It's housewarming time for digital homes

PUNE: Fully automated digital homes may soon cease to be the brickwork of imagination.

Residents, at least the ones occupying space in some fresh realty projects in Pune and Bangalore, would be able to control their home security, appliances and seamless telephony with a click of the remote or a swipe of the smart card. A claim that Aftek Ltd. demonstrated here today.

The company has, under Digi Home Solutions Pvt. Ltd (DSPL), a scion of the Rs.300 crore parent group, deployed Digital Home Gateway Solutions.

Currently installed at Rohan Tapovan (112 flats), Wonder Futura (118 flats) in Pune and Rohan Ashima (64 villas) in Bangalore, this solution claims to address areas like security, safety, automation, entertainment, information and communication, and deliver a hi-tech home for its denizens.

Chadrashekhar Raje, director, DSPL, showcased the different features here. "Now, with a seamless connectivity between home-installed user-interface (A touchscreen panel), remote, Internet and mobile, a resident would be able to switch on/off various appliances, power, lights, air-conditioned, geyser, cooking gas, etc. through a simple LCD panel at home and through mobile and even Internet while at work or away from home."

The concept has been woven around Aftek's flagship IP Jadugar, which can operate and non-interruptibly communicate between various protocol interfaces like GPRS, GSM, Blue-tooth and VoIP. The solution is based upon this platform and the company has developed the software and hardware around the same. The main control motherboard is interfaced with wires to various points like telephone line and network related connections. Commands for switching on/off travel between the control and sensor units to the board.

While the company optimises and customises the operating systems (OS), the OS is from standard vendors ranging from Embedded Linux and Windows CE, while on the server side Desktop Linux and Desktop Windows is used.

Project Manager Prafulla Kelkar further explains that few boards do not run on direct OS. Next on the feature wish list for digi-homes are plans to make inroads into T-Commerce wherein pizza deliveries grocery orders, restaurant bookings can be done via this system for big residential complexes.

Also, the menu, which currently works by a connect from mobile to home telephone line, can in future be directly integrated into mobile itself.

"The software on this system acts as a link betwen two different syntaxes- the VoIP and the telephony ethernet. A protocol stack or SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) helps connect the home-interface with the on-the-run mobile or Internet. A user can see the home-layout and on/off status on his browser too. The software helps translate one protocol to another, thus allowing seamless connectivity," says Kelkar.

CEO of DSPL, Ashutosh Humnabadkar says, "With this solution installed, a person would be able to have PIN and smart-card based access, track and record live-cum-stored camera bytes of visitors near the door/security gate, etc., enable sick/elderly to have a emergency click-button pendant. S/he would also be able to have real time video track of children playing in the park or get instant mobile alerts and LCD pop-ups in case of smoke or fire emergencies. Features on entertainment include MP3 downloads to audio and video systems."

Raje pegs the potential market to be worth Rs1000 crore in the next five years. He adds that cosmetic changes and enriching user interface would be an ongoing process and the company is working with some design companies already. Many improvements though still have space.

For instance, while the system allows switching on/off of appliance, one can only instruct the air-conditioner to be on while one is leaving from office. He cannot program or regulate temperature of an air-conditioner or refrigerator. Simplification of the user-panel is also an area for attention, though, Marathi and vernacular versions are already in place. Raje also adds that depending on builder's inclination, many other much-needed features like multi-sensors from one room to another, security at multiple intrusion gateways can be configured and customised, once the client demands it.

Before e-homes, the Jadugar platform has been used to develop a dual-mode phone for a Malaysian client.

© CyberMedia News