Accessible Display Design to Control Home Area Networks

Introduction
In todays lifestyle, technology has become very dependable in many ways
thereby simplifying day-to-day life. Home automation, utility meters,
appliances, security systems, card readers, and building controls are some of the
areas wherein plenty of research in the use of technology is widely taking place
as we speak. Along with hardware the use of software has become very
important thereby simplifying tasks, reducing size of equipment and hence
cutting down on cost of the equipment.
Recently, social inclusion and technical aid to assure autonomy to people with
disabilities are drawing attention all over the world. This work presents a
display design for accessible interaction in home area networks. Based on
various researches conducted on accessible interfaces, an interface design
system has been proposed in this project. This interface is implemented over
Android based cell-phone that controls domestic devices through a home
network controller prototype.
Literature
This paper presents a display design for accessible home control focusing on the
use of home area networks to improve disabled peoples autonomy at home. In
the past few years, various computational devices have been introduced into the
commercial markets with variant features such as reduction in size, high
computing speeds, better connectivity and reduction in costs. This all factors
have slowly contributed to the working of an intelligent house vision, thereby
making a reality. This pervasive, intelligent home is a luxury item for many
people, hence providing a key role in assuring the autonomy of people with
disabilities.

This change in accessibility can be defined as "a condition for autonomous and
safe use of space, furniture and urban facilities, buildings, transport services and
devices, systems and media and information by people with disabilities or
reduced mobility.
In this project we demonstrate a prototype of a feasible interface to control
home area network which could come in handy for aged, visually impaired
people, hearing impaired people and cognitive disabilities.
Overview
In order to develop an easy-to-use interface, a design approach based on icons
was adopted, quadrants and touch screen combined with voice control. The
touch screen choice was made based on three factors:
the widespread use of this technology on mobile devices,
the touch screen intuitiveness and
the possibility to include people with upper limbs impairments
Considering that people with disabilities have more locomotion difficulty, the
possibility to have the home control interface on a portable device such as a
smart phone or a tablet is an extra advantage. The adopted design is based on
quadrants to achieve a universal user interface for home network control.
In the design, the quadrant approach is used, considering a layout with five
buttons occupying the whole screen area. There is one button in each quadrant
(four buttons) and one (the fifth) in the center of the screen. In order to improve
the interface intuitiveness, a text label, an icon, and color were associated to
each button. An example of this approach can be seen in figure 1, below

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

The screens map considers three menu levels: rooms, appliances (items to be
controlled) and commands. This approach is intuitive, having a fast learning
process. At each level, the information on the last levels selection is presented.
When a room is selected, its icon is presented at the top of the device list menu.
When the device is selected, both the room and the device are presented on the
screen. This representation is displayed in fig 2.

Block Diagram:
LCD
Relay
Android
Application

BT
Signal

Bluetooth

Renesas
RL78

BULB
( ON/OFF )

LM35

L293D

FAN
(CPU Fan)

Description
Many embedded systems have substantially different designs according to their
functions and utilities. In this project design, structured modular design concept
is adopted and the system is mainly composed of a single microcontroller, relay,
CPU fan, bulb, LM35, L293, Bluetooth module and Android application based
cell phone.
The microcontroller located at the centre of the block diagram forms the control
unit of the entire project. Embedded within the microcontroller is a program that
helps the microcontroller to take action based on the inputs provided by the
output of the sensors.
Whenever there is any change in room temperature the LM35, which is a
temperature sensor, generates an output voltage which is fed to the
microcontroller input pins. The microcontroller then sends a message via
Bluetooth device to the Android cell-phone of the particular user. Depending on
this information the user can either switch ON the fan in that particular room to
desired speed. The speed of the fan can be adjusted through the cell-phone via
Bluetooth. At the receiving end the microcontroller on receiving the command
from cell-phone controls the speed of the fan through L293D driver circuit.
The temperature in the room and the speed of the fan is conveyed to the user via
application stored in the Android cell-phone.
With the Android application developed for the particular cell-phone, incoming
data is converted to voice output. Java coding done using Eclipse, along with
Android 4.0 SDK is utilized to create the particular application for the Android
cell-phone.

The switching ON/OFF action is demonstrated via relay which is connected

between microcontroller and bulb. Once the light is switched ON, the Android
application stored in the cell-phone, informs the user via voice.
In the above block diagram LCD is utilized to demonstrate the working of the
entire unit.
Softwares:
CubeSuite+ Tool
Renesas Flash Programmer
Eclipse
ANDROID 4.0 SDK
Hardware:
Renesas microcontroller ( RL78 series )
Relay
Bluetooth module
L293
CPU fan
LM35
LCD
Applications
Can be used in houses where elders with disabilities would like to live
independently without any assistance of an individual.
Can be used at old age homes.
Disadvantages
System failure may occur due to damage to sensors
System failure may also take place if cell-phone is not in working
condition at times.

Future Scope

This project demonstration is a potential solution to improve the autonomy of

people with impairments. Going further this system can be altered inorder to
make it more user-friendly for the blind.