The Internet Power Line Adapter - University of Queensland

Home Automation, Power Lines and the Internet Quenten Alick
The Internet Power Line Adapter
Chapter 1
1.1 Introduction
The topics of this thesis, in isolation, hardly need introduction. Today, almost
everyone has heard of and used the Internet in one or more of its forms. It is one
of the fastest growing areas in communications. Likewise, most people
understand the concept of home automation, where computers and machines
control parts of your home. Home automation is often portrayed as being a part
of life in films and shows set in the future. Finally, “power lines” refers to the
power lines within a home that supply power to the home.
1.2 The Dream
If there were no limit on the resources available, the system that had been
envisaged would be a home automation system that could control a wide variety
of different appliances using the power lines as a communications medium. This
overall system would be connected to the Internet and would be able to be
controlled from the Internet, through a web page, by an authorized user.
This system could make a wide variety of possibilities become available. All the
functions of a normal home automation system could be accessed via the
Internet. If you’re at work during a heat wave, you can activate the air
conditioning so that when you arrive home, the house is a comfortable
temperature. Dinner could be cooked and waiting, having been started before
you left work. It also becomes easier to monitor your home while you’re away.
If you left the lights on in the bathroom or left the gas running, you can easily
rectify the situation. You could even remotely control your home security
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