System on Programmable Chip (SoPC) based embedded system development has been increasing, aiming for improved system design, testing, and cost savings in the workflow for Application Specific ICs (ASIC). We examine the development of Smart Home embedded systems, which have been traditionally based on a fixed processor and memory, with inflexible configuration. We investigate how more ability can be added by updating firmware without the burden of updating hardware, or using a full (but dedicated) general purpose computer system. Our development and implementation of the smart home controller is based on the SoPC development environment from Altera. The development board includes all the necessary parts such as processor, memory, and various communication interfaces. The initial implementation includes a simple protocol for communication between home appliances or devices and controller. This protocol allows data transfer between home appliances or devices and the controller, in turn allowing both to support more features. We have investigated and developed a home resource management application. The main resources being managed in this project are hot and cold water, electricity, and gas. We have introduced a number of expert rules to manage these resources. Additionally, we have developed a home simulator, with virtual appliances and devices, that communicates with the home controller. The simulator interacts with the SoPC based smart home embedded system developed in this project by generating messages representing a number of smart appliances in the home. It provides a useful testing environment for the smart home embedded system to verify its design goals.
Application of Agile Methods on Embedded System Development