A wireless power outlet system for smart homes

This paper presents the design and implementation of a wireless-controllable power outlet system for home automation networks. The proposed power outlet module integrates a ZigBee radio into its architecture. It acts as an actuator node in the home automation networks for remote control operations. A prototype of the power outlet module following the proposed architecture has been implemented. A testbed of a simple home automation network for validating the basic functions of the power outlet module has also been created. Results of the demonstration experiment show that the proposed power outlet module enables easy and flexible control of various home appliances with little infrastructure. It helps us add more intelligence into the home environments rapidly.