability: this is a very challenging situation for the users and vendors who are not
able to download and install updates that are required for the specific software
application; there can be several reasons for this including not having enough
knowledge about the system. This could lead to becoming a part of cyber-attacks.
Considering all these aspects, it can be said that liability of the automated system is
affected. Most of the issues are faced by the vendors as they have to deal with the
customers and the worldwide consumers. Liability issues are tried to be managed by
the developers and product engineers during the manufacturing process itself. On
the other hand, taking certification from Government, at that time also product
liabilities should be checked by the Government officials (Purohit and Ghosh, 2017).
17

Types of Home Automation System
a) Wi-Fi-based: it consists of three modules that are a software package, server, an
interface module, and hardware. The server uses secure Wi-Fi Technology, and
hardware interface module is used to communicate with each other. The user can
use the same technology to log in to server web-based application while the server is
kept connected to the internet, therefore by the help of internet compatible web
browser, the remote users can also access the server web-based application.
b) Android and Wi-Fi: WLAN 802.11 is used as a Wi-Fi standard that provides reliable
internet connection. Air conditioner and other heating devices are connected by the
Wi-Fi connection. Android programming tools like Eclipse is used for the
development of required android based applications. Wi-Fi is the most efficient
communication tool for the home automation system. There are different kinds of
Wi-Fi module is created so that internet-based protocols can be transferred in the
network easily.
c) Zigbee Protocol: similar in a feature like that of a Bluetooth technology, ZigBee is
declared as the global standard for the wireless sensor networks that also ensures
low cost of installation for their smart homes. These communication technologies
are based on the IEEE802.15.4 standard that promotes better connectivity to the
user’s devices. These are the password secured technology to ensure the users that
they can safely and securely access the network connection in their homes.
d) Cloud-based: these ensure that the users will be provided with a large amount of
storage space for their information. Cloud services provide the ability to the smart
devices to automatically install updates whenever required for the home automation
system. Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) is used so that information can be
transferred through the internet gateways securely. Users can easily control and
monitor the activities of their home automation system effectively using cloud-based
services.
e) Raspberry-Pi based: this technology provides solutions to the automated systems
that are used worldwide. Such systems are very interactive for the users thus
maintaining economic value of the automated systems. In some of these devices,
internet connection is not required like that of Model A which has 256Mb RAM and
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also has one USB port. These types of systems work efficiently with Arduino based
systems. When developing home automation strategies, Raspberry Pi based systems
are the reliable systems to be considered. These are the user-friendly systems that
are developed by the IT professionals for a specific purpose.
f) Bluetooth based: ever since the Bluetooth technology is launched in the market, it
has been widely used. This provides a secure connection between the sender and
receiver of a communication network. It consists of very less or no complexities. To
transfer the information, different kinds of Bluetooth modules are used to provide
reliability and better accessibility in the network. The operability of a Bluetooth
connection is about 2.5GHz within the range of 45 meters. In the home automation
system, HC-05 type of Bluetooth module is used. When such type of Bluetooth
module is used developers ensure that it is compatible with the smartphones and
other devices that are used by the users. This type of wireless technology is most
liked by the users worldwide even for the systems like home automation systems.
All these different types of home automation systems have different uses across the globe
as described their benefits and features.
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Complexities of Home Automation System
The most common problem that has been highlighted by the professionals is the increasing
prices of the home automation system. They say that most of the companies are facing the
pricing issues to attract customers for purchasing home automation system. After years of
hard work by the programmers and other technical experts, they have found a way for this
problem. They say that complexities of such systems can be reduced by making them
compatible by using software applications like Z-Wave etc. that have integration programs
to control the electrical appliances used at homes. This has helped in maintaining the eco-
balance and making it more reliable for the people to survive. These software applications
provide simplicity to the home automated systems and reduce the overall operating costs.
This helps the companies to make profits annually (Springer, 2016).
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Pros and Cons of Home Automation System
These are automatically controlled systems which are in trend today. When these systems
entered the IT market, these were quite difficult to purchase as its prices were high. But
now, these are implemented by almost every house across the globe.
Pros:
 Energy Saving: temperatures of the electrical appliances can be pre-programmed so
that users can efficiently access the system. Users can set their preferences like timer
or alarms before operating their appliances so that they can save energy. Users
should implement capable systems which could save approximately 10% on the
electricity bills.
 Convenience: systems have a remote control option that makes the users
convenient to switch off the electrical appliances when not in use; there is no issue
for manually operating the system. This also provides security to the risks.
 Security: alerts and notifications are provided to the users when they are not at
home. This could make the users aware of any intrusion activity that might be
happening inside their homes. This feature of security makes the customer attract
for implementing home automation system.
Cons-
 Installation: cost and installation process of the home automation system is higher
which a loss is for the companies as most of the customers do not use it for their
homes.
 Complex Technology: smart devices are quite complex to understand. This becomes
difficult for the users to understand the operability of the home automation system.
 System Compatibility: not all the devices are compatible with the remote controlling
systems or the installed android applications; therefore, there is a compatibility
issue.
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Critical analysis and reflection of Home Automation System
The recent studies collected information from the UK, the demand for such systems has
now increased. These systems provide luxury and benefits to the users globally. Industry
experts say that these systems have now impacted the lives of people. Smart homes have
changed the lifestyle and the way they perform their daily routine operations. The
development of automated systems has led to the enhancements in the business of IT
companies. It also provides opportunities to the people those who are unemployed.
Technological advancements in the field of home automation have increased the sales rate
at an affordable rate. Home automation system has benefitted people want to spend much
time at their homes. This trend is growing more rapidly and the change can be seen in the
markets of UK. It provides wireless services for all the electrical appliances installed at
home. People can enjoy parties or evening time with their family or friends in such a cozy
environment (theiet, 2017).
Home automation system has the great contribution in providing smart homes to the
people worldwide. The European Standard has stated that home automation has played a
significant role in the development of IT business in the country. Smart homes are built by
using methods of artificial intelligence, computational processes, effectively monitor and
control, more frequent communication using Bluetooth and many more. All these are cost-
effective, secure and the easiest way for the energy consumption methods.
The concept behind the smartphones was started in the early 1990’s to provide comfort and
independence to the people at their homes. IT expert’s wants users to effectively
communicate with the devices attached to their homes and so they continuously work on
improving the capabilities of smart homes. The digital network of home automation is
designed to create a network.
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Characteristics of smart home technology:
a) Automation: such systems allow electrical devices to automatically connect with the
software applications so that users can effectively control the systems. This feature
enables the users to access the devices more conveniently, than managing them
manually.
b) Multi-functionality: smart home technology is effective for the users as it can
perform multiple actions at the same time. It consumes less time to perform any
activity by a user like cooling the room within no time.
c) Adaptability: using smart home technology, IT companies can predict and
acknowledge the specific requirements of the customers. They try to develop
effective strategies for having business growth.
d) Interactivity: smart home technology is made user-friendly for the users so that they
access it easily.
e) Efficiency: IT companies are focusing on managing costs for such home automation
systems so that they can be benefitted along with the customers.
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How smart grid became the best source of communication?
Electrical grids are more frequently used nowadays than it used to be in the earlier days of
the technological development. In most of the privately owned homes, one can observe a
well-installed home automation system. One of the reasons for such development is the
changing lifestyle of people and another one is the comfortable environment of living
provided by such system. However, there is a need to maintain such systems but these have
uncountable benefits as discussed above. The communication between these electrical
devices takes place by either a direct connection or by using a bidirectional one. Technical
expert says that all these electrical devices do not put a load on the internal cabling and
wiring system and thus consumes less energy. It makes the home automation system
reliable and cost-effective to implement. It has been recorded that approximately 40% of
the homes globally use the home automation system. It is because people find it easier to
live their lives in an appropriate manner and can create smart homes. Energy consumption
is the major issues and is also the main point to be considered when constructing smart
homes. However, the use of the Android-based application and the devices of the internet
of things it has been made possible for all the people living in their homes. People can
control and monitor the activities of the electrical devices, they can either switch in or off it
using a timer or keeping it in the sleep mode. If there is an issue that occurs in the system
like faults, technical experts are there to resolve issues of smart homes as soon as possible.
The energy of such devices is consumed by reducing the consumption of carbon that is used
in the emission of the devices. The experts found a relevant solution for energy
consumption is that they should display the real-time reading of the overall electricity that is
consumed in a day at home. This could help the experts to understand where the most of
the energy is getting consumed in the system. Later, smart grids are designed to track the
meter readings of the electrical devices that are being accessed in a day by the people living
at their homes. The automated smart grids have now replaced the traditional smart grids
methods of consuming less energy for using electrical appliances at home. Traditional power
grid used to consists of long transmission lines in which transformers, power grids, and
other electrical devices are connected together using long and string cabling. It has been
replaced by the smart grid technology which provides two-way communication between the
electrical appliances and also provides other required utilities to the users. Smarts grids are
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secure and reliable than tradition power grid which has higher maintenance cost when
installing in an area of interconnected networks. The development of smart grid technology
has taken place due to the more energy consumption of electromechanical energy by the
traditional power grid systems. The electrical transmissions and distributed energy
consumption levels can be monitored easily using smart grid technology, therefore, it is
preferred more nowadays (Faizan, n.d.).
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Role of ICT in smart homes and smart grid
Smart grids have reduced the limitations of the traditional methods used for energy
consumption for creating smart homes. This interoperability of the smart grids is due to
ICT’s that is being implemented by the people for their homes. Smart living has become a
smart trend in the countries worldwide. Smart metering is used in the home automation
system to collect and restore the real-time scenario of the energy consumed by a particular
electrical device at home. Smart grids are used to properly interact it the users as there is no
need to operate it manually, it has become the easiest way people can manage their
operations performed by their electrical devices. The quality of such services has become
reliable for the users. The electrical companies have now seen a tremendous growth in their
business. There is so much different clientele has gathered to purchase such automated
systems to make their home smart homes of making better living standards. ICT
infrastructure has provided ways to establish smart technology more frequently in the
market as compared to the traditional power grid system. The overall costs of such products
are also made affordable by the IT companies so that consumers do not find it difficult in
purchasing good quality products within no time, thereby increasing the economic value of
the IT companies in the market. Home automation systems have provided a direction for
the ICT companies to travel to different countries of the world and provide their services
globally. A perfect balance of demand, as well as supply, can be observed with the
implementation of ICT infrastructures for constructing smart homes by using smart grids
technology. People are now able to manage their electricity bill effectively. When there are
fewer demands of such automated systems, the energy is stored which can be used for the
duration of off-peak time. This method saves a large amount of energy for the electrical
appliances to make them reliable to use. Countries like China, Brazil, India and many more
have now started using the smart grids with the ICT infrastructures to provide best of their
services to the customers. In the construction sector, it can be said that the use of smart
grid technology has increased as during the early stage of a building construction a home
automation system is installed so that consumers can be benefitted from the most energy
saving method and creating smart homes using advanced technology. For the residential
homes, demand-response (DR) approach is used to calculate the energy consumption per
day so that people living in their homes and efficiently manage their bills for having smart
26

homes. However, ICT has taken smart grid technology to another level. As compared to the
1990’s when the home automation technology was just started, their use has been
increased during the year 2010 when people started to have a modern kind of living. People
want to have high living standards and want to improve the way they use the electrical
appliances and in contrast improve the communication protocols for such automated
systems. Automation technology was a part of a technological development that has
revolutionized the way people interacted with the society, used electrical and electronic
devices or gadgets and maintain their standards of living within the society (Pande and Sen,
2014).
27

Security risk assessment and recommendations
In this journal by (Gubbi et al., 2013), the importance of internet of things technology has
been described. The smart home network is built using the IoT devices. This technology is
used in providing network infrastructure to develop an integrated network for the users
across the globe. The main aim of IOT is to provide internet connectivity for the users in
each of the electronic devices. Sensors are designed which enables the users to control the
devices automatically wherever they are. IOT has made the communication process of home
automated network more reliable and effective for the users. This technology is now in
demand for almost all industries. It provides complete security, compatibility and
entertainment to the people who prefer staying at their homes. There are two different
types of home automated systems available for the users that is remotely accessed and the
locally accessed.
 Locally controlled systems: this provides a wireless interface for the users to that
they can easily get connected with the electrical appliances installed in their homes.
 Remotely controlled systems: in such systems users can access their home
automation network using a computer or any other device like a smartphone to stay
connected.
Entities used in home automation system-
 Electronic- smart sensors, actuators which are physical components
 Communication- Wired and wireless network
 Intelligent information processing- artificial intelligence program for managing and
controlling the smart home integrated system.
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Security in the home automation system
Considering the fact that the IOT technology provides various benefits to the people using
the home automated network, it also has many security vulnerabilities. Since the connected
smartphones and other devices have sensitive information of a user, it needs to be secured
from the malicious activities of the intruders. Privacy is essential for such smart devices to
stay protected from the activities of hackers. This is one of the main problems of
transforming normal homes to the smart homes. The information is the most important
asset that needs to be a safeguard from the intruders. Internet connection is the most
convenient source for the attackers to steal the information of the users. Hackers can track
the Wi-Fi password or the location of smart devices which is easier for them to locate the
information stored of the user. The security issue is raised in the IOT based devices because
it is connected to the internet whole day and consists of a large amount of useful
information that may be beneficial for the hackers. There are some of the preventive
measures that the users can follow to protect their network from the malicious activities
performed by the intruders:
 Locking the router- Since the data is used to be transferred from a router only, it
needs to be secured first. If the router is poorly connected without any security then
definitely intruders will find a way out to reach for the user’s sensitive data. Denial of
service attack can be performed if the router is not safe. Due to this attack, the users
will not be able to access their home automated network for certain duration of time
which might lead to the loss of essential information. The users should keep in mind
to change the admin’s passwords frequently so that it will become difficult for the
hackers to crack it.
 Prevent Tampering- A management port should be implemented by the users so that
an unknown user is not capable to access the smart devices connected in the
network. Devices which have USB connected to them are most vulnerable because it
is easier to collect information by directly connecting the USB cable to their personal
devices.
 Use of Cloud Service- cloud service such as ADT can be implemented by the users
which will them to secure the information that is processed daily on their home
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automation network. Users will be able to monitor their security system on their
own using cloud services. These types of services are expensive to use but when
these are implemented, it provides security and better accessibility for them to their
home automation network This will make them secure from any kind of security
vulnerability.
 Update the devices- technology is improving day by day providing a large number of
benefits to the people. It has been found by the researchers that users should
update their smart devices because outdated versions are more prone to security
vulnerabilities. This is because hackers get acknowledged with the outdated versions
and it becomes easier for them to steal the information from entering the user’s
network. Users must keep on changing their passwords, they should keep strong
passwords for their smart devices using special characters, symbols, and numbers.
On the contrary, users should enable the automatic installation option for their
devices so that these can be updated without interrupting the currently running
processes of the network (Lemos, 2015).
30

Research issues regarding the home automation system
Researchers of ICT has predicted that there are some of the issues regarding the
development of home automation system which can be faced by the consumers by
implementing such systems for creating smart homes. Experts have started to analyse the
complexities of such automated systems and are continuously finding appropriate solutions
to provide reliability and better accessibility for this system to the users. When the
controllers were designed by the experts, they research about its effectiveness when
interconnected with the internet of things devices and other related smart devices for smart
homes. The first ever developed for controllers was started in the US. Thre were many ICT
professionals who started the smart projects for developing safer electrical appliances for
the smart homes which can be conveniently controlled by the users of the home
automation system. The experts first visualise the pros and cons of designing smart homes,
later the functionalities and features are added. The US has created smart development in
media, social services and advancement in technology. Before any ICT innovation, meetings
and conferences are held with the collaboration of different company’s managers. In such
meetings, requirements of consumers and the availability of resources is measured by
examining the improvements and enhancements required in the automation technology.
Most of the industries apart from ICT started to rise up issues like costs and the
management of business operations for managing such automated applications. They say
that are potential risks in taking initiatives for the development of smart homes. For
providing solutions for all the issues raised by the other industry professionals, ICT has
decided to make improvements in the technical structure of the automated systems
(Haddon, 1995).
 New product development- designers and developers of a product has to ensure
that all the necessary requirements of the consumers have been considered before
the development of a new product. The total cost of ownership and the project
activities are scheduled so that the companies can deliver the product within the
given time duration. For most of the ICT companies, automated products are a part
of their overall development and contribution for attaining competitive advantage in
the market. Availability of resources is also considered for the new product
31

development scenario. Project managers do not want to take risks regarding the
project development process, they keep a track of all the team members and
provide resources for the product development whenever required.
 Alliances- there is the major role of alliances in making the product development
process much productive for the ICT companies. The combination of different forms
allows effective project management by making available all the necessary
requirements of the product development process. Capabilities, knowledge, and
resources are received when creating an alliance with different ICT companies. This
allows people to share their views about a product and to develop its effectiveness
for the potential consumers in the market (Haeussler, Patzelt and Zahra, 2012).
 Development of strategies- Strategies is developed by the ICT companies to enhance
the productivity of their business. It helps in analysing the current market and to
develop effective strategies for the product development. The process of product
development till it is launched in the market, marketers have to continuously make
efforts and research on the potential risks that may occur in the market. Companies
have to analyse their strengths and weaknesses so that they can avoid threats and
could achieve the opportunities available for such ICT companies in the market.
 Conflict in the market- No doubt when there is a communication going on regarding
the new product development process, there will be conflicts begin in the market.
This results in the war of creating better opportunities for a company in the market.
Cross-functional relationships are an important part of creating success for the new
product development in the market. Examining marketing relationships between the
ICT companies is quite interesting to research about. There is a lot of strategic
planning goes on and only selected business strategies are developed by the
marketers of a company for achieving the success of the new product development
process besides the ongoing market conflicts (Massey and Kyriazis, 2006).
32

Marketing of products
Product planning is most of the important part of the new product development process.
Whether it is the ICT industry or any other for the development of automated products,
planning is the essential part. However, most of the ICT companies are struggling to hire the
skilled personnel for developing better product marketing strategies initiating with a well-
planned marketing strategy. There are different ideas that are generated in the regular
meetings taken by the project managers of a company. Each idea is analysed using pros and
cons and its effectiveness for the consumers in the market. The marketing decisions for a
product are considered according to the product price, its distribution in the market and the
promotions required for it. The concept behind the product marketing is to make aware of a
particular product for the consumers in the market. Product planning provides a rough idea
to the retailers and other businesses to understand the consumer requirements and the
profits that they will be going to receive after the development of a particular product.
However, the demands of automated products have now increased and provided
opportunities to most of the unemployed people. ICT companies have also seen growth
after the years of technological improvements made in the field of home automation system
for the users. Product planning is initiated by conducting research and study about the
requirements and demands of consumers for the developed products. The qualitative and
quantitative marketing research methodologies are used to analyse the market
requirements and the steps ICT companies shall follow to attain competitive success in the
market. It provides the deep understand ing of the product development process for the
marketers to construct effective strategies for their own business (Theus, n.d.).
33

Responsibilities of Practitioners
Practitioners of home automation systems are responsible for actively participating in
making the automated systems are more reliable to its consumers. They look at the issues
that are face the d by the consumers to find the feasible solutions for each of the
automated product. To analyse the effectiveness of home automation system is done by the
practisers. They conclude any kind of result by taking reviews from people, managers of
information and technology-based companies, vendors, and many other people who are
associated with having knowledge about the home automation system.
34

Home Automation System Design and Implementation
Users are implementing automated systems so that they can control devices with the help
of the sensor based technology. Due to its cost-effectiveness and the feature of reliability,
consumers are implementing such systems for their homes. Design for such systems is
created according to a market analysis done for the product. Requirements of consumers
are considered based on the interviews conducted by the engineers and IT professionals.
This contributes to the development of ICT companies also. Effective communication with
the consumers is necessary for the development of efficient products for the consumers
worldwide. With the introduction of home automation technology, new entrants are
observed in the market like ABB. It is the most famous company of the world that
manufactures and provides services in electrical appliances to its consumers worldwide. All
of these companies are struggling to achieve competitive success in the market. Market
share is one of the main concerns for the electrical companies. They want to achieve success
in the each best way possible to attain relevant market share. The traditional system of
wired appliances has now changed with the wireless technologies which are most liked by
the customers. The reason behind the efficiency people can observe in wireless networks.
These are easily managed and its overall cost of ownership is also too low is as compared to
the wired technology. ZigBee is one of the most popular communication technologies that
has been evolved in the market to provide consistency and efficiency in the smart devices.
The physical layer and the network access layer both of them are used to make the
communication process much effective to use. The Ipv6 protocols are used to standardize
the communication between the electrical appliances and the integrated software systems
for the home automation system based technology. This technology has reached to
numerous clienteles in the different countries of the world making the living standards of
people much higher than they used to have it earlier. For the home automation systems
could base technology is used. It is because these can manage the information that is being
accessed by the users on a regular basis. It provides could base services to manage the
automatic updates for the system. Android applications have new advancements which can
make the communication process much more effective than it is now. Software developers
and electrical engineers are continuously analysing and researching about delivering best of
their services to the automated system’s consumers across the world. The cloud-based
35

architecture enables the users to access their automated systems at any time and anywhere
they are. Internet connection allows multiple users to access the automated system’s
services at a time. Cloud services provide a centralised management system which can
control the accessibility of smart devices in a home automation system’s network. The
design of home automation system is based in the double-mode so that there are very
fewer chances of faults and risks that usually occur in a network. The 6LoWPAN protocol is
essentially used for the design and implementation of the home automation system. This
protocol is used to carry the Ipv6 protocol in a network for accomplishing the process of
efficient data transfer. It is used for the home automation network to resolve network
compatibility issues with the electrical appliances and also for simplifying the network
model that is used in the automated system. It helps in load balancing, firewall and
providing resistance to the current occurring in the network.
36

Features of 6LoWPAN
Unlike ZigBee, 6LoWPAN also provides reliability to the home automation network system.
Some of its features include-
 The Dispatch Header: this describes the header that needs to be followed by WPAN
in the automated network that starts from 00. The size of this header is about 1
byte. The dispatch header is used to describe the area which is not surrounded by
6LoWPAN. It is the representation of 6bit number using Ipv6 protocol for the
compressed (000010) and uncompressed (000001) encoding of data.
 The Mesh Header: This works with the link layer protocol of the communication
network that determines the destination of the network protocol. It consists of a 16-
bit address and the standard 64-bit address. It describes the number of hops that is
taken by the protocol in a network during the transfer of required messages.
 The Fragment Header: This type of header is used to manage the size of the 802.15.4
frame. The datagram size is measured and accordingly data packets are sent to the
network for effective communication. It is compatible with the Ipv6 communication
protocol besides the limitation of link layer protocols (Cheng, 2015).
37

Results/Evaluation/Discussion
Home automation systems are capable of storing a large amount of information using cloud
services. This type of systems consumes less energy as per the gathered information from
this detailed research thesis. Researchers say that 12% of the energy is consumed by the
home automation system. Another characteristic of the home automation system is the
reduced costs; users can save up to a lot of money as the installation process of such
systems is cost effective and also there is very less requirement of system maintenance.
Besides from wifi and Bluetooth connectivity, ZigBee is also one of the effective
communication tools for the home automation system. ZigBee is a new technology that has
been recently introduced in the market. Internet of things (IoT) technology is used as an
infrastructure for the home automation systems and provides better facilities to the users.
Sensors and actuators prevent the system from any kind of system failure and short circuits
that might occur in the system. For the individuals who want to transform their homes to
the modern ones, home automation is one of the best suitable technologies for them.
Qualitative research methodology provided relevant information about the home
automation system. The different types of journals clarified the basic concepts regarding the
trending smart technologies that are introduced in the market.
38

Conclusion
This minor thesis has presented the informative content about the home automation
system that is trending nowadays. Smart homes are the great invention made by the ICT
companies and technical experts. Research has shown that home automation system is the
most reliable network for the users across the globe. It is recommended for the users to
continuously update their smart devices so that these can be secured from the security
vulnerabilities. It is to conclude from this minor thesis that modern living has become a
trend in different countries of the world. This research has solved the issues regarding
security and the cost. It has been found that home automation systems are cost-effective
and reliable to use. This minor thesis has indicated that home automation system has
changed the lives of people in a positive manner. The smart devices and smart grids are
used to develop automated systems. The home automation system can be remotely
accessed by the users using smart devices securely in the network. It is recommended to the
users that they should not share their passwords with anyone especially with the unknown
users. Users should not use USB cables for transferring information as it provides a way to
the intruders to get into the home automation network of a user.
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