A home automation proposal built on the Ginga digital TV middleware and the OSGi framework

Among the most promising applications provided by interactive digital television systems (iDTV) are the ones that enable TV-sets to work as the central processing unit of a house. This is supported by the extending of iDTV common functionalities making use of its processing power not only to deal with image and audio but also to execute interactive software applications. This paper proposes a new infrastructure that allows the exchange of data from the iDTV to home automation devices, such as sensors, mobile devices, and so on. The integration process among the involved technologies as well as each element in the proposed infrastructure is described in details. This model is supported by open services gateway initiative (OSGi), as a framework for networked devices, and the Brazilian reference middleware, Ginga. Thus it is possible to use devices services in OSGi-based home networks, through the digital TV. In order to prove the model functionalities, we created validating scenarios of service management involving iDTV interaction with mobile phones and electronic sensor devices using WiFi and Bluetooth technologies.