International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN: 2319-6890) (online), 2347-5013(print)

Volume No.5 Issue: Special 5, pp: 992- 1128 20 May 2016

Home Automation Prototype using IoT

Abhijith Vishnu, Asher P Samuel, Jishnu V R, Kiran J

UG Scholar, Dept. of Electronics and Communication
Cambridge Institute of Technology
K R Puram, Bangalore – 36

Prof. Ravikumar M.
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Electronics and Communication
Cambridge Institute of Technology
K R Puram, Bangalore – 36

Abstract—Home automation allows controlling of the home automation system is proposed for remote control of
electronic appliances automatically. It is a step forward home appliances.
to the popular and emerging technology called Internet
Android application provides real time based remote
of things (IoT). The aim of this paper is to design a
control home automation system [1], [2]. Remote operation
prototype which gives access to control and monitor
is achieved by any smartphone/Tablet etc., with Android
devices at home from anywhere in the world.
operating system [1], [2], upon a Graphical User Interface
Keywords—Home automation; IoT; Bluetooth; GSM; (GUI) based touch screen operation. In order to achieve this,
GPRS; Android (key words) Android application act as transmitter, which sends
ON/OFF commands to the receiver where loads are
I. INTRODUCTION connected.

A. Overview Many people are always on the move from place to place
The home automation system improves the living due to business demands. Some people can spend a couple
standards and also helps the elderly and disabled people. It of days away from their home leaving all their household
gives the user the ability to control the electronic and appliances without any kind of monitoring and control.
electrical home appliances not only from one location but Some devices are left plugged into power sockets whereas
throughout the country. Home automation system focuses others are supposed to be plugged into and out of power
on controlling home electronic devices whether you are sockets at different intervals depending on the time of the
inside or outside your home. It gives an individual the day. All of this requires an individual to manually attend to
ability to remotely or automatically control things around each of the devices independently from time to time. All
the home. such monitoring and control can be done without
The recent developments in technology which permit the necessarily being around or inside the home. Some devices
use of radio frequency technology such as Bluetooth have if not controlled properly consume a lot of energy which
enabled communication between different devices. leads to extra expenditure on electricity. Therefore a
Bluetooth technology aims at eliminating wired connections SMS/Internet based home automation system is proposed
between devices. In this, every device has small which will enable one to remotely manage the home
transmitters/receivers. The radio frequency used (2.4 GHz) appliances from anywhere, anytime.
is so high that the range of transmission will be small. These
are a few reasons that make Bluetooth technology ideal for
home automation. With this in mind, a Bluetooth based Home automation system processing:

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 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN: 2319-6890) (online), 2347-5013(print)
Volume No.5 Issue: Special 5, pp: 992- 1128 20 May 2016

1. Within a limited or Bluetooth range, the user sends

the commands using an android application to the A. Bluetooth Based Home Automation
microcontroller via Bluetooth module which is The system makes use of a cell phone and Bluetooth
received from the user. The microcontroller technology [7]. Bluetooth technology is secured and low
receives and interprets the command and performs cost. It makes use of an Arduino Bluetooth board. An
the action. interactive python program is used in the cell phone to
2. Beyond this range, the user sends the commands in provide the user interface. The I/O ports of the Bluetooth
the form of SMS to the microcontroller via board and relays are used for interfacing with the devices
GSM/GPRS module. In case of GPRS, the mobile which are to be controlled. The Bluetooth is password
device is first linked to the home server via protected to ensure that the system is secure and not
Internet. The microcontroller receives and misused by any intruders. The Bluetooth has a range of 10
interprets the command and performs the action. to 100 meters, 2.4 GHz bandwidth and 3Mbps speed. There
is a diagnostic system that can detect problems in the
In this method, the user is able to communicate with circuitry. The main drawback with respect to Bluetooth is
devices, control and monitor the functionalities such as that it takes a long time to discover and access devices in its
device ON/OFF without limiting the range in environment. vicinity. It does not provide energy conservation tips. Real
time access cannot be achieved. Anywhere access to the
devices cannot be achieved. Access is limited to within the
B. Applications
Bluetooth range. The Bluetooth module that is connected to
Home automation does not only reduce human efforts but
it will allow it to receive various commands via Bluetooth.
also saves time. A complete automation may sound complex
Bluetooth devices can scan and detect other devices easily.
and expensive, but these are surprisingly affordable and
It might also be possible to check whether devices are
simple to install. Home automation has wider range of
working properly or not. The system also has an
application such as:
illumination sensor that can turn on lights when external
1. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) light is dull and a temperature sensor. This system has the
Regulations: It is possible to have remote control of advantage of being able to fit onto an existing system. There
all home energy monitors over the internet incorporating a is also low cost involved in this system.
simple and friendly user interface. [3] Bluetooth is intended to enable the short-range
peripherals of those computers. The capabilities of
2. Appliance control and integration with the smart grid and
Bluetooth are good and current cell phones, laptop, tablets
a smart meter. [4], [5]
have built-in-adapter that will indirectly reduce the cost of
3. Security: A home automation system integrated with a the system. However it limits the control to within the
security system can provide security services such as remote Bluetooth range of the environment [2], [8].
surveillance of security cameras over the Internet, or smart
locks for doors and windows. [6]
B. ZigBee Based Home Automation
4. Energy management and Savings: The smart devices can The ZigBee wireless communication technology can be
be synced with appliances with real-time energy applied for home automation. The system uses
information. microcontroller for this purpose. The microcontroller
5. Leak and smoke detection: With sensors integrated in the transmits the commands through ZigBee to the receiver. The
system, gas leakage and smoke detection is possible. receiver unit has another microcontroller that can process
the command. It uses relays to control the respective
6. Lighting Control: Lighting control system allows the user
appliances. This system has the drawback that ZigBee is a
to control, schedule and monitor lights, lamps, outer lights, low range communication medium. So remote access is
etc. hindered from far away locations. This system is integrated
with several sensors. For example, a smoke detector system
integrated with the HAS. When smoke is sensed, it sends a
II. RELATED RESEARCH message to the user‟s built-in mobile number. ZigBee in
The home automation system is designed using various home automation reduces the cost of wiring and provide
technologies such as Bluetooth, ZigBee, Internet, short reliable and secure communication [2], [8], [9]. The early
message service (SMS) based. These latest technologies sensor networks were used with Routing Algorithms and RF
give user friendly home automation system with low cost. technologies. The recent systems have been using standard-

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 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN: 2319-6890) (online), 2347-5013(print)
Volume No.5 Issue: Special 5, pp: 992- 1128 20 May 2016

based algorithms and RF solutions. ZigBee is considered as needs. It provides more technological advantages to the user
a low data rate wireless network standard, with added of the leading technology Internet of Things. The things in a
features like low-cost, low power consumption and fast smart home, including appliances, security system can be
reaction and it is most suitable for small area network. controlled using the smart phone with wireless connectivity.
This connectivity is achieved in this system with the help of
Bluetooth and GSM technology. Basically, this system deals
C. GSM/GPRS Based Home Automation with an internet based home automation for an intelligent
control over appliances.
The system provides two means of controlling the home
appliances: the GSM network and the Internet. The real time
monitoring of the home devices is an important feature that
can be used in the home automation systems. This feature
allows the user to be informed and updated in real time as
soon as a change in the status of the devices occurs. In a
GPRS based HAS the user commands are sent to a server
via Internet. The server processes the user commands and
sends them to the relevant units of HAS. This can help
control the appliances. In places where there may not be
proper internet connectivity, GSM acts as the
communication medium in order to establish connection.

The system uses the GSM network along with an AVR Figure 1: Overview of Home automation system
microcontroller. This is an SMS based HAS. Any GSM
enabled mobile phone is used to get the commands from the The overview of home automation system is shown. The
user. There is a GSM module that is attached to the system consists of an android developed application which
microcontroller. The commands sent via SMS by the user controls the home appliances. It also consists of
will be received by the module. AT commands are used to microcontroller in which electrical appliances are directly
communicate with the modem. The microcontroller in turn interfaced to it by using relays. The android phone
instructs a driver circuit to control the appliances as per user communicates with the module and sends the control
necessity. This system has remote access capabilities from commands to the microcontroller. Therefore according to
all over the world. the requirement specified in the command, it switches the
relays which control related appliances.
The system is enabled with the added feature of GPRS.
This is an Internet based HAS. A server is setup at the home
IV. SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
end. The server has three engines running – the web server,
database and main control program. Any GPRS enabled The overall process of the proposed work can be viewed as
mobile phone is used to communicate with the server via a flowchart as shown in figure 2.
Internet. The user authentication is performed. Then the
commands from the user are sent to the GPRS module
through a GPRS network. AT commands are used to
communicate with the modem. The microcontroller in turn
instructs a driver circuit to control the appliances as per user
necessity. The remotely accessible home automation system
is made by using database and web server. The PC is used
as a server that reduces the cost and power consumption
while others require web page hosting that adds up the extra
cost.

III. PROPOSED DESIGN

A Smart Home is one which can recognize the user‟s
expectation and manage the things themselves to meet the

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 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN: 2319-6890) (online), 2347-5013(print)
Volume No.5 Issue: Special 5, pp: 992- 1128 20 May 2016

predefined code of the proposed model. In this model we are

Figure 2: Flow of overall process using the SMS facility to control home appliances [7] as
required. The module uses AT commands as specified for
Microcontroller board Arduino 2560 the SIM900A module provided by SIMCOM for sending
The main component of the proposed system is this paper and receiving SMS. In this paper we are proposing for a
is an Arduino ATmega 2560 controller, which facilitates the feedback each time a control is specified by the user for
user with four UART [Universal Asynchronous Receiver controlling a specific appliance.
Transmitter] ports, which is the reason to use this board as
the interfacing of Bluetooth and GSM requires two different 2. GPRS HAS Control
UART [10]. We use the board for the control of the relays The application of GPRS facility extends the further
with the help of predefined code which on receiving the concept of IoT which is the innovation towards the future.
inputs through the GSM or the Bluetooth module. In case of In addition to the major provision of the SIM900A module,
GSM the AT commands [11] are used to receive the the GPRS facility is a notable one. This can be used to
messages of control information from the user are used to connect to the internet and access web pages. In the
send valuable information to the user as feedbacks and also proposed system we are using a web server which has a
notify the user if in case of emergency or discrepancy simple user interface using PHP code and a free hosting
detected by the sensors. service to keep the site active. The webserver has four
inputs which correspond to the four appliances at the
The proposed work is implemented in 2 phase: receiver end, which is updated in the database of the server.
A. Bluetooth interface The inputs provided are decoded by the strings received by
B. GSM/GPRS interface the Arduino predefined code for the control of home
appliances. Figure 3 shows the webserver where the inputs
are provided for the control of the respective relays which in
A. Bluetooth Interface
turn is used to control the required appliances.
The Bluetooth module used in this system is HC-05. HC-
05 is a serial port module which makes it very easy to use.
The communication between Bluetooth module and
microcontroller happens through UART which works in a
standard baud rate of 9600. Bluetooth module is interfaced
to smart phone using an android developed application
„Arduino Bluetooth control device‟. Once the Bluetooth
module is connected, scan for the new devices in the
specified application. It should be connected to the device
named HC-05. The default pairing code for this is „1234‟.
The application software sends commands to the
microcontroller based on the buttons that are operated for
desired states.
Figure 3: Webserver input screen
B. GSM/GPRS Module
The control module used in the proposed model is a The response of the webserver will be linked to the Arduino
SIM900A [12] by SIMCOM. This module has the capability code for the model which will take the input codes as 0‟s
to perform normal voice calls and SMS (Short Message and 1s to which the relay is switched ON/OF which is
Service) facility along with the addition of GPRS (General indicated in figure 4.
Packet Radio Service) capability which allows us to connect
to the internet on inserting a valid SIM (Subscriber‟s
Identifying Module) card with SMS [13] and GPRS facility.
The two methods we are concerned with are the SMS and
the GPRS connectivity.

1. SMS HAS Control

The SIM900A module used here provides SMS facility
using which we can send characters which are defined in the

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 International Journal of Engineering Research ISSN: 2319-6890) (online), 2347-5013(print)
Volume No.5 Issue: Special 5, pp: 992- 1128 20 May 2016

[3] Preville, Cherie (26 Aug 2013). “Control Your Castle: The Latest in
HVAC Home Automation”.
[4] Berger, Lars T.; Schwager, Andreas; Pagani, Pascal; Schneider,
Daniel M. (February 2014). Smart Grid Applications,
Communications, and Security. Devices, Circuits, and Systems. CRC
Press.
[5] “Tips: Smart Appliances | Department of Energy”. Energy.gov.
[6] Griffiths, Melanie (March 2008). “Smart Home Security”.
Homebuilding & Renovating.
[7] R.Piyare,M.Tazil, “ Bluetooth Based Home Automation System
Using Cell Phone”, 2011 ,IEEE 15th International Symposium on
Consumer Electronics, Singapore, pp. 192 - 195.
[8] Yang Li, JiMaorang,GaoZhenru, Zhang Weiping,Guo Tao,
Figure 4: The response of the webserver Mechanical Engineering Institute, NanjingUniversity of Science &
Technology Nanjing, China,Design Of Home Automation System
based on ZigBeeWireless Sensor Network, The 1st
InternationalConference Science & Engineering(ICISE2009).
V. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORKS
[9] D. Javale, M. Mohsin, S. Nandanwar, and M.Shingate, "Home
The proposed system is an economical and efficient Automation and Security SystemUsing Android ADK," International
system to extend the idea of IoT to better use for connecting Journal ofElectronics Communication and ComputerTechnology
(IJECCT), vol. 3, pp. 382-385, March 2013.
devices together and also to help the physically disabled and
[10] "Arduino - ArduinoBoardMega2560", Arduino. cc, 2016. [Online].
elderly people with an aid to control the basic necessity
Available: https://www. arduino.
appliances to provide them the ability and confidence to cc/en/Main/arduinoBoardMega2560. [Accessed: 13- March- 2016].
lead their life without relying on others. The main use of the [11] B. Arijit Pal, "GSM Based Home Automation, Safety and Security
proposed model is the alternate provision of the SMS along System Using Android Mobile Phone", International Journal of
with the Bluetooth which extends the range as well as the Engineering Research and Technology, vol. 4-05, -2015, no. 4-05,
-2015, 2015.
ability for non-smart phone users with the ability to control
H. ElKamchouchi and A. ElShafee, "Design and prototype
the devices. The extensive use of the SIM900A module with
implementation of SMS based home automation system", 2012 IEEE
the GPRS facility is an added feature with the help of a International Conference on Electronics Design, Systems and Applications
basic webserver for the appliances control which possess a (ICEDSA), 2012.
great deal of further improvements. The main disadvantage
of SIM900A module is the inability to form a TCP server
which would have allowed us to use it as a local network
and control the appliances, nevertheless webserver acts as a
great alternative with the added features.

Future additions which could be suggested are as follows:

1. The addition of security features along with
addition of more sensors to make a complete home
system.
2. The use of better network components to provide
wide range of applications.
3. The webserver used here is of a simple user
interface to control the appliances, can be ported
to an application to provide effective and real time
control and notifications.

References

[1] J. Potts and S. Sukittanon, "Exploiting Bluetooth on Android mobile

devices for home security applications," in Southeast on, 2012
Proceedings ofIEEE Orlando, FL 2012.
[2] C. Chiu-Chiao, H. C. Yuan, W. Shiau-Chin, and L. Cheng-Min,
"Bluetooth-Based Android InteractiveApplications for Smart Living,"
in 2nd International Conference on Innovations in Bioinspired
Computingand Applications (IBICA 2011), 2011, pp. 309-312.

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