Interactive Home Systems (IHS)-an overview

The Interactive Home Systems project (IHS) is a two-year collaborative project under the EUREKA umbrella, whose purpose is to define a minimum European standard by which domestic appliances may be interconnected through a common bus network. Seven leading companies are involved that together hold a substantial proportion of the European market for domestic electrical equipment and have the combined strength to set standards. There is a strong emphasis on keeping infrastructure costs to a minimum. The design of these media interfaces and all lower-layer protocols associated with them, along with special jointly-developed components, form a core of work which can be freely shared by all participants under a common agreement. A brief overview of the work so far is presented and some envisaged applications are discussed.