User interface technologies for home appliances and networks

The design and implementation of portable, lightweight user-interfaces to provide access to remote embedded home-systems and home-networks is described. This paper is focussed on emerging standards in the consumer electronics field, including embedded-Java, the handheld device markup language (HDML) and remote frame buffer (RFB) protocol technology as implemented in the public-domain virtual network computer (VNC) software. A key goal of the present paper is to provide an objective technical assessment of the applicability of each of these technologies to the development of practical consumer appliances and handheld terminals providing enhanced user access to the home environment.