Technology

This technology area covers four main topics; trends in home automation, the reliance of home automation systems on the 2.4 GHz radio band that is shared by both ZigBee and WiFi; the Microsoft C# software that is for the control system running on the hub and for the supporting cloud services; and the profiling of devices that enables them to present standardized interfaces to the control system.

Home Automation Trends

These pages provide some background into the development of home automation systems, and attempts to forecast the likely future trends.

• Origins
• Existing Suppliers
• Evolving Technology
• Evolving Market
• Voice Command Systems

Congestion at 2.4 GHz

These pages outline the shared use of the 2.4 GHz frequency band by ZigBee, WiFi, and Bluetooth, and the allocation of channels to avoid radio frequency interference.

• The 2.4 GHz Band
• Channels
• Zigbee Transmissions
• Bluetooth Interference
• Real Time
• Automatic Channel Allocation

Software

These pages outline the software, which is based entirely on Microsoft C#, including a description of the structures of the software on the Hub and in the Cloud.

• Microsoft C#
• NetCanvas Platform
• Operating Systems
• Hub Applications Software
• Cloud Applications Software

Plug & Play Devices

These pages explain the standardisation of device interfaces for use with the control system, and the profiling of the devices to achieve this objective.

• Centralised Control
• Device Profiling
• Exchanging Frames
• Developer’s User Interface
• Creating a Profile