Abstract
A wireless network and intelligent control system for home and office automation application has been developed that provides a seamless link to Internet to allow the non-expert users to monitor and control their home and office environments from anywhere in the world. Technologies employed include Bluetooth, LonWorks, C-Bus, RF, IR, Internet technology, Java, soft-computing for system diagnosis and monitoring and universal plug and play. The system enhances the quality, efficiency and global connectivity of the living and working environments.

As no single network is capable of fulfilling the diverse bandwidth requirements and cost constraints of various intelligent home/office devices and systems, this new system with a flexible architecture serves to support a heterogeneous network system. In the present prototype, it can support LonWorks, C Bus, IR, RF, Bluetooth and Ethernet communication channels. Other communication technologies can be included if it is found necessary. Besides the advanced communication features, the system is also integrated with a rule-based system to provide intelligent functions to automate some of the routine tasks. The rules for the rule-based system can be entered by the users or collected dynamically through the rule-capturing module. The project received financial support under the Innovation and Technology Fund.

Contact Information
Mr H Y Wong
Director, Technology Transfer Office
City University of Hong Kong
83 Tat Chee Avenue
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel : (852) 2788 8428
Fax : (852) 2788 9119
Email : hy.wong@cityu.edu.hk