Home network infrastructure for handheld/wearable appliances

A server infrastructure allows wireless wearable appliances or portable handsets to access consumer services offered via the server. Services are accessed via a Universal Home Services Interface (UHSI) which is shared by all access devices. The UHSI can include a voice-activated interface to simplify usage from non-graphical terminals. In a home network the infrastructure resides on a home gateway or central home computer and allows users access to local subsystems or extemal ’ WAN services. An implementation based on a Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) home network is described. 1. Background There have been many advances in Home Networking over the past decade. There are now many different ways and means to interconnect and interlink consumer appliances in the home environment. New physical layer technologies allow reliable data transfer between multimedia appliances at much faster data rates than before and as even simple 8-bit microcontrollers are now able to implement TCP/IP a standard network glue for heterogeneous home networks is emerging. Early generation appliances typically relied on a hardwired connection to a desktop computer in order to communicate with the outside world, but most presentgeneration appliances have their own inbuilt communications transceivers: infra-red, 802.1 lb, Bluetooth or GSWGPRS. With each new generation home appliances will become more independent and capable. In this context of a new generation of mobile heterogeneous appliances we can see a rapidly emerging need for the users of such devices to gain access to new multimedia and data services. Hence we predict a need for a new broadband infrastructure to enhance the capabilities of such devices. Where better to start with such an infrastructure than in the user’s home? A number of today’s home networking technologies offer the infrastructural capabilities to allow home appliances to interconnect and interoperate with each other. Examples include Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) the Open Services Gateway Initiative (OSGi), the Home AudioNideo Initiative (HAVi), and the Java-based JINI technology. However, all of these technologies share a common flaw they are designed from the “bottom-up” to accommodate the interoperability of devices with other devices. Ultimately, however, all home network devices and services must interoperate with a single master device the consumer. We believe that it is most important to simplify and unify the interfaces between the home network and this most important master device. Hence much of the focus of this paper will be on the structure, design and implementation of a single, unified and universal interface to the home network. 2. Overview In this paper we propose a server-based infrastructure to provide services to users of a wireless home network from their PDA, mobile phone, or even a wearable appliance. Our vision is that modern PDA’s and mobile phones will evolve into, wireless data-access and entertainment control terminals and that much of the computing power accessed by consumers in the home will reside on a central home gateway server. This server will control much of the multimedia and entertainment systems in the home and could also provide a range of home automation services, and access to broadband Internet services. The datdservice-access terminals are in most cases relatively simple devices serving only to provide a user-interface to the main service infrastructure supported on the server. An overview is presented in Fig I below.