The systems engineering process is applied in the development of the
preliminary design of a home automation communication protocol. The objective
of the communication protocol is to provide a means for a personal computer to
communicate with adapted appliances in the home.
A needs analysis is used to ascertain that a need exist for a home automation
system. Numerous design alternatives are suggested and evaluated to determine the
best possible protocol design. Coaxial cable, fiber optics wire, infrared, and the
home power line are each evaluated to determine which would best serve as the
communication medium for the communication protocol. A personal computer and
a dedicated computer are compared to determine which computer configuration will
be used to control the communication protocol. The final design choice which is
considered is the LAN protocol type. CSMA/CD and Token Bus are evaluated to
determine which protocol type will best support the home automation system.
The results of the system engineering process is a preliminary design for a
home communication protocol that will use the home power line, a personal
computer, and a CS-WCD LAN protocol to provide a home communication
protocol.
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