The comfort expectations that people have for their homes are higher than ever. The advent of voice-activated digital assistants and mobile apps for controlling heating systems is just the beginning of a home automation revolution. NFC is being widely used in door access systems, with FiRa likely to become even more popular for this purpose in the coming years. 3D imaging will also have a part to play, enabling facial recognition/authentication.
There is an array of further innovations that are now emerging. IR-based ToF or UWB will provide occupancy detection, so heating and lighting systems can be activated when residents return home. The pressure and flow sensors being integrated into HVAC systems, will enable checking of the filter function - so that it can be flagged if the filter cartridge needs changing. Inclusion of UV-C technology in these systems will help to safeguard against the transmission of infections. There are three main facets of smart home operation. These are:
Sensors
Sensors will be needed to undertake all manner of different monitoring tasks in the homes of the future, among which are temperature, light levels, air quality, and human presence. They will also be needed for the human machine interfaces (HMIs) that home occupants utilise to control automation systems. Rather than pushing buttons or turning dials, a new breed of HMIs will be implemented. These will mainly rely on gesture and voice recognition.
To attend to these requirements, EBV has a comprehensive inventory of sensor devices. These cover all the different types of ambient monitoring, including light, temperature, pressure, and CO2, plus the ToF technology required for gesture recognition and the microphones for voice control.
Connectivity
Among the most widely used wireless home area network (WHAN) technologies are Bluetooth, Matter and Thread. Delivering data rates of up to 250kbps, these support ultra-low power operation, making them highly suitable for connecting with remotely located sensors distributed around the home such as those for notifying if windows are open or closed, plus thermostats and lighting controllers. When higher data capacity is needed, Wi-Fi will be used.
Another connectivity protocol intended for home automation is power line communication (PLC). This mainly serves metering applications. There are also DALI and DMX protocols, both of which relate to lighting control. DALI offers a decentralised architecture that enables multiple control interfaces, while DMX is centralised with a single point of control.
Security
To accompany wireless hardware, it is increasingly important that secure element devices are included within home automation set-ups. Supplied through several EBV vendors, these will prevent security breach opportunities from arising. GDPR regulations mean that manufacturers need to be much more aware about the privacy information stored on IoT devices or other items of equipment. More stringent regulations are likely to emerge in the coming years, so it will be important to be fully prepared.
| Image | Product | New |
|---|---|---|
 | onsemi Image sensor module The onsemi PRISM Image Sensor Module is the ultimate solution for sensor NPI. Compact and modular, it streamlines design processes, offering validated performance and easy access to design documents. Efficient, it simplifies your sensor NPI journey w | |
 | Infineon Technologies AIROC™ CYW43022 Infineon’s AIROC™ CYW43022 an ultra-low power single-chip, combo device features 1x1 dual-band 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) and Bluetooth® 5.4. With a low-power architecture, the CYW43022 is ideal for battery powered applications where best-i | |
 | Arduino Edge AI/ML: Vision&Speech kit The Pro Edge AI/ML: Vision and Speech Kit is the perfect way to learn and create solutions focused on artificial intelligence using computer vision, speech recognition, and machine learning on the Edge. Practice with Edge AI tools to implement auto | |
 | Arduino Smart industry prototyping kit The Pro Smart Industry Prototyping Kit is the perfect way to learn and create solutions focused on industrial applications developed on Linux OS, LoRa® and cellular connectivity and leading industrial communication protocols like CAN Bus and RS-232/4 | |
 | Renesas RZ/V2H microprocessor Learn how Renesas technology in the DRP-AI3 AI accelerator provides the optimized ratio between power efficiency and AI inference processing to enable users and expand the AI development possibilities in robotics and automation industries. Key fe | |
 | STMicroelectronics STM32WL5MOC The STM32WL5MOC long-range wireless and ultralow-power certified module embeds a powerful and ultralow-power LPWAN-compliant radio solution, enabling the following modulations: LoRa®, (G)FSK, (G)MSK, and BPSK. The STM32WL5MOC does not require any RF | |
 | Renesas RZ/G3S The RZ/G3S microprocessor includes a Cortex®-A55 (1.1 GHz) CPU, 16-bit LPDDR4 or DDR4 interface and low-power mode. It also has many interfaces such as PCIe, CAN-FD, and 12-bit ADC, making it ideal for applications such as IoT edge applications. | |
 | Microchip SHA105 The SHA105 is a member of the CryptoAuthentication product family. The device provides 128-bits of symmetric security targeted for disposable and ecosystem control applications and is intended to be used as a companion device with Microchip or other |
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