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TABLE OFCONTENTS

Mouser and Mouser Electronics are registered trademarks of Mouser Electronics, Inc. Other products, logos, and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. Reference designs, conceptual illustrations, and other graphics included herein are for informational purposes only. Copyright © 2018 Mouser Electronics, Inc. – A TTI and Berkshire Hathaway company.

Welcome from the EditorDeborah S. Ray3

7 Introduction to Home AutomationPaul Golata

Architectures and Protocols for Home Automation Systems: Part 1 of 2Phil Hipol9

Hardware Selections for Home Automation Systems: Part 2 of 2Phil Hipol13

15 Demystifying Digital AssistantsAlex Misiti

19 How IoT Short-Range Connectivity Stacks Up in Home AutomationCarolyn Mathas

23 LEDs and Wireless Tech Combine to Build Intelligent LightingBill Schweber

5 A Timeline of Home AutomationInfographic

27 Home Automation: Engineering a Home with Eyes, Ears, and Plenty of SmartsPaul Golata

33 What IoT Developers Can Learn from Smart LocksStephen Evanczuk

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WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR

“When wireless is perfectly applied, the whole Earth will be converted into a huge brain….”

–Nikola Tesla, Colliers interview, 1926

It’s hard to imagine that a technological advancement that’s only come of age in the past decade was predicted nearly a century ago. Then again, futurist and electrical engineer Nikola Tesla was right about a lot of things.

In the decades since Tesla made this remark, a number of technological advancements have brought us closer to realizing his vision. Industry 2.0 brought us advances in machinery, appliances, electronic devices, and more, followed by Industry 3.0, which brought information technology to the forefront by connecting companies, resources, and people via the Internet.

Before we even have a chance to catch our breath from the whirlwind of recent advances, Industry 4.0 has already begun and has claimed its own identity: To combine the cyber systems of the recent revolution with the physical systems that came before it. And therein lies the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT).

The first IoT object came nearly 30 years ago, in 1990: A toaster connected to the Internet via TCP/IP that could turn the power to ON and darken bread to various shades of “toasted” according to how long the power remained on. The Internet-connected toaster could be operated from any computer in the world with a single typed command, which demonstrated

how a physical device connected to the Internet could do real-world tasks.

The past decade has brought a plethora of advances in both the physical and cyber systems that make the IoT possible, including in wireless communications, sensors, processing, security, and power. The applications for the IoT are limitless, with home automation, industrial, and infrastructure at the core. The IoT has the potential to turn physical objects into interconnected systems that sense, collect, store, and process data…or, to use Tesla’s

words, to convert the whole Earth into a huge brain.

Mouser Electronics is proud to introduce All Things IoT as part of our Empowering Innovation Together series. In this first of three eBooks, we explore the engineering behind the IoT that is automating our homes, changing the way we live, and empowering people along the way.

“And some of these awe-inspiring developments are not so very far off.”

Yes again, Mr. Tesla. With your vision, a century of technological advances,

Empowering Innovation Together

Jack Johnston, Director Marketing Communication

Executive Editor

Deborah S. Ray

Contributing Authors

Stephen EvanczukPaul GolataPhil HipolSteven KeepingCarolyn MathasAlex Misiti

Technical Contributor

Paul Golata

Editorial Contributors

LaKayla GarrettRyan Stacy

Design & Production

Hannah Baker

With Special Thanks

Kevin Hess Sr. VP, Marketing

Russell Rasor VP, Supplier Marketing

Jennifer KrajcirovicDirector, Creative Design

Raymond YinDirector, Technical Content

and today’s engineers, we are indeed on the cusp of new awe-inspiring developments.

Deborah S. RayExecutive Editor

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There are times when we endeavor to accomplish what may appear to be too bold. One such example that is difficult to articulate is the area of the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is burgeoning, undergoing rapid and ongoing development. Our efforts, however, are not final in nature, and we bring them to you—the design engineer, our partner and colleague.

Our goal is to express to design engineers how IoT has made its way into our most intimate of places—our homes. The home is the place where we relax, work, live, eat, sleep, and enjoy life. Whether you are a new design engineer or an experienced veteran of numerous designs, our hope is to inform you of how IoT has and is transforming the home by bringing forward automation technology, capabilities, and application advancements.

Home automation is the result of the human action of arranging and empowering household items to work primarily by themselves, practically independent of direct human involvement. In this environment, a human voluntarily yields control to preset devices and systems that he or she establishes, which are synergistically assembled to form a relatively autonomous command platform from which connected devices may act without the presence of human thought or guidance.

Mouser Electronics believes in the future of IoT and home automation. Select household devices will benefit from their coordinated utility to assist homeowners in managing their scarce resources of time, energy, and money—ultimately to achieve higher levels of personal productivity, efficiency, cost savings, value, comfort, convenience, and effectiveness. Underpinning today’s home automation systems are electronic components and solutions that we as homeowners are increasingly incorporating into all the things that we utilize daily within our home. Networking these electronics together—through the employment of sensors, faster and farther-reaching connectivity devices, microprocessors and microcontrollers, interface products, software, along with mechanical and optical, supportive, dependent physical platforms—allows for the power of the Internet to expand into new domains. This endeavor is enabling design engineers to make home automation that focuses on helping people obtain goods and services that fulfill and enrich their lives.

So! What will IoT and home automation offer us in the near future? Well, simply stated, much, much more! Over the next 5, 10, and 20 years, in great expectation,

By Paul Golata, Mouser Electronics

There are times when we endeavor to accomplish what may appear to be too bold. One such example that is difficult to articulate is the area of the Internet of Things (IoT). The IoT is burgeoning, undergoing rapid and ongoing development. Our efforts, however, are not final in nature, and we bring them to you—the design engineer, our partner and colleague.

INTRODUCTION TO HOME AUTOMATION rampant growth should take place. As more devices connect, the IoT and its power will grow exponentially. More connected devices and nodes will mean that more data will be available. With the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), what is

“smart” today will become childlike in nature in a short time. Pre-built intelligence within networks will empower them to manage their own intelligence, and these networks

will contain configurations, allowing for the seamless incorporation and processing of information from unanticipated nodes and devices. Ongoing reductions in physical size and power consumption will ensure that devices that are still not yet under consideration can eventually board the IoT domain.

While our homes become more and more automated, our process

as engineers does not. Complex problems are waiting for solutions. The critical thinking of design engineers is essential to spark the creative solutions necessary to harness the power of collaborative human capital, which will enable new IoT possibilities that spill over into our homes in the present and future.

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Process Your OptionsThe main component of any IoT solution is the processor. Not only must it

quickly process and handle data, it also needs the increased performance and speed to perform numerous operations.

Since many IoT applications use small batteries or even harvested energy, low power is key for achieving higher efficiency and

longer battery life. What’s more, applications needing higher

throughput can be supported by adding a memory system to

process different functions and lower energy consumption. mouser.com/maxim-max32652-microcontrollers

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ARCHITECTURES AND PROTOCOLS FOR HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEMS: PART 1 OF 2

Home automation systems can make life easier for homeowners by automating several functions with so-called “smart” electronic devices, which are commonly used for security, climate control, lighting, lawn irrigation, audiovisual systems, and appliances. These smart devices can also save a homeowner money through a reduction in home operating costs, and thereby pay for themselves in just a few months after their initial installation.

New wireless technologies, combined with a growing number of voice, face, and touch recognition systems, are resulting in an ever-broadening array of new smart products and applications. While these technologies make home automation affordable and easy to install, use, and upgrade, the rapid evolution of these technologies makes it complicated for a typical homeowner to make knowledgeable decisions and select the appropriate system architecture, communication protocols, electronic hardware, smart products, and applications that ideally suit his or her home and lifestyle.

Part 1 of this two-part article provides a brief technical background on home automation system hardware architectures and communication protocols. Part 2 explores practical things to consider to aid consumers in the selection of home automation systems, applications, smart sensors, and smart devices.

Hardware ArchitectureA typical home automation system block diagram, shown in Figure 1, contains the following main components:

• A master controller that acts as the central hub of the system, is a proprietary or general-purpose computer. The master controller contains the control software and communicates wirelessly with a variety of input devices, smart devices and appliances, sensors, and local controllers. It can also connect

to the home computer network to enable remote access by input modules to sensors and to control smart devices and appliances from outside of the home.

• One or more local controllers that communicate in a wired or wireless mode with nearby smart devices and sensors and wirelessly pass data and commands to and from the master controller. Each local controller acts as a miniature hub for nearby smart devices and sensors, which may remain in certain rooms, areas, or floors of a house.

• One or more input modules that consist of switches, touchpads, or microphones for use in a home automation system. Smartphones now contain applications capable of communicating directly with the master controller through Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or remotely through the Internet.

• One or more smart sensors that provide data and information to the controllers. This information can include any number of things that are measurable or that a homeowner can monitor, such as temperature, humidity, light levels, video, sound, proximity or intrusions, and an assortment of other environmental factors. The master controller receives this information and processes it for decision-making, displaying, or storing.

• One or more smart devices that are controllable through commands from the controllers. Smart devices can be thermostats, servomotors (to open and close blinds or to operate locks), solenoids and switches, lights, audiovisual equipment, appliances, and many others.

By Phil Hipol for Mouser Electronics

New wireless technologies are making home automation affordable and simple. Whether you’re an engineer or tinkerer, understanding the architectures, protocols, and products will help ensure the best combination of technologies for your needs.

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ROOM 1

ROOM 2 ROOM 3

Home Computer & Internet

SmartSensor

SmartSensorSmart

Device

LocalController

LocalController

SmartDevice

SmartDevice

SmartSensor

MasterController

SmartDevice

SmartSensorSmart

Device

IO Module

IO Module

Remote User

Figure 1: A typical home automation system block diagram. (Source: Author)

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Communication ProtocolsCommunication protocols define how the controllers, input modules, smart devices, and smart sensors communicate with one another. These devices speak the same language or, more correctly, share a common communication protocol. An understanding of the different communication protocols is essential to choosing the correct smart devices for a home automation system, considering that each protocol has different advantages and disadvantages relative to the application.

Communication protocols fall under one of two classifications:

• Proprietary

• Open source

Proprietary protocols are typically owned by private companies that require a license or royalties to use. On the one hand, proprietary protocols are easier to support and document; however, because of the additional cost of a license or royalties, the number of products that use the proprietary protocol may be limited, or they may be more expensive.

Open source protocols are available to the public, where neither the software developer nor the hardware provider pays a royalty or a license fee to develop the platform. Products that use open source protocols may be more plentiful and less expensive; however, depending on the energy and dedication of the open source development community, these open source protocols may not have a solid support system.

There are a variety of home automation protocols available on the market today:

• AllJoyn

• Bluetooth

• EnOcean

• KNX

• Thread

ConclusionReaders should examine these communication protocols to gain a better understanding of the way the protocols work, how many applications and smart products use the protocols, and which options work best with a specific home automation system architecture. Next, Part 2 of this article will outline a methodology for selecting a home automation system architecture and provide an overview of some of the exciting new smart sensors and devices that can make life easier for homeowners and allow them to save money by a reduction in home operating expenses.

• UPB

• Wi-Fi

• X10

• Zigbee

• Z-Wave

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devices and appliances are provided here:

Interior and Exterior LightingNumerous smart lighting systems are currently on the market that will allow the homeowner to turn lights on and off, dim them, or change their color through mobile devices. The use of automated lighting is convenient and can save the homeowner money by providing the appropriate amount of illumination when there is a need, thereby conserving energy.

Read more in article:

LEDs and Intelligent Lighting

Security SystemsComponents of security systems can include smart alarms, cameras, intercoms, locks, vibration detectors, and smoke and heat detectors. Smart home security systems allow homeowners (or a designated third-party monitoring company) to monitor and lock doors; monitor the home to protect it against vandalism, intrusion, and fire; set and reset alarms; and call in the appropriate authorities if there is a detection of a legitimate threat to the home.

Read more in article:Home Automation Securityand Monitoring

Climate Control SystemsThe varying parts of climate control systems include smart thermostats, fans, vents, heaters, and air conditioning units. A home automation system can significantly reduce power consumption and pay for itself in a short amount of time by heating and cooling the home in an efficient manner. Smart systems also can control multiple zones and learn habits, adapt to a schedule, and anticipate the needs of the home’s occupants.

Window CoveringsSmart window coverings include motorized blinds, shades, or curtains that are capable of opening or closing on demand, or they can function through automatic operations according to schedules or in response to internal or external light levels or sunlight. These window coverings can work together with the climate control system to reduce energy costs.

Home Audiovisual SystemsNumerous smart home audiovisual (A/V) systems can play music in different zones (via wireless Bluetooth speakers), select songs and movies, and connect with different content providers. A homeowner’s voice can activate most of these systems and a smartphone or tablet can control their operations.

Read more in article:Demystifying Digital Assistants

Lawn Irrigation SystemsLawn irrigation systems will replace the current timer-based systems that currently operate solenoid valves. The latest systems can independently operate several watering zones from a mobile device and regulate the watering frequency and duration, based on the actual soil content, temperature, humidity, or weather forecasts.

ConclusionThere are many smart home devices currently available to homeowners, and the list of possible devices and appliances continues to grow. A homeowner should independently research the various home automation architectures, communication protocols, electronic hardware, devices, and appliances to ensure that the system that he or she implements will allow for future growth and will be able to adapt to new technologies as they evolve.

HARDWARE SELECTIONS FOR HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEMS: PART 2 OF 2

In Part 1, we examined the different home automation system hardware architectures and communication protocols. Part 2 outlines an approach for selecting a home automation system and provides an overview of some of the exciting new home automation technologies that can make life easier for homeowners and save them money through a reduction in home operating costs.

Considering a SystemThe first step in considering a home automation system is to visit every room of the home, including the garage, basement, and exterior of the home, to determine which items require automation. These items will usually be those that are in frequent use or require regular inspections or monitoring, may require remote access if you are away from home, or may result in significant cost savings with the addition of an automation system. At the end of this article is an overview of some of these items.

The next step is to determine the best way to control or actuate these devices, either through manual operations, manual triggers, semi-automatic triggers, or fully automatic operations:

• A manual operation includes flipping a mechanical switch, operating a virtual switch remotely on a smart mobile device, or speaking a voice command.

• A trigger is an event that causes an automatic response from a home automation system:

■ For a smart home security system, an event might involve motion sensing on the perimeter of the property, in which case it would trigger the system to turn on lights, sound an alarm, notify authorities, and lock the doors.

■ For a smart thermostat, an event might involve changes in temperature or humidity, the presence of moisture, or the presence of sunlight.

■ Other activities that may trigger a home automation system response may involve computational results, such as those from monitoring water or power consumption throughout a home or several appliances.

• Fully automatic operations might involve turning devices on and off according to a preset schedule.

Developing a good understanding of which devices to control and how to control them is an essential first step in the selection of a home automation controller. This information will be useful to determine how to configure the controls, input and output modules and zones, sensors (e.g., motion detectors, thermometers),

Internet access requirements, and the type and number of local controllers, among other factors, that the automation system will involve. Finally, by knowing the different home automation system architectures and their communication protocols, a homeowner can then select the most appropriate and cost-effective electronic hardware, devices, and appliances.

Generally, if a homeowner is implementing a home automation system as a do-it-yourself weekend project, it is wise to build up the implementation in bite-size increments. That is, a good first step might involve automating the lighting in a room, for example, as there are many different lighting products on the market that are not too expensive. When comfortable, the homeowner can then build on the foundation of this first implementation and take on larger projects, such as automating the lighting throughout the house or installing a smart thermostat or water sprinkler controller. For more complex projects, such as implementing a whole-home automation system for a new house or a home security system, it might be best to hire a professional contractor who can provide the hardware, install the devices, and program the system in one visit at a single expense.

Smart Devices and AppliancesSome popular examples of smart

By Phil Hipol for Mouser Electronics

How do you select a home automation system and know what one can do for you? Whether you’re an engineer or a tinkerer, these steps can help.

Powering InnovationEvery IoT device requires power to work. It must connect to a power source and have the ability to supply the exact or near exact voltage at the required wattage to all of the circuitry. Managing power for IoT and wearable devices is a challenging task because devices are highly mobile and must always be powered up. As a result, most devices are not connected by a wire to a power source, requiring lower power usage and maximum efficiency. Power semiconductors, batteries, power supplies, power management and delivery solutions all play a crucial role in IoT development.

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DEMYSTIFYING DIGITAL ASSISTANTSBy Alex Misiti for Mouser Electronics

Highly advanced, voice-enabled digital assistants possess inherent limitations. Many of these can be traced back to problems facing engineers and developers working on the cutting edge of machine learning, artificial intelligence, and natural language processing.

Today, upwards of 60 million people in the United States use voice-enabled digital assistants. While the capabilities these devices possess are enough to impress technical and non-technical users alike, they are still considered a first-generation technology, and as a result, they have a number of inherent limitations.

Many of these limitations can be traced back to challenges facing engineers on the cutting edge of artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and natural language processing. Primary technical hurdles still exist that will need to be overcome to push forward into the next frontier of man-machine communication.

How Digital VoiceAssistants WorkThe process by which digital voice assistants function can be broken into three steps:

Translate Speech into TextFor a digital assistant to understand a voice command, it must first translate speech into text. This is achieved using audio analysis software designed to parse human speech and break spoken words down into smaller pieces called phonemes, of which 44 exist in the English language. Because English has many homonyms, or words made up of the same combination of phonemes but

with different spellings and meanings (i.e., “sea” and “see” or “pair” and “pear”), simply translating speech into text is not the only capability the software must possess. It must also be able to examine syntax and context to determine which word the user is intending to use so that it can fulfill his or her request.

Determine IntentThe second step in the process, determining intent, is where the voice assistant aims to decipher what the user is asking it to do. At their core, digital assistants are machines and require very specific input to fulfill a request. As a result, phrases or questions that are highly abstract or general, such as, “Tell me about the history of America,” can be difficult for the voice assistant to answer in the context of what specific information the user is seeking. In an effort to output the most relevant information, the voice assistant runs the query through a search engine and looks at the returned results in order of rankings. This process is virtually identical to what would occur if the user were at his or her computer typing their question into the Google search engine.

Turn Intent into ActionThe third step attempts to resolve

the user’s query. In most cases, this simply requires that the voice assistant verbalize an answer to the question or perhaps play a specific song. However, with the proliferation of the Internet of Things (IoT), digital assistants can now expand their reach through controlling the functionality of other household devices, such as thermostats,

appliances, automobiles, and TVs. Also, the application programming interfaces (APIs) for these household devices are growing in number as more and more engineers develop software platforms with digital assistants in mind.

Digital Voice Assistant Language ChallengesAlthough digital voice assistant capabilities have advanced significantly in recent years, the current suite of products on the market today still possess inherent limitations, particularly with regards to computer speech recognition. Some prominent technical challenges that engineers and developers are grappling with today include the following:

Semantics and Language VariabilityOne of the biggest challenges facing human-machine interaction relates to

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“...nearly 60 million people in the United States use voice-enabled digital assistants.”

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natural language processing (NLP), which according to SAS Institute Inc., is defined as:

“…a branch of artificial intelligence that helps computers understand, interpret and manipulate human language. NLP draws from many disciplines, including computer science and computational linguistics, in its pursuit to fill the gap between human communication and computer understanding.”

NLP enables a digital assistant to understand a user’s question or request, even when it’s not articulated the exact same way every time. For instance, a user may ask, “What is the best way to get to New

York City?” He or she could also say, “How do I get to New York City?” or “Give me directions to New York City.” All these requests will likely elicit the same response from the digital assistant, and NLP is the reason why.

Despite these capabilities, computers are still somewhat far from being able to understand language variability on a level that we do. Many voice-enabled technologies today only give the appearance of understanding speech, as they use keywords, statistics, and even machine learning or NLP algorithms to uncover clues as to what the user is saying. Leveraging these methods, however, can only go so far because such methods do not consider semantics to the degree that the human brain

does. This will undoubtedly change in the coming years, as more advanced semantic-analysis tools based on AI are developed, providing computers with the ability to understand language and communicate the way a human would according to meaning and context.

Information RelevancyFor humans, awareness is innate. Our brains are continuously processing data about what is happening in our environment. This often occurs in the “background” of our minds without us even noticing. A computer, however, does not possess this capability and must be told or instructed about what to be aware of. To achieve this, voice assistants are increasingly being integrated with web-powered applications that pull

in real-time data and metrics to make them aware of things the user already knows to be true. While simple data, such as time and location, are easily retrievable, the challenge lies in determining what other information is relevant and to what extent it will impact the voice assistant’s ability to accurately answer a question or fulfill a request.

The Art of ConversationForward movement with the next generation of man-machine interaction will require voice-enabled digital assistants to improve conversational skills in the context of when to start listening, when to stop, and when to continue. For example, if a user abruptly stops mid-sentence to gather thoughts, the voice assistant needs to know how

to react as a human would. Many devices on the market today can only handle simple commands, which limits conversation to one or two lines. Although some technologies impress users with witty exchanges when a statement is not understood, these preprogrammed snippets serve as evidence of the many limitations that the devices still possess.

Cutting Through the NoiseIn addition to the linguistic and speech recognition challenges that face digital voice-enabled technology, audio analysis and filtration challenges also exist. Audio and software engineers are continually developing filters to parse through ambient noise and background chatter, which can

sometimes make it impossible for the digital assistant to understand the user. With the help of AI and machine learning techniques, computers are becoming increasingly efficient at extracting a speaker’s command in even the most noise-laden environments. Filtering algorithms then isolate the voice of the speaker in real-time and remove any interfering background noise.

Similar issues exist with accents and human speech idiosyncrasies. AI and machine learning tools have been integral in helping digital assistants recognize and understand various pronunciations; however, the technology has still not reached a point where audio interpretation is perfect. The solution to this challenge is rather simple: More data. As an increasing number of people using digital voice assistants and databases grows, the ability of these devices to decipher pronunciations will improve accordingly.

The Road Ahead The voice-enabled digital assistant market is still young and many improvements are necessary to empower these devices to become full-fledged assistants that can communicate and interact on a level that is comparable to humans. While several difficult technical challenges lie ahead, continuous advancements in the fields of AI, machine learning, and NLP are enabling engineers and developers to make headway in solving problems related to contextualization, semantics, and audio filtration, moving the world closer and closer to the next generation of man-machine interface.

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HOW IoT SHORT-RANGE CONNECTIVITY STACKS UP IN HOME AUTOMATIONBy Carolyn Mathas for Mouser Electronics

Short-range connectivity solutions like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, 6LoWPAN, and others abound, but which is best for home automation?

Home automation is the use of networking technology to connect and communicate with other devices inside and outside of the home. Light switches, surveillance cameras, energy meters, and thermostats are integral parts of the smart home, monitored with home automation.

Behind home automation technology are a myriad of connectivity and communication standards. Since the inception of the Internet of Things (IoT), standards readily compete against each other to perform pretty much the same task. Of course, advantages and disadvantages exist for each. The challenge becomes wading through the seven most available-but-exclusive solutions that connect IoT over short distances, making IoT the subject of confusion and frustration more often than not. For system and device designers building home automation solutions, IoT connectivity can be understood more

readily if we break it down into short-range versus long-range. The topic for discussion in this chapter is short-range technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, 6LoWPAN, and solutions found under the 802.15.4 standard.

Short-range solutions require:

• IoT devices that communicate with each other over a network, preferably mesh

• The ability to support a large number of networked IoT devices

• Enabling IoT devices to operate on coin cell batteries for years

• Robust security

• The lowest possible complexity and hardware costs

• Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6)

Enabling IoT Short-range SolutionsThe information gathered by IoT devices must be aggregated, processed, and analyzed locally and over a greater distance to access the cloud. Information gathered via wireless-enabled sensors may be small, and, except for Wi-Fi, all short-range IoT connectivity options incorporate a variety of networking capabilities. Mesh networking is best suited for devices that communicate without data passing through a router or gateway hub.

Power Consumption: A Critical FactorIn home automation systems, power delivery can occur through 120VAC coin cells or small batteries in indoor devices, and potentially solar cells for outdoor devices. The majority of IoT devices must be battery powered, with connectivity solutions designed accordingly.

It isn’t just the power source, it’s the product’s expectation for power that is important. Devices themselves consume little power, and the network must use communication techniques based on low data rates and minimal sensor radio-frequency (RF) transmit power. While constant communication is typically not an issue, IoT devices need to be able to receive a command from an external source, such as a long-range communication system, and from the components involved. This is accomplished via sleep mode, whereby functions awake to detect activity from the component the sensor serves or the network. Except for Wi-Fi, each IoT connectivity solution is designed to meet this requirement.

SecurityMultiple types of security ranging from Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption to high levels of authentication are in use in IoT devices. The reality is that each type of communication network is, on some level, vulnerable. This will be even more challenging when tens of thousands of sensors define a single network. All participants in IoT development are working toward providing greater end-to-end security.

Simplicity and Low Cost Hardware is coming down in price, and more resources are available to help designers enable connectivity. Every silicon vendor now provides an impressive array of tools that allows the incorporation of their products into a system with low difficulty. Complete ecosystems also

exist, which range from design resources to complete system descriptions, incorporating virtually all major considerations. The cost of IoT devices is rapidly declining as volumes increase.

IPv6 CapabilityInternet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) is the technology that enables devices to connect to the web. Used since 1983, it has now run out of public IPv4 address blocks globally. Europe’s Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) Réseaux IP Européens (RIPE) associated its last block. IPv6 will provide enough global address blocks for a long time, but implementing it rather than IPv4 in each IoT system is not simple. Requiring significant changes to many types of software and exchanging data between these protocols depends upon special gateways. All current connectivity solutions either natively employ IPv6 or can be configured to do so.

Major IoT Connectivity Solutions ComparedThe major connectivity solutions available today are shown in Table 1. Wi-Fi, in existence longer than other short-range technologies, is fundamentally different. It was never intended to deal with tiny, power-stripping devices like IoT sensors, as the goal was to provide high-speed data and replace wired networks. Wi-Fi is power hungry and depends on fairly expensive components. However, its throughput ensures its appeal as an adjunct to connect low-power solutions, such as video surveillance to the Internet.

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Table 1: Most common short-range IoT connectivity solutions.

Bluetooth 5 6LoWPAN Zigbee Wi-Fi Z-Wave Thread ANT

Standard 802.15.1 802.15.4 802.15.4 802.11a,b,g,n,ac 802.15.4 802.15.4 250

Frequency 2.4GHz868 and 915MHz, 2.4GHz

800 and 900MHz, 2.4GHz

2.4 and 5GHz 908.4MHz902 to

928MHz, 2.4GHz

2.4GHz

Maximum data rate 2Mbps 250kbps 250kbps Up to 1Gbps 100kbps 250kbps 60kbps

Maximum range (m) 200 10 100 40 100 30 30

Network size Unlimited 128 127 255 232+ 300 256

Mesh support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Beacon support Yes Yes Yes No No No No

IPv6 support Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Overall cost Low Decreasing Moderate High Moderate Low Low

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Wi-Fi, Zigbee, Z-Wave, and Bluetooth are further along in their development than others, and Zigbee is in use by most IoT applications. Thread is increasing in popularity with nearly 100 members, while ANT+1 is somewhat popular in Europe. However, a complete discussion of IoT connectivity requires mention of competitors that are typically dedicated to specific use cases.

EnOcean A spin-off from Siemens, EnOcean GmbH is located in Germany and its wireless modules are built and marketed by the company. EnOcean-based modules combine micro-energy converters and ultra-low-power electronics, enabling communications between battery-less wireless sensors, switches, controllers, and gateways. It has a range of 300m in free space, data rates below 125kbps, and optimizes the amount of power required to transmit a given amount of data. EnOcean operates at 902, 928.35, 868.3, and 315MHz depending on the country.

InsteonThis solution from Smartlabs allows IoT devices to communicate wirelessly or through power lines in a dual-band-type of mesh networking and is compatible with the X10 wired network standard. It has considerable industry support from companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Logitech, and others. Its maximum sustained data rate is 180bps, free-space range is up to about 45m, and operating frequency is 902 to 924MHz.

Microchip Wireless Networking (MiWi)This Microchip-proprietary protocol is based on the 802.15.4 standard, operates at 2.4GHz or below 1GHz, is compatible with Zigbee, and can be configured in star, cluster, mesh, and tree network topologies.

Wireless Highway Addressable Remote Transducer(WirelessHART) ProtocolDesigned to serve process field device networks in process automation, this open standard that the HART Communication Foundation developed uses a time-synchronized, self-organizing, self-healing mesh architecture. It operates at 2.4GHz using 802.15.4 radios.

Changing the IoT Home Automation Landscape Given Wi-Fi’s power-hungry nature and low data rates of the popular Z-Wave, Zigbee, and Thread, Bluetooth 5.0 is rapidly stepping up to be a game changer. The latest 4.0 and 4.2 versions of the Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) standards double the maximum data rate to 2Mbps while increasing distance four times to 120m. It also adds mesh networking capabilities,

freeing Bluetooth to become a major player in IoT home automation connectivity.

One specific benefit is that it’s already a widely used, short-range, global solution and is integrated into smart televisions, gaming consoles, speakers, headsets, and smartphones. An important feature is its beaconing capabilities. Extremely small and inexpensive beacons can be deployed virtually anywhere. The short-range transmitters deliver short messages to smartphones with a beaconing app installed. The Bluetooth phone receiver receives messages and notifications are delivered to the user. Any barriers to its use have been removed in Bluetooth 5.0.

In addition to Bluetooth’s short range, beacons can send only very short messages—too short to deliver long URLs—and even though beaconing doesn’t require authentication (as beacons transmit but don’t receive data), without mesh networking large groups of beacons are not configurable. All of this is rectified in Bluetooth 5.0, so it’s likely that beacons will be more widely deployed and promoted, and more applications will make use of them.

ABI Research and IHS Research both predict Bluetooth 5.0 and its IoT-bolstering capabilities will reach five billion by 2021 and three billion by 2017, respectively.

Another highlight is the IPv6 over Low-power Wireless Personal-Area Network (6LoWPAN). Standardized in 2003, 6LoWPAN has demonstrated some significant advantages over Zigbee, Z-Wave, and other options: Notably, it operates with any solution based on 802.15.4 using a very simple bridge or with any devices within an Internet Protocol (IP)-based network such as Bluetooth or Ethernet. To compete, Zigbee and Z-Wave need complex application layer gateways.

With 6LoWPAN, every node in the network has its own IPv6 address, freeing the network to connect to the Internet using open standards. IPv6 and Bluetooth are the new players to watch as IoT evolves in the coming years.

Challenges IoT System Manufacturers FaceAlthough 6LoWPAN solves the competing standards issue, home automation designers are still faced with

a selection challenge: That is, what components and systems will maintain longevity as new solutions come into the marketplace at breakneck speed? Ultimately, all new home automation solutions should address both mains-powered and battery-powered devices, should be manufacturer and product agnostic, and should communicate using narrow and wide bandwidths. Not only should these solutions address concerns regarding constant and consistent updates but also regarding the potentially long line of legacy solutions that will need support.

What’s Happening Now?Today, and for many years to come, home automation manufacturers will use multiple connectivity solutions in their products. In fact, it’s likely that the number will rise rather than fall in the near future. The winners in this dilemma will be manufacturers of IoT radios, RF front ends, and controllers that support multiple standards. Likewise, smart designers will need to employ a single device or set of devices that support multiple product lines while simultaneously future-proofing their offerings.

With all that said, the fact remains that design and manufacturing will ultimately become more complicated as selection, configuration, and interoperability attempt to address the fragmented IoT landscape.

Sensing Everything IoT is about having a greater sense of the world around us. Sensors form the backbone of the interface between users and the many devices that surround us, such as smartphones, wearables and other things we interact with every day. IoT has also entered our homes. Sensors are used to control and monitor energy use, household appliances, heating and cooling, security, and environmental conditions. Sensors make component-level integration to cloud-based services possible.

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LEDs AND WIRELESS TECH COMBINE TO BUILD INTELLIGENT LIGHTINGBy Steven Keeping for Mouser Electronics

Both LED lighting and low-power wireless technology have been decades in gestation. Although originally developed for different applications, the two technologies have converged to revolutionize lighting applications that provide more than just illumination.

History is littered with instances of inventions designed to solve one problem but finding a mass market addressing another. The transistor, for example, was developed to replace bulky and fragile valve amplifiers and only later became the fundamental element of digital electronics. Cellphones were meant for long-distance conversations when away from fixed lines rather than forming the basis of the tiny supercomputers that now run our lives. And lasers were invented, well, primarily out of scientific curiosity. One of the inventors of

that technology, Arthur Schawlow, proposed his new device might be used to help out errant typists, suggesting: “One day laser beams will vaporize the ink on the page in a fraction of a second without leaving the slightest trace.” Today, the list of applications for lasers would fill the rest of this blog.

And so it was with LEDs. The history of the LED is somewhat shrouded, but Bell Lab’s Nick Holonyak is generally credited with coming up with the first red LED in 1962. It’s somewhat ironic that Holonyak

was actually trying to invent a (semiconductor) laser, this time targeted at a real problem—optical telecommunications—when he came up with his electroluminescent oddity. The puny light output from Holonyak’s device could only be appreciated in a completely darkened room, and even then, it only emitted red light, which wasn’t particularly useful for illumination. It was left to Japanese researchers in the late 1980s and early 1990s to come up with the blue LED/phosphorous combination to create “white” LEDs suitable for lighting. But the

luminosity of these white LEDs was still poor compared with conventional light sources; together with being expensive and hard to make, this lack of performance ensured LEDs failed to gain a foothold in the commercial lighting market.

It took a visionary like Roland Haitz to move solid-state lighting forward. In 1999, Haitz and his collaborators wrote a paper designed to hasten the development of LEDs. The paper suggested LED efficacy of 200lm/W (ten times that of incandescent lights) would eventually see worldwide energy consumption devoted to lighting decline by 50 percent (and 10 percent overall).

LED Efficacy and Longevity Ensure Market Share The impact of Haitz’s paper was to raise awareness of the energy-saving potential of LEDs to a wider audience resulting in incentives for commercial companies to plow hundreds of millions of dollars into LED R&D. Nearly two decades later companies offer commercial LEDs

with luminosities exceeding 100lm and efficacies exceeding 140lm/W. (Efficacies nearing 300lm/W have been achieved in the lab.) Coupled with clever design from lighting engineers who understand that precisely regulated power supplies and good thermal management can see LEDs provide illumination for 50,000 hours or more compared to perhaps 2,000 hours for the best incandescent bulb, such efficacy has seen the technology boom.

And that’s not an overstatement. According to analyst Statista, LED penetration into the mainstream lighting market has risen from just 0.3 percent in 2010 to 35 percent this year. In just three years’ time, global penetration will rise to 61 percent. And according to analyst Zion Market Research, the 2020 LED sector will be worth over $50 billion.

Connectivity Enables Intelligence Although Haitz could not have known it back in 1999, the real promise of LED lighting is not just in its efficacy

and longevity, but also its flexibility. LEDs can be precisely dimmed, instantly switched on or off, and, with the addition of red, green, and blue devices to complement the illumination from the primary white LED, “tuned” to give almost infinite temperature and color variation. Together with lighting’s ubiquity, such flexibility opens up thousands of applications beyond simply making dark areas safe.

In retail, for example, shop owners can tune LED light output to render products in the most vibrant colors, or restaurants can alter the lighting during the day to periodically change the ambience, encouraging sales. Some modern aircraft already use different color LED lighting to promote sleep, or gently wake passengers from their slumber before landing. And more scientific applications of the customization of LED lighting is used in the vertical farming sector where different colors (wavelengths) of light accelerate the growth of different plants. For example, according to a University of California report, plants grew more

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Making ConnectionsConnectivity links every IoT solution together. IoT devices are required to collect data, transmit it to the cloud and receive commands back from the cloud—all through a wireless connection. Cellular networks like LTE offer an energy-efficient solution for transmitting large chunks of data. Also, adding multiple RF wireless technologies such as ZigBee, Bluetooth, or others onto the SoC, power consumption is greatly reduced for longer battery life.

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quickly when exposed to LED light richer in red and blue wavelengths. Red light increased the rate of growth of peppers and edible flowers, while blue light boosted tomatoes and basil yields.

The key to realizing LED lighting’s flexibility is wireless technology. Protocols such as Bluetooth Low Energy, Zigbee, and Wi-Fi are now routinely incorporated into commercial lighting endowing the products with high throughput and robust connectivity. Bluetooth Low Energy, for example, is interoperable with smartphones—allowing consumers to remotely operate lights, change light color and temperature, even vary light intensity from one small area of a room to the next, all from an app on the mobile. Bluetooth Low Energy and Zigbee also support mesh networking which not only extends effective range, but also builds in redundancy to a lighting network and the ability to control specific lights or groups of lights.

Because modern wireless technologies are bidirectional, an LED fixture can become more than just a clever light, it can become a data-generating hub. For example, imagine dozens of fixtures—combining LED light with wireless connectivity and motion, temperature, and power-monitoring sensors—illuminating a town boulevard (with information transmitted by the short-range wireless technology relayed via a cellular modem back to a supervisory center). Then imagine the temperature sensor in one of the street lights detects the LEDs are running 20°C over normal operating temperature and computes because of the excess heat light failure could occur within 72 hours. This information would be rapidly transmitted to a supervisor, allowing a maintenance call to be made before motorists collided in the dark and lodged an insurance claim against the authorities.

The lights’ proximity sensors could be used to calculate traffic density to

determine if additional congestion-relief measures were required or to detect when the sidewalk was rarely used to dim curbside illumination accordingly (or even brighten it in high-crime areas to deter would-be assailants). And power consumption monitoring could be used to determine if the LED efficacy was declining to the point where the cost of replacement would be outweighed by future energy savings yielded from new components.

Both LED lighting and low-power wireless technology have been decades in gestation. It is remarkable that both have reached mass-market commercialization at the same time. But even more remarkable is how two technologies—originally developed for other applications—have converged to revolutionize lighting applications. The future for the technology will be as much about information as illumination.

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My third daughter recently graduated from college with an art degree. I have had the opportunity to see her artwork displayed in areas made to resemble a museum. Besides the artwork on the wall, museums always make me think of security. If you are a fan of heist movies, you know that it always requires that the thieves employ ingenious effort to get in and snatch the priceless treasure. They must maneuver through all sorts of security, laser beams, motion detectors, pressure sensors, and the like. How awesome would it be if our homes had the same technical advantages?

Home automation has evolved into the “connected home”—a broad system of home electronics that has so much intelligence it can quickly repay owners for upfront investment costs through efficiency savings and in a relatively short amount of time. The connected home promises to bring further automation into the home, linking together disparate technologies, appliances, and devices and coordinating them into a synergistic platform to serve homeowners, all within the control of their fingertips. As a simple and fully integrated system, home automation offers home occupants’ peace-of-mind, which in today’s chaotic

and turbulent world is of enormous economic value.

One aspect of home automation that helps drive peace-of-mind involves home security and monitoring. This article articulates how leading-edge innovation and electronic component technologies are supporting advanced smart home security and monitoring solutions. These advances stem from new developments in electronics, technology, and design areas involving power, sensing, compute, and control, and communications. Home automation is conveniently

remaking the home environment—making it safer and more secure (Figure 1).

Security and MonitoringConsider for yourself a home automation system that could provide security and monitoring along with a wide variety of entertainment options. This home would incorporate infrastructures that can transmit and receive secure high-speed internal and external communication. It would do so in a manner that both optimizes and minimizes home resource

HOME AUTOMATION: ENGINEERING A HOME WITH EYES, EARS, AND PLENTY OF SMARTSBy Paul Golata, Mouser Electronics

Leading-edge innovation and electronic component technologies now support advanced smart home security and monitoring solutions. These advances stem from new developments in electronics, technology, and design areas involving power, sensing, compute, control, and communications.

Figure 1: This image illustrates the details of an IntelligentHome security system. (Source: Mouser)

consumption of utilities such as power, water, gas, and data. This automated home would have the intelligence to allow it to act as its own steward over low-end tasks within the home, operating in a manner analogous to a well-intentioned house sitter. This type of automated house would be both smart and connected.

Today’s electronic components have become ever more affordable while simultaneously increasing exponentially in performance capabilities. Today’s communication infrastructures and services have become wonderfully standardized, convenient, and ubiquitous. The integration of both passive and active semiconductors to produce these complex infrastructures has brought forth a network so powerful that it equates to a personal, 24/7, “around-the-clock,” electronic butler in your home, on your property.

Automated homes consist of multiple separate systems that one integrates to work together. In its simplest form, one might envision an entire network as connecting in a manner as shown in the illustration in Figure 2.

Since our focus is on security and monitoring, we will forego further discussion on the three other blocks in Figure 2. The three areas that we will not discuss in this article include:

• Smart heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and smart lighting control

• Smart meters for utility monitoring

• Communication and entertainment

Before the development of the smart home, false alarms of intruder detection could account for up to 98 percent of security triggers. This high

level of false-positives is expensive and ends up producing a syndrome analogous to the Aesop’s Fables classic, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”

Smart sensors now have wireless capabilities, allowing for their optimal placement around the home. Many smart sensors have the requisite intelligence to ascertain what a true positive-alarm trigger condition is, thus avoiding false-positives. Programming options through improved command and control products, like microprocessors, allow for custom tailoring of sensors, especially for specifications such as sensitivity and multiple-confirmation triggers that assist with improving accuracy in identifying an legitimate alarm trigger.

Occupant health monitoring is an expanding area of development with the creation of powerful accelerometer monitors and motion/

Figure 2: Connected homes host a network of devices. (Source: AVX)[ C O N T ’ D O N N E X T P A G E ]

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temperature sensors. Sensors have expanded to include monitoring water (H2O) leaks, carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO) buildup, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Likewise, other important items that concentrate on the health and efficiency of systems such as HVAC performance relative to specifications undergo monitoring as well.

Read more in article:

What IoT Developers Can Learn

from Smart Locks

PowerTurning our attention to the four key technology-related design considerations of power, sensing, command and control, and communications, which enable home automation security and monitoring, we will start by examining how power management technology advancements are assisting in this effort.

Power management is a key design challenge in every Internet of Things (IoT) and home automation security product. The ability to answer high-peak current demands and very lengthy, low-power system standby times requires solutions that extend battery life. Electronic components manufacturers’ focus on offering a wide variety of products in which electrical energy gets efficient utilization and distribution where it is essential.

Non-isolated direct current to direct current (DC/DC) and point-of-load (POL) power supplies function in security and monitoring applications. On the input side, power may come in via wired-power options, often through 12VDC or using a battery-powered option, with the possible inclusion of supercapacitors—a type of high-capacity capacitor—or often

in the form of electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs).

DC/DC power converters that adjust the input voltage to what the system needs to output are often in operation. Designers working on such power converters may consider high-quality, synchronous buck converters, as they are compact and easy-to-use. These parts may provide ample efficiency advantages over low-dropout (LDO) regulators.

When home automation systems utilize battery-powered devices, often designers employ step-down converters. These parts assist with battery-based applications, as they are capable of drawing very low quiescent currents (IQs), guaranteeing that the part will draw low currents from the battery when in a wait state.

Capacitors are key components for efficient power conversion. One common thread among high-efficiency switch-mode power supply, microprocessor, and digital circuit applications is the need to reduce noise while operating at higher frequencies. Specifically valuable for filtering, tantalum capacitor technology has many of the ideal characteristics thatDC/DC converters, power supplies, and other applications require. In home automation applications, power supply capacitors should exhibit many of the following positive characteristics:

• High capacitance retention at high frequencies

• Low failure rate

• Wide voltage range

• Surge robustness

• Environment (moisture/

temperature) resistance

• Low cost

Power designs require protection against transient voltages. Using a capacitor is a common technique to control transients and protect the circuit in voltage control designs. A capacitor may operate across the line/pin to integrate the voltage and assist in the prevention of electrostatic discharge (ESD) damage. Engineers often overestimate the performance of a standard multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) because of the capacitor›s significant value drop upon an applied ESD event. The introduction of supercapacitors, in the place of MLCCs, will actually make a design more robust.

SensingElectronic systems allow security and monitoring systems to respond in changing situations, conditions, and contexts. Sensors may signal door and window motions, smoke or CO presence, physical disturbances, pressure changes, and more. These connected sensors offer a wide range of uses in smart home security and automation applications. Whether through specific sensor components and related op-amps employed to enable battery-powered wireless devices or through ESD protection for high-speed signal lines, engineers require a range of products to safeguard their designs. Now, we will examine how sensor components and related solutions lead to excellent security monitoring design. Sensor devices provide real-time system protection, feedback control, and high accuracy system monitoring. Position sensors enable engineers to determine absolute and relative positions, including angles,

presence, proximity, distance, flow, level, and velocity. Light and image sensors and sensing analog front end (AFE) help designers capture a broad range of wavelengths.

Because your human eyes cannot be everywhere, it is helpful to have another set of eyes on your home to establish extra protection. One option a designer might consider employing is an ambient light sensor. An ambient light sensor measures the intensity of visible light. The spectral response of the sensor tightly matches the photopic response of the human eye and includes significant infrared rejection (Figure 3).

Still, looking for home intruders is not the only required sensing function in many security monitoring systems. Often a change in the ambient environment warrants monitoring. A change in humidity may indicate that an environmental shift is in process that may cause significant damage to valuables within a monitored location. In such a situation, a humidity sensor may do the job. Humidity sensors can provide excellent measurement accuracy at very low-power levels and may also include an integrated temperature sensor.

In isolation, sensors alone may not be able to complete the job. Often sensors need a signal boost using amplifiers so that downstream electronics can further manipulate and evaluate the sensors’ electronic information. Ultra-low-power, operational amplifiers find employment in sensing applications with battery-powered, wireless,

Figure 3: Automated security entry systems offer an additional set of eyes for a homeowner’s protection. (Source: Mouser)

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and low-power wired equipment. Such ultra-low-power, operational amplifiers help to reduce power consumption in equipment like CO detectors, smoke detectors, and passive infrared (PIR) motion detectors where operational battery-life is critical.

Command and ControlAt the core of any home automation security and monitoring application, there is a need to have command and control over the electronic signals. A proper command and control system allows for the achievement of greater energy and operational efficiency in the system. By incorporating products and technology with the brains to better monitor and regulate systems, including lighting, windows and doors, video cameras, and more, a home becomes more safe and secure for its occupants.

An effective way to utilize the command and control functions is to use a controller—specifically a microcontroller unit (MCU). Microcontrollers are useful in embedded devices—as they contain the processor, memory, and peripherals in one integrated unit. Many of today’s MCUs may excel at ultra-low-power sensing and measuring. They allow designers to use a command and control platform from which to coordinate their design requirements. Since they possess internal memory, both random access memory (RAM) and read-only memory (ROM), MCUs are well positioned to deliver fast, flexible, and reliable command and control functions without requiring additional off-chip capabilities. Onboard memory and peripherals help MCUs minimize their total power consumption.

CommunicationsHome automation security and monitoring applications, of which the increasing need for wireless connectivity to accommodate the Internet of Things (IoT) is driving, require a new dimension of wireless connectivity security. Upon proper authorization, only where appropriate, data must undergo proper protection by allowing proper send and receive transmissions.

Read more in article:How IoT Short-Range Connectivity Stacks Up in Home Automation

In home automation security and monitoring designs, wireless MCUs, which fully support Bluetooth, Zigbee, low-power wireless personal-area networks (LoWPAN), Thread, Wi-Fi, Sub-1GHz, Sigfox, or other protocols, must by design provide highly secure, cloud-ready solutions for IoT accessibility. Additionally, wireless MCUs require an input voltage filtering/decoupling network and an output impedance matching network for the radio frequency (RF) antenna.

Today, wireless MCUs can offer designers access to distinct wireless protocol modes. Wireless MCUs may offer a blend of long/robust range, low power, and high-data rates. By design, they often consume very low amounts of power, allowing for battery operation. They may come with sensors that help them recognize when they should be active and communicating or when they should be in a sleep or wait state.

Wireless MCUs give engineers greater flexibility, as these designers may consolidate the command and control functions with the communication functions, ultimately to offer high levels of integration.

Such levels of integration will simplify designs and ensure continuously reliable communication.

ConclusionSecurity and monitoring in the field of home automation continue to evolve. New electronic designs and solutions continue to accelerate this trend. Now that many homes are automated, smart, and connected, electronic designers need to continue to offer improvements on issues related to power, sensing, command and control, and communications. A design engineer’s imagination is never automated. Consider how your imagination may take hold of the future, and continue to make our future and our homes more convenient, secure, and safe.

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WHAT IoT DEVELOPERS CAN LEARN FROMSMART LOCKSBy Stephen Evanczuk for Mouser Electronics

Secure IoT devices arise from an effective combination of domain expertise and cyber security implementation. IoT products often demonstrate weakness in one or the other, but few do so with such dramatic effect as smart lock designs.

Smart locks are the canaries in the coal mine for the internet of things (IoT) industry—an indicator of the state of security and even overall design effectiveness. Perhaps more so than other IoT applications, failures in smart locks typically show themselves with dramatic effect: Owners find their doors mysteriously unlocked; they find themselves locked out of their own residence; or they find that the smart lock is completely unresponsive. Unfortunately, this sort of evidence has become all too common, further eroding consumer confidence in connected products and even in the IoT vision at large.

Equally unfortunate: Other IoT devices and connected products almost certainly face the same underlying weakness. For these devices, however, the evidence can be less obvious. Penetration of a Wi-Fi router, for example, can remain undetected. Indeed, the purpose of that kind of penetration is often to actively reach through the compromised network device to access attached devices or even to passively observe Wi-Fi traffic to gather passwords and other personal data. Few users will even become aware that their connected product is compromised, even when the product is recruited into botnets and the like.

Smart locks aren’t uniquely vulnerable. In fact, the case can be made that smart locks merely expose fundamental issues revolving around IoT product development. As with any IoT application, a successful smart lock design requires significant domain expertise as well as a reliable cyber security solution. It›s no surprise that even some of the most experienced mechanical lock manufacturers have stumbled in their smart lock offerings. The mechanical design and physical security of these products is typically exceptional. Their problems lie in failures to meet challenging security requirements largely unique to resource-limited connected products.

Yet, the lure of the IoT has attracted developers well-versed in connected-product design, but with little experience in mechanical lock design. Some of the resulting products failed even in basic physical security: Users found themselves with locks built with soft metal that could easily be broken or built with screws that could easily be removed to gain access to the locking hardware mechanism itself. In some cases, the lack of domain expertise combined with weak security implementation in products, has resulted in the worst kind of publicity for the developer.

“...the lure of the IoT has attracted developers well-versed in connected-product design, but with little experience in mechanical lock design.”

Although domain expertise is fundamental to design success in smart locks or any IoT application, developers can in fact implement security without deep expertise in security mechanisms and protocols. With the rapid emergence of secure MCUs and dedicated security ICs, developers can practically drop a security device into an existing design to add industry-standard encryption, authentication, secure boot, and more to their connected product.

Although security implementation is becoming easier, security design itself remains challenging indeed.

Specialized security devices typically encapsulate all of the various components required for security—combining secure key storage, crypto accelerators, authentication algorithms, and other capabilities needed for secure IoT connectivity. At a deeper level, these devices typically provide built-in protection against threats such as side-channel attacks and even use advanced techniques that eliminate the chance that private keys might be exposed somewhere in the development cycle or product lifecycle.

Taken separately, each of these mechanisms is straightforward enough and certainly well-documented. As a result, developers without extensive experience in security can find themselves lured into approaching security implementation with their own security designs. Again, the evidence from the smart lock industry shouts a warning against this approach. In a recent case, developers devised their own security mechanisms to support standard high-level security methods. Security researchers defeated these mechanisms easily, leaving that developer with the dual challenge of product redesign and credibility repair.

It would be a mistake to represent the well-publicized failures of smart lock designs as something unique to that application area. To demonstrate both market appeal and security, any IoT design requires the right blend of domain expertise and security. Solutions for the latter requirement at least are readily available.

Security is ConfidenceIoT presents an expanded attack surface that goes beyond traditional endpoint security features such as antivirus and antimalware. Since the focus is on providing immediate access to information or data, security often becomes a distant thought. Instead, security needs to take high priority and be embedded at the design level. Being able to authenticate an IoT device and encrypt data at rest and in transit are both key to safeguarding all things IoT from would-be hackers.

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