Intelligent homes: a new challenge in telecommunications standardization

Home systems, a nascent consumer concept also known as domotics, may be posing one of the most significant challenges to telecommunications standards in terms of inteoperability, maintenance, operations and security. The original concept of home intelligence was mostly focused on fiber cabling, local connectivity of computers and terminals, and broadband access. The Internet explosion and the success of wireless communications expanded the scope to that of interconnecting all household computers standalone or embedded in appliances -whether inside the house or outdoors. Promoters claim that smart homes will bring intelligence to a wide range of functions from energy management, access monitoring, alarms, medical emergency response systems, appliance programming, and even interactive games. The interest in such an expanded scope can be seen from papers published in the October and November 2001 issues of this magazine as well as in presentations at the 2nd IEEE Conference on Standardization and Innovation in Information Technology SIIT 2001, from October 3-6, 2001. A typical home automation scheme revolves around a universal interface, a protocol for appliance-to-appliance communications, and a residential gateway to public networks. Communication outside the home is possible through a variety of interfaces such as cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), and so on. Most of the technologies under discussion are mature or well understood. Many of the proposed solutions include or combine designs already implemented in commercial buildings or in largescale unattended applications such as vending machines, car dashboards, heating control systems, and so on. From a strictly business perspective, extension of the concept of smart homes beyond the initial adopters provides a strong opportunity for growth. This is why providing a digital infrastructure to homes has attracted a diverse constituency: switch manufacturers (e.g., Cisco, Cygnet Technologies, Ericsson, Siemens), software developers (e.g., IBM, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems), consumer electronics suppliers (e.g., Mastushita, Sony, etc.), cabling and infrastructure providers (e.g., IONA Systems), retailers of consumer electronics, personal computers, and entertainment software (Best Buy, Sears, Roebuck and Co.), as well as commercial real estate developers and traditional home builders. As a consequence of these multifaceted interests, several specifications have been written and adopted by consortia (e.g., the Association of Home Appliances) and standard bodies such as the Electronic Industry Alliance (EIA), ISO/IEC (JTC 1/SC 25mG l), and IEEE 802. What is conspicuously absent from these activities, however, is any consideration of the intenvorking aspects among the various devices as well as the steps that should be included in the operations and maintenance of the telecommunications services. Very few users, with the probable exception of technological enthusiasts, would consider it “fun” to configure the various appliances, to ensure their interoperability, or to localize and repair faults. This silence is astonishing because many of the technologies advocated for local networks, such as IEEE-SOZ.llb, HomeRF, or Bluetooth are vying for the same set of applications and all operate in the 2.4 GHz band, thereby interfering with each others when they operate in the same local area. Products of consumer electronics are considered interchangeable commodities, differentiated primarily by price and reliability. Even though most appliances have been operating autonomously, future networked appliances will collaborate with other appliances to deliver new services. Minimum compatibility at the application layer requires a standard application programming interface (API). Furthermore, it is essential that the common physical interface be of limited complexity despite the multiplicity of access technologies (cable modem, residential wiring, infrared, etc.). For example, when power line carriers (PLCs) carry high-speed data using existing electric wiring, the transmitting and receiving units at each appliance must conform to the same set of specifications, wherever the user may be. Operations need to be reliable and recover from power failures, mishandling, and errors in programming, and must reduce interference with neighboring home networks. A runaway process or defective hardware may send erroneous fire or burglar alarms, flooding the local network with traffic, thereby affecting all appliances, including heating, lighting, electronic locks, and so on. Advanced networking features may also be needed to allow easy installation (e.g., addition or removal of elements) without disruption and with minimal user involvement. For example, active network technology, where dynamically updated software in network elements can change node behavior, may minimize operator intervention, allow flexible addition of features, and support a variety of information models. Such schemes need to be standardized and secured to allow the interoperability of network elements and terminals independent of manufacturer. The deployment of home networks will put nontrained users in control of network elements connected to public networks. Home networks will likely be more vulnerable than businesses to attacks through the Internet. Owners will have less access to expert knowledge. Furthermore, an automated meter reading device may be reprogrammed to monitor nelwork traffic, determine daily activities, or detect what devices are available. Personal data can be tracked and collected; this invisible surveillance is already available in several commercial products, such as Pentium 111 chips, Windows 98 operating system, the Real Jukebox music software program, and so on. However, mechanisms deployed in business networks to reduce the chance of tracking and identifying individual equipment are costly and hard to configure. This makes them unsuitable in the home environment. The success of i-mode from NTT DoCoMo should remind us that what counts for the general public are ease of use and convenience, not only technological prowess. Does this imply that there should be a basic standard design for home networks or Internet appliances, particularly on aspects related to traffic engineering and the configuration of gateways? Is there a need for a standard checklist to assess security and evaluate risks? Are existing standards organizations capable of harmonizing their work agenda to produce a consistent set of recommendation within a user-friendly framework? Should there be a standard certification procedure for intelligent appliances similar to the procedures used to test for radiation and safety? It seems these are but some of the many challenges the telecommunications and information communities and standards committees will have to face and resolve to the satisfaction of the general public before smart homes can become commercially viable.