The problem with embedded technology is highlighted by the word embedded – it’s hidden there inside products and systems and tends to get overlooked. Such is Echelon Corp’s Local Operating Network concept, but the technology won its place in the sun the other day when companies from the home automation, power utility, energy management, personal computer and consumer electronics industries came together in Atlanta to demonstrate what Echelon reckons is the largest number of interoperable devices for home automation ever assembled. This unprecedented happening took place at the Habitech95 Home Systems Show and over 20 different products linked via LONworks were shown controlling utility demand-side-management, audio distribution, video source switching, heating and air conditioning, security and lighting applications. The pavilion was jointly sponsored by Motorola Inc, one of the supplier of the Neuron family of node processor chips – the other is Toshiba Corp – with Echelon itself. A LONworks-equipped Toshi ba television served as one user interface to the network, and an easy-to-use interface on a Packard Bell Electronics Inc personal computer was set up to enable visitors posing as homeowners to set times to turn on sprinklers and choose radio stations and temperature settings by room. Leviton Manufacturing Inc, described as the largest supplier of home wiring devices in North America, displayed light switch, dual socket, and plug-in module units using Echelon’s PLT-20 narrow band power line transceiver. The three products are the first of a full line of LONworks-based wiring devices planned for launch in January 1996. IBM Corp’s Arigo, already marketed in Europe, enables homeowners to add complex home control networks as easily as plugging in a power cord. The Arigo kit consists of user interface, personal computer board and two plug-in wall modules.
Intelligent heating field test
It is designed for expandability and upgrades available include infra-red motion detectors, temperature detectors and modems. Programming and configuration are graphics-based and include an intelligent rules checker to simplify system configuration. Commun ications and signalling are transmitted by the Echelon power line transceiver. Energy management participants in the pavilion included Celect, a consortium of 25 companies conducting an intelligent heating field test involving the BBC, Scottish Power Plc and Scottish Hydro Electric Plc, London Electricity Plc, National Power Plc, Schlumberger Ltd’s Meters arm, BEC Meters and MK Electric Plc. And Philips Electronics NV’s P100 Screen Phone is currently also being used in a separate energy management field trial with Scottish Hydro. Ameritech Corp, Entergy Inc and Central & South West Inc featured their ongoing LONworks demand-side and energy management projects and First Pacific Networks Inc demonstrated its PowerView DSM and wide area network system, a part of Central & South West’s 2,500-home project. Raytheon Co displayed its ECS-2000 Demand Side Energy Management system and American Innovations Inc showed its Powerlon electricity meter. Oracle Corp reaffirmed plans to use LONworks as the home control backbone for its Oracle New Media Technology, the system that links together Oracle Media Servers, Media Net and Media Objects, which can be used to give utilities access to homes for bi-directional communications including rate, peak load and energy consumption information.
