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Home Automation is a process of designing and integrating Home Electronic Systems to enhance one's lifestyle encompassing Security/Automation, Communications/Networking, Audio/Video/Home Theater, Lighting Control, Conservation of Energy, Structured Wiring, and Systems Integration.
Security/Automation
Safety in the home is a great investment and with today's systems Homeowners can enhance their lifestyles simply by choosing the right system. The HAI line of Security Systems provide 3 levels to choose from. They enhance comfort, save energy, control lights & appliances, PC access (On-Site & Remotely), Web-Link, and many other features that make this product the best in the industry. Video distribution of video sources to include Cameras, DVD/VCR, DSS, and Cable TV.
Networking computers in the home allows Homeowners to connect multiple PC's to shared printers, the Internet, and games. Most carry data through Cat-5e (phone lines) at 100 Megabit per second (Mbps). Most homes use a peer-to-peer network using cables and network interface card and often Windows 95-98. Home Office Modules allow for different types of high-speed services: DSL & Cable Modems.
If you are building a home today one has to decide on Music/Video throughout the house. Source all your Audio/Video components in one location and use an IR or RF Remote/Touch Panel to control what you want to listen too or watch. If you are planning on a Home Theater or Media Room one must consider the design of the room as well as the acoustics. Surround Sound was created to reproduce the special sound effects encoded into most of today's movies and correct speaker placement is critical for the true Surround Sound Experience.
What are the Advantages of UPB?
Highly Reliable - The UPB method of communication is 100 ~ 1000 times more reliable than current X-10 technology and 10 ~100 times more reliable than CEBUS or LONWORKS powerline technologies. Reliability is defined as the percentage of transmitter/receiver pairs that correctly operate upon initial installation. The UPB test units are randomly installed in the environment typical of the target market. This market is defined as the single-family residential market in the US . This environment is defined to be the existing base of homes, without any modifications. This means that there should be no “fixing” the electrical system of the residence by adding couplers, repeaters or filtering. The first version of UPB will be over 99.9% reliable (>100 times X-10). Current X-10 is around 70%~80%.
No New Wires – 100% powerline communication, no new wires.
Affordable - The incremental cost to add two way communications transmitting and receiving components to a microprocessor-based application circuit is approximately the same as the cost to add X-10 type transmitting / receiving components. This cost is less than $4.00 in US parts and anticipated royalty costs.
Higher Speed – 20 to 40 times the speed of X- 10 in terms of data transmitted. This is equivalent to over ten full commands per second. The average latency of command to action is less than .1 second.
Two Way Communications – Hardware, software and protocol design allow for two-way communication in all products.
House Separation – Multiple houses on one transformer will be separated by means of an addressing scheme allowing for at least 256 systems (houses) on each transformer. UPB system incorporates over 64,000 total address space vs 256 for conventional X-10. There will also be applicable encryption incorporated into the DLL layer and if necessary at the higher network layers.
Interaction – UPB communication can be used in the presence of all X-10, CEBus, or LonWorks compatible equipment with no interference between either UPB equipment or X-10, CEBus, or LonWorks equipment. The UPB technology uses a completely different frequency range than any of the wide-band, narrow-band, or spread spectrum technologies. The physical method of UPB communication is entirely different than the modulation-demodulation techniques of all X-10, CEBus, or LonWorks.
Peer to Peer – No central controller necessary for single point-to-point control or group (scene) control.
Simplicity – the UPB solution uses “off the shelf” components for transmission, receiving and control circuits, including standard microprocessors. No ASIC’s (application specific integrated circuits) are necessary.
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