Image Processing Reference
In-Depth Information
robust “plug-and-play” systems with the capability of communicating via the mains or wireless.
Acknowledging these specific challenges, one explicitly speaks of “home automation” or “domotics.”
The term “building automation” will remain reserved for functional buildings.
A large number of proprietary, mostly centralized solutions is available. Many of them are appli-
cation domain specific, a certain focus on multimedia aspects can be noted. Published networking
and middleware standards of particular relevance are X for simple control via PL (in North Amer-
ica), EHS/KNX [] for household appliances
∗
and KNX RF (in Europe), ECHONET (in Japan),
and UPnP (mainly for multimedia applications). DPWS (Device Profile for WS) is intended as a
WS conformant successor to UPnP. Regarding unpublished consortium standards, the OpenTherm
protocol has reached importance in Europe for point-to-point communication in home heating sys-
tems, while Z-Wave has gained momentum in North America for wireless automation purposes.
Dynamic application frameworks—OSGi [] being the prime, open example—allow providing res-
idential gateways with the flexibility required to have multiple service providers connect from remote
to a variety of devices within the home environment. Remote access can be expected to increase
in importance as building services equipment, alarm systems, and entertainment systems in homes
increase in features and complexity.
29.5.8 Standardization
A communication protocol typically is designed by a single company. If this company decides that
it may profit from others using this protocol, it may choose to promote it itself or hand it over to
a company consortium or user group. Publication of such a company or consortium standard as a
formal standard by an official standards body is largely considered the apex of recognization and sta-
bility. Hence, adherence of equipment to such formal standards is required in an increasing number
of tenders.
Officially recognized standards bodies ensure that the standards they maintain and publish ful-
fill the conditions of open systems as outlined, i.e., nondiscriminatory access to specification and
licensing. In addition, they follow an open decision process with the goal of allowing everyone inter-
ested in the development of a standard to be heard. Likewise, evolution of standards is consensus
controlled. Within the purview of an official standards body, there should theoretically be a single
formal standard for any particular design or procedure to be standardized. However, work areas of
committes and working groups overlap, and some of them have also elected to publish standards
that include several implementation variants. In the following, committees and working groups of
European and international standards bodies concerned with BAS communication protocols are
presented as examples.
ISO TC
†
(Building Environment Design) is publishing a series of international standards
(ISO ) under the general title of Building Automation and Control Systems (BACS). he series
includes a generic system model describing hardware [] and functions [] of a BACS. It also contains
the BACnet standard [].
CEN
‡
TC (Building Automation, Controls, and Building Management) was responsible
for paving the way in European BA protocol standardization through cumulative prestandards of
industry-standard protocols for the automation and field level (ENV - and ENV -), which
also included a collection of standardized object types for the field level (ENV -). TC also
∗
CECED (Conseil Européen de la Construction d'Appareils Domestiques, European Committee of Domestic Equipment
Manufacturers) has defined device profiles for home appliances under the name of CHAIN (CECED Home Appliances
Interoperating Network), but has not made them public to date.
†
International Standards Organization, Technical Committee .
‡
Comité Européen de Normalisation, European Committee for Standardization.
