An Integral and Networked Home Automation Solution for Indoor Ambient Intelligence

We´ve long heard about the wide functionality that home automation technologies offer for improving our lives and securing our houses. However, price and an unstable domotics market have restricted such systems´ deployment. Nowadays, companies offer too technology-dependent solutions that don´t cover user demands completely. Meanwhile, research works focus on small innovations on specific parts of home automation systems, which don´t consider integration and deployment issues to present practical designs. The system presented in this article considers user requirements, including novel advances, all in an integral home automation solution suitable for many services. The architecture´s modular nature allows direct adaptation to specific cases using standard domotic technologies, for managing in-house devices, and a proposal of an IP-based network for connecting the main home automation module with other platform elements. A remote security system has been developed, and managing tasks are enabled via in-home control panels and an advanced 3D application for local and remote homeowner access. The system has been deployed on a prototype house, testing a wide set of domotic services. Moreover, the range of indoor pervasive applications has also been extended to e-health, elderly adaptation, greenhouse automation, and energy efficiency.