electronics for you - april 2014 in

` 100
APRIL 2014

For YOu

Vol. 2 No. 12
ISSN 0013-516X

Pages: 158+8

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contents

electronics for you Plus | April 2014 | Vol. 2 No. 12

18

64

Buyers’ Guide
Handheld Digital
Multimeters

Technology Focus
Be(a)ware of the
Smart Home

14
34
42
50
58
61
68
74
76
80
82
84
86

eStyle-Buyers’ Guide
Smartwatches: To buy or not to buy

Technology: 3D

Editorial
:Editorial Secretary
correspondencePhone: 011-26810601; E-mail:
(Technical queries: )

91

94-101

Solar-Powered Home Lighting System

What is New in the Humble
Signal Generator

Arduino-Controlled Namaste Greeting Robot

Test & Measurement

• Subwoofer for Cars
• Battery Tester
• Multi-tone Configurable Alarm
• Touch-Tone Dialer

What is New in Multimeters

Post Show Report

diy: Tips & Technique

EFY EXPO India 2014: What you
have missed

dIy: Software

Exclusive
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102

•Network Storage with Raspberry Pi
•Multifunction LCD Clock with Raspberry Pi

Buyers’ Guide

Back issues,
:Kits‘n’Spares, New Delhi
books, CDs, Phone: 011-26371661, 26371662
PCBs etc. E-mail:

88

dIy: Circuit

Test & Measurement

dIy: Project
dIy: Project

Part 1 of 4: Defence Lasers and
Optronic Systems: Role of Electronics

Bengaluru
:Ph: 080-25260394, 25260023
E-mail:

106-113

chennai
:Ph: 09916390422
E-mail:

•Resistor Value Calculation StandaloneApplication with MATLAB
•Part 3 of 5: Designing with FPGAs: An RS232 UART Controller

ESD Safety Solutions

Internet of Things

“We think using open platforms
that comply with standards is the
right way to go...”

EFY Design Contest
India’s Biggest Electronics
Design Awards

hyderabad:
Ph: 09916390422

E-mail:

116 Embedded

Building Better Power Sources for
Modern Embedded Systems

Kolkata
:Ph: 08800094202
E-mail:

119 Industry Report

Pune:
Ph: 09223232006
E-mail:

Indian UPS and Inverter Industry
Growing Slowly but Steadily

EFY Plus DVD

Software in This Month’s DVD
Automate Your Home, With Just
a Switch!

Gujarat: Ph: 09821267855
E-mail:

123 Career

135 Interview

Innovation

Technology: Broadcasting
Digital Radio Heralding Opportunities
for R&D, Manufacturing and Exports

EFY-Awards 2013

JAPAN: Ph: 81-3-3541-4166
Tandem Inc.,

“SiC leads to both lower system cost and
an improvement of efficiency”—Niranjan G.

singapore
:Publicitas Singapore Pte Ltd
Ph: +65-6836 2272
E-mail:

general manager - Business Development and
Technical Marketing, ROHM Semiconductor

taiwan

136 Interview

Components and Solutions

Product
Categories Index 154
Organisations Index155
Advertisers’ Index 155

• FPGA (Programmable Chips)

April 2014 | Electronics For You plus

EFY Plus DVD

goJTAG, a JTAG/Boundary Scan Tool
Let us Learn Scilab
FreePCB Editor to Edit and Layout PCBs

• Connectors & Terminals

• FPGA Training Kits

: J.K. Media, Ph: 886-2-87726780 ext. 10

United States : E & Tech Media
Ph: +1 860 536 6677
E-mail:

“What every green product designer
should know”—Puneet Shukla CEO, Saison

And the Winners are!

next issue

china: Group Inc.
Power Pioneer
Ph: (86 755) 83729797, (86) 13923802595
E-mail:

Power Electronics in Solar Industry
to Soon Hit the Mainstream

Regulars

6

Hands-On

Subscriptions & :Phone: 011-26810601 or 02 or 03
missing issues E-mail:

Defence Electronics

Letters
132
Qs&As134
Business Pages 137
Electronics Mart 149

CAT III

Editor:Ramesh Chopra

Some Techniques Used for the
Third Dimension

First Look
10
Technology News 28
Websites114
Industry News
126
New Products
130

CAT II
CAT IV

I
III
VI

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Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-1, New Delhi, on the first day of each month and published from
D-87/1, Okhla Industrial Area, Phase-1, New Delhi 110020. Copyright 2014. All rights reserved
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be settled in a New Delhi court only.

www.efymag.com





First Look!

The Latest Home And Office Products

Sony Introduces Swipe Telecom’s Dual-SIM
Xperia T2 Ultra- 3G Calling Phablet
The Large Screen Offers high-quality LCD and Android 4.2 operating system
(OGS) capacitive
a 3G
Smartphone
touchscreen display
calling phablet, Halo Fone,
Swipe Telecom has launchedwhich one-glass solutionthat supports a reso-

Powered by 1.4GHz Snapdragon
quad-core processor

S

ony India has introduced Xperia
T2 Ultra, the next evolution in

large-screen smartphone design. It
brings together the best of Sony’s imaging and display technologies with
ground-breaking design efficiency to
produce a stunning Android smartphone at a mid-range price point. 
Key specifications for the smartphone include a 15cm (6-inch) HD
IPS display (720p) with Triluminos
and mobile Bravia Engine 2 for
mobile, a 13-megapixel camera with
Flash and Exmor RS for mobile,
1.1-megapixel front-facing camera
with Exmor R and access to Sony’s
one-touch ecosystem of 132 NFCconnected accessories. The device is
powered by Snapdragon quad-core
1.4GHz processor with 1GB RAM
and 8GB on-board storage (microSD
slot expandable up to 32GB). It is
powered by a large 3000mAh embedded battery with Battery Stamina
mode.
Price: ` 25,990

lution of 800×480 pixels, the Halo Fone
promises to be India’s most value-forprovides a video viewing experience
money product in its category. The
closest to that of a tablet.
Halo Fone adds to Swipe’s existing and
The form factor is large enough
impressive range of Halo products
to truly enjoy videos,
which features a unique design
and small enough to

blending the form factor of a
carry in a pocket, maktablet with the portability and
ing it stand apart from
functionality of a smartphone.
its competitors. The duThe Halo Fone may be
al-SIM phablet runs on
light on the pocket, but is
Android 4.2 operating
heavy on its looks with a
system and is fuelled by a
sleek design and weigh2800mAh battery, providing only 235gm. It coming hours of endless enterbines the best of both the
tainment.
worlds—smartphone and
The phablet is powered
tablet PC, making it an
by a 1.3GHz dual-core proirresistible package.
cessor and 512MB RAM,
With a gigantic
which guarantees a smooth
high-quality LCD size
experience. 
of 16.5cm (6.5-inch) and
Price: ` 6999

Intex Introduces New Range of
Multimedia Speakers
Brings the best in class sound variants to pep-up the mood

I

ntex Technologies has introduced two
new variants of multimedia speakers, IT-2440 FMU and IT-2460 SUF,
to enhance customer experience. The
products are aesthetically designed and
combine quality sound output to make
your music experience more fulfilling.
Also, the in-built FM enables you
to ensure you get the taste of
latest music which the world
is listening to and add
into your playlist.
These powerpacked speakers
are adequately
powered to boost
the sound output

of your normal laptop, DVD player and
TV. Now you can be your own DJ by
flipping through the songs using the
fully-functioned remote control. With a
power output of 30W and 20W, respectively, these channel speakers are fully
equipped to create an everlasting thump
in surroundings, thus producing supreme
quality sound experience for
music aficionados.
These multimedia speakers
promise to deliver superior sound. They are sleek,
magnetically shielded
beauties that will add
value to your home or

work computing.

Price: ` 2990 onwards

10

April 2014 | Electronics For You

www.efymag.com



First Look!

GizMo
ByTes
Intex Cloud X1+ Launched at
Sub ` 3000 in India
Mobile phone maker Intex has unveiled
its new entry-level Android smartphone,
dubbed as the Cloud X1+. It comes with
an 8.8cm (3.5-inch) touchscreen display,
as the device is targeted towards the
first-time smartphone users. The dual-SIM
smartphone will soon be available across
all the retail stores in India. It is priced
very reasonably at ` 2990.

Samsung to Launch New
Website for Product Design

Samsung had teased a video on the company's official YouTube channel, dubbed
as Samsung Tomorrow. The intended
trailer marked for the company's newest
upcoming launch in the beginning of April.
And, this time it is not a smartphone or a
tablet that is coming up. The new launch is
a website by Samsung that is completely
ordained with product design.

Huawei Stalls Dual OS
Smartphone Idea
In recent news, Huawei was said to be working
on a smartphone that would support both Android and Windows Phone OS. The dual-boot
smartphone concept is reportedly stalled by
the company, as of now. Media reports claim
that the electronics company has said it will
not release a dual-OS smartphone any time
soon. Another smartphone maker Asus was
also expected to launch a similar concept device, dubbed as Transformer Book Duet TD300.
The company has also stalled its plans.

iPhone to Get a Brainy Battery
Usage System
Battery drain is always an issue with Apple’s
devices, but it appears that the company is
all set to address the issue. It is reportedly
working on a way to ascend the battery
backup on iPhones. The new system will collect data from its apps, which the users run
such as motions (gyro), light sensors, GPS,
wireless network availability, user's environment and phone's usage including screen

on/off, power adaptor attach/detach. It will
interpret the data and make forth the best
option for performance and efficiency.

12

April 2014 | Electronics For You

The Latest Home And Office Products

Lenovo Unleashes Premium
Multi-Media Notebook
Features Windows 8.1 operating system

L

enovo has launched the New ered with fourth-generation Intel core
IdeaPad Z510—a multi-media processor; latest graphics card with up
notebook that offers a superior to six hours of battery life and a great
combination of premium features HD LED display with antiglare. The
and a stylish design. The laptop is white backlit keyboard not only makes
equipped with a powerful processor, typing easy but also adds a lot of class
graphics performance along with an to the overall design of the notebook.
Some important features include
integrated DVD drive and superior
audio quality, making it ideal for Windows 8.1 operating system, hybrid 1TB SHDD storage and NVIDIA
everyday multimedia experience.
This new notebook from Lenovo graphics card with integrated 8GB
NAND Flash, sharper and crisper
weighs only 2.2kg,

visuals with slim
offering an amazing
15.6 HD LED display
combination of feawith anti-glare for
tures and performance.
multi-touch touchpad
It packs amazing audio
for easy scroll and
quality with JBL speakzoom functions.
ers and Dolby Home
Another imporTheatre, with multitant feature is 1M HD
ple storage options.
camera to stay conOptimised to be a
nected with friends
complete portable
and family through
entertainment hub,
video chats.
the device is powPrice: ` 52,954

ZTE9 Releases The World’s Fastest
Home Entertainment Console
Powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra4 processor

Z

TE9 Limited has released FunBox,
the world’s fastest home entertainment console, bringing consumers and
families a unique high-performance
all-in-one gaming, video-chatting and

online video experience.
The FunBox is powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra4 processor, based on the
new A15 architecture, and the superior graphics performance is
delivered by a 72-core
GeForce graphics
processor with 2GB
DDR3L memory and
8GB Flash memory.
The specifications make the
FunBox the highest performance home

entertainment console currently available globally.
The FunBox is the first home entertainment console to support videochatting, allowing users to conduct
video calls on their smart televisions
for the first time. With a dual-antenna,
dual-frequency Wi-Fi design and a
Bluetooth controller, FunBox offers
superior connectivity
and robust network
performance. In the
future, users will be
able to buy personalised versions of the
FunBox with customised casings.
Price: ` 6685
www.efymag.com



Buyers’ Guide

Smartwatches: To buy or not to buy
Before we start off, let us get one thing straight, a smartwatch is not a new product by
any means. While it is the rave in tech town nowadays, if anything, this is the second
iteration of smartwatches in the country. Do we have a point here? Indeed we do. When
buying a smartwatch, you should not look at it as something completely new that you are
experimenting with, rather, you should take the same approach as the average consumer
takes with most other things—budget and want. Yes, the two basics that keep popping up in
economics textbooks
Prasid Banerjee

W

hen it comes to smartwatches, it is very difficult
to determine a need for the
device. While wearables will, without
a doubt, become needed devices in future, currently they remain a matter of
want. Not taking anything away from
their functionality and usefulness, you
need a smartphone, but you can get by
without a smartwatch.
The general features of a smartwatch include reading messages, taking calls, setting alarms on your phone,
amongst others. These devices come as
companions for your smartphone. They
connect to your phone using technologies such as Bluetooth or NFC and offer
various functions, because of which
you would not even have to pull your
smartphone out of your pocket often.
Moving on, there are quite a few

options on offer. The

Samsung Galaxy Gear and
Sony Smartwatch 2 are perhaps the best known devices in this
segment. Moreover, if you have the
budget, you can go for the current
unanimous winner of the smartwatch
segment, the Pebble Steel. Yes, they do
ship to India. So, if price is not a constraint for you, then get your hands on
one of these.
Coming back to our territorial
borders though, the Galaxy Gear is
priced at ` 22,990, which frankly is a

little steep in our opinion, especially
when combined with the fact that it
only works with a handful of Galaxy
smartphones. Way to pull off an Apple,
Samsung!
The Sony Smartwatch 2 SW2 is first
the best example of why smartwatches
are not new. This device is an upgraded
version of the company’s first Smartwatch. The Smartwatch 2 is priced at
` 14,990 and works with all Android
phones (with Android 4.0 or above).
Make a note of this, because this is a
huge plus for Sony. Not only do you not
have to worry about what phone you

Some Smartwatches to choose from
Samsung Galaxy Gear

Sony Smartwatch 2

Sony Smartwatch

Price: ` 22,990

Price: ` 14,990

Price: ` 7990

hh Bluetooth
hh 4.1cm (1.63-inch) super
AMOLED display
hh 800MHz dual-core
processor
hh Samsung apps
hh Accelerometer and
gyroscope
hh 1.9-megapixel camera
hh HD video playback and
recording

hh Works as an NFC watch
with all smartphones
using Android 4.0 (Ice
Cream Sandwich) and
later
hh Bluetooth 3.0
hh Android release: 4.0
and later

hh Charging with micro USB
hh Water resistant IP57

hh Battery lasts for
a week on low
usage and one day
on heavy usage
hh USB charging
hh 3.3cm (1.3-inch)
OLED display
hh Bluetooth 3.0

14

April 2014 | Electronics For You

Burg 13

Price: ` 14,235
on flipkart.com
hh Bluetooth
hh Front camera
hh SMS and MMS
hh Micro-SD card slot

Casio G Shock

Pebble Steel

Price: ` 9495

Price: ` 15,160
on getpebble.com

hh Bluetooth
hh Call and SMS alerts
hh Works with iPhone
4S and iPhone 5

hh 5ATM waterproof
hh Tri-colour LED
hh Daylight readable
display
hh Notifications
hh Apps
hh 5-7 day battery
hh Works with both iOS
and Android devices

www.efymag.com


Buyers’ Guide
have, the watch costs almost half of what
the Galaxy Gear costs. This would make
it lucrative for many customers.
Further, if the better known ones
do not fit your fancy then go ahead for
the Burg Smartwatch and the Casio
G-Shock Digital Bluetooth watch. Both

feature voice recorders and MP3 and
MP4 players. The Burg smartwatch also
features a phonebook that can store up
to 500 numbers.
Sony is also still selling its original
Sony smartwatch, which is more of a
budget option. It has the features of a
smartwatch but comes at less than half the
price when compared to the Galaxy Gear.
The Casio G-Shock on the other
hand applies only to the iPhone 4S and
iPhone 5 owners. It has lesser features
than the others and frankly pales in
comparison in this department.

Burg is the hands down winner functionality wise.

Price

In the post Mobile World Congress
(MWC) 2014 era, the market for smartwatches has been changing. Samsung has
ditched Android to launch its proprietary
Tizen-powered Gear 2, Gear 2 Neo and
Gear Fit smartwatches. Incidentally, the
Gear Fit was awarded the best mobile
device title at MWC 2014.
Samsung dropped the highly successful Galaxy branding for its smartwatches (using its proprietary Tizen
platform) and Google followed with the
Android Wear platform meant solely
for wearables. The LG G Watch and

Moto 360 smartwatches from LG and
Motorola respectively have created some
waves with their introductory videos.
The companies have all promised an
evolution in wearable computing, which
is just what we have been saying all
along. Smartwatches are here and they
are evolving. In addition, the market is
expanding with newer products entering
the competition.
Yet, buying a smartwatch still depends on the need, ‘to buy or not to buy;’
indeed that is the question. Whether you
want such a device enough and are going
to use it is what decides whether you are
going to buy it. 

TM

Conclusion

When a tech firm comes up with a device, a huge amount of R&D goes into
commercialising it. This in part means
making the device cheap enough to sell
to the general public. One of the main
reasons why the market for smartwatches is still developing is their pricing.
Take the Galaxy Gear for example, not
everyone can spend ` 70,000 plus to buy
the Galaxy Note 3+ Gear combo. On the
other hand, the standalone price of the
device is not small either.

The buzzword here is value.
Are you going to try and churn out
every ounce of functionality from your
device? If so, spending well on a smartwatch does make sense for you. If not,
go for the cheaper models.

O

Functionality
Not every smartwatch provides the same
kind of functionality. While Galaxy Gear
and Sony Smartwatch 2 provide pretty
much the same functions, the one big difference is that you can use any Android
phone with the latter. As mentioned
before, this is a huge plus, especially considering the fact that the cheaper Galaxy
devices do not support the Gear yet.
Similarly, if you are choosing between the Burg and Casio models, then
www.efymag.com

Looks
As with many other things in our mind,
looks play a big role in choosing a smartwatch. This is a big reason behind the
accolades received by the Pebble smartwatches. A smartwatch is still a watch
and you would not want a grotesque
device to be wrapped around your wrist.
Subjective as this decision is, the
Pebble Steel, launched at CES 2014, is
considered by most to be the best in the
looks department. The Casio G-Shock
looks like your traditional swanky Gshock watch. The Burg 13 smartwatches

on the other hand present more colourful options, as does the Sony Smartwatch 2 SW2. The Galaxy Gear though
has been criticised a bit looks wise.

The author is a correspondent at efyTimes.com

Peripherals for Industrial Automation

Analog
Timers

NEW

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Hooters with
Flasher

Relay Interface Modules

SSR Interface Modules

FRC/ D-SUB connector

Opto Interface Modules
Diode/ Resistor Modules

Power Distribution Modules
Redundancy Modules

Analog Signal Converters

Dedicated Controllers

O

TM

Website: www.shavison.com
Email:
SHAVISON ELECTRONICS PVT. LTD.

Unit No. G-5 , B Wing , Udyog Bhavan No. 2 , Plot K-3 ,
Anand Nagar MIDC , Ambernath (E) 421 506 , MH , India.
TeleFax: +91-251-2620417/ 2620427 Cell: +91 98 203 62980
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Dealers enquiry solicited
Vasai : Plaschem - 09371048482

Electronics For You | April 2014

15




Technology Focus

Be(a)ware of the Smart Home
Smart homes are great. They are more energy-efficient, safe and comfortable too. But, you
need to resist the temptation to micro-manage your home, or it can make you dizzy! Let us
set you thinking by telling you a few (mostly nice) things about the emerging smart home

Nest protect and thermostat lifestyle

Janani Gopalakrishnan Vikram

A home that runs
like clockwork
A smart home could satiate unfulfilled
dreams—kids who switch off the fans
when they leave the room, a husband
who helps around the kitchen or a wife

who wakes you up with a hot cup of
coffee!
A smart home can pamper you
and see to your every comfort. Your
water heater will turn on when you
enter the home, the coffee maker will
start brewing when you park your car,
the air-conditioner will turn up the
temperature when you pull up your
blanket tighter. It is just what you need
to live a comfortable life, 24×7.
One look at the current generation
18

April 2014 | Electronics For You

such device that is expected to create
waves is Rotimatic.
Dubbed as a one-touch solution for
fresh chapatis, Rotimatic is a device
developed recently by an Indian couple for making chapatis, apparently
inspired by the long hours Indian wives
spend in the kitchen.
You can customise everything from
the number of chapatis and the amount
of oil in each chapati, to their thickness and crispness. Each chapati takes
around a minute to prepare and slides
out temptingly from the cute machine!
Launched in Singapore, Rotimatic is
expected to be sold in the Indian market

too, perhaps sometime this year.
The Internet-connected crock-pot
launched by Belkin at CES 2014 is another example to show how automation
is invading the kitchen. The WeMocompatible slow-cooker can be programmed and controlled remotely too.
So, you can load it with all that needs to
be cooked for dinner and switch it on
just before you leave office.

of consumer electronics and smart
home platforms is enough to prove
The watchdog
this point.
that never sleeps
Whether it is a washing machine to
which you can send your instructions
“With the increase in nuclear families
(LG), a learning thermostat (Nest),
and urban living with double-income
intelligent remote-controlled lights
that can wake you up with gradual
lighting (Philips), a super-smart
mobile-controlled security system (Piper), easy to setup motion sensors and baby monitors
(WeMo) which help watch your
home or a TV that switches itself
off when you fall asleep (Sony),
today’s chip-equipped gadgets
ensure that your home runs like
clockwork.
There are some brilliant
The Internet-connected crock-pot (WeMo-compatible

examples in this space, and one
slow-cooker) launched by Belkin
www.efymag.com



Technology Focus
Common protocols used by home automation systems
X10. One of the oldest protocols in this space, it has evolved from power line to
wireless. Cannot claim to be very robust in terms of speed or communications, and hence
not too popular.
ZigBee. A happening technology, IEEE 802.15.4 (aka Zigbee) is a low-power
communication technology that makes mesh networks to help devices communicate on
par with each other.
Z-Wave. Another wireless home protocol, owned by Sigma Designs, which makes and
sells chips for Z-Wave-capable products.
Insteon. Combines wired power line and wireless communications to form mesh
networks for the devices to communicate when in proximity. If one mesh fails, the others
can take over. Insteon was developed by SmartLabs, and is compatible with X10.
Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi needs no introduction. Although it is power and bandwidth hungry, experts
feel that the use of Wi-Fi in home automation can definitely not be ignored due to its
popularity and ubiquity of access points.
households, there is a growing need
for intelligent surveillance of residential properties. Home owners are looking for solutions that can help them
clearly identify intruders, monitor their
homes while they are on the go,” says
Sudhindra Holla, country manager,
Axis Communications, India, which
offers several advanced security products and solutions.
Indeed, security appears to be the

biggest motivation for implementing
smart home solutions in India. Builders
and real-estate developers are installing
holistic surveillance systems that help
to monitor large residential campuses.
Traditional measures such as locks
and extra doors have been replaced
by high-end burglar alarm systems
and security products with integrated
remote monitoring software. Security
guards are ably supported by intelligent CCTV surveillance systems.
There is a growing demand for cameras with smarter analytics, especially
vandal-proof cameras and video motion detectors. “The latest tech trends
unfolding on home security are razorsharp detail on video, motion detection
and tamper-proof cameras. In India,
we see a higher adoption of thermal
cameras, cameras with high definition
(HD) motion sensors and facial recognition software,” says Holla. A thermal
network camera uses thermal imaging,
allowing users to detect people, objects
and incidents in complete darkness and
difficult conditions such as smoke, haze,
dust and light fog.
Likewise, smartphones and videocapable networking have also given
20

April 2014 | Electronics For You

home security a boost. Real-time access
to recorded visuals is a reality today,

and there are several affordable smartphone apps that make good use of this.
“Home automation technology has
become an integral part of nearly every
new alarm panel that hits the market
these days. This will enable mobile
users to monitor their home from any
corner of the world 24×7,” says Holla.
Surveillance-as-a-service (SaaS) is
another growing trend in India. This
helps home users switch from low-end
analogue cameras to network-based IP
surveillance easily and at a low cost.
Globally, there are several wonderful examples of security products
that can be deployed quite easily by
the user itself. WeMo offers a range of
motion sensors and other products that
you can install for various home automation purposes including security.
Canary recently launched a smart
home security device that is armed
with an HD video camera and multiple
sensors that track everything from motion to room temperature, sound and
activity to help keep your home safe.
Another example would be Piper,
which is a home security and automation device that combines panoramic
video, Z-Wave home automation and
environmental sensors into a single
elegant product that you interact with
on your smartphone or tablet.

we believe this will change in the

future because technology will allow
people to use resources more efficiently, improving convenience, saving
money and facilitating a greener lifestyle,” says Guru Ganesan, president
and MD, ARM India. “We are already
seeing automation used fairly widely
for monitoring energy and water usage
to help reduce a household’s environmental footprint and electricity bills.”
There are several smart technologies
today that would help a home reduce
its energy footprint, and some high-end
builders are including such technologies to conserve power used by lighting,
elevators and other common amenities.
So are home owners.
There are many ways in which
home automation can conserve power.
For example, lights and HVAC systems
can be switched off automatically the
moment your car leaves the garage.
Lights can switch on and off as people
enter or leave a room.
Two-way meters and smart thermostats can help people understand
and alter their energy usage.
Cloud-based services can help
utilities to analyse, understand and
recommend ways to reduce power
consumption at user locations.

Electricity bills give
a pleasant surprise
“While currently the demand for smart

home products in India is limited to
safety and surveillance/monitoring,

WeMo app
for Android
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Technology Focus
It’s hot
 global home automation industry is projected to grow from $16.9 billion in 2011 to
The

$35.6 billion by 2016, according to a study conducted by marketsandmarkets.com.


International Data Corporation (IDC) anticipates there will be more than 200 billion

connected devices by 2021, with more than 30 billion being autonomous devices.

 a recent report published by Allied Market Research, it was concluded that the global
In

smart home and buildings market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate
(CAGR) of 29.5 per cent between 2012 and 2020.

What’s inside?

Sensors to know the environment


Processor for intelligence

Software for functionality, progra-

mmability and integration


Connectivity for remote-accessibility,

integration and diagnostics


User interface on device or as a

smartphone app for easy setup and
usage

One example of a home energy
management system is Savant’s SmartEnergy monitoring solution, which sets
your intelligent lighting to automatically turn on and off with the rising
and setting sun by timing them to an
astronomical clock, automates opening and closing of blinds to keep out
the sun and conserve energy, regulates
thermostat levels based on outside
temperature, controls switching on
or off of lights using motion sensors
and lets you remotely manage your
home’s media components and other
smart electronics using iOS devices to

prevent prolonged operation and unnecessary energy consumption.
This, of course, is just the tip of the
iceberg!

Always within reach
You might have thought your home
became smarter the day the water
heater supported auto cut-off or your
kettle had temperature control or your
microwave let you make paneer butter
masala with its auto-cook option, but
that is nothing compared to the possibilities that connectivity has opened
up for smart devices!
Connectivity means many things.
It means your devices can talk to each
other, they talk to your mobile phone,
they talk to (perhaps) a central server
such as an energy monitoring system
22

April 2014 | Electronics For You

at the utility end or a remote diagnostic solution of the original equipment
manufacturer.
In short, the products will, over
time, become a part of the Internet
of Things, becoming intelligent and
capable of managing their lifecycle by
themselves to a large extent.
“M2M is at the core of the smart

home offering. Effectively, it is one
machine talking to another. It is the
air-conditioner talking to the mobile
phone. So, M2M is definitely a very
critical part of the whole solution.
From a protocol perspective, depending on what is being used, there are a
bunch of protocols that are essential.
For instance, all of the connectivity
protocols such as 802.11, Bluetooth,
Zigbee, 2G, 3G and 4G are all very essential,” says Thilak Kumar, regional
engineering manager, Wind River.
M2M makes many things possible.
For example, as you walk along a passage, the lights could talk to each other

to ensure that subsequent lights turn on
as the ones you cross go off.
Your bed could sense and tell the
air-conditioner when you are feeling too
warm or too cold, so the temperature
can be adjusted accordingly.
Your dishwasher could tell your
motor to turn on and fill the overhead
water tank when the water flow in the
pipeline reduces.
Above all this, connectivity also
makes it possible to control multiple
devices using a common interface, as it
can be quite hassling to manage a dozen
home automation tools individually!
One example of such an application

is the Revolv Smart Home Automation solution, which supports multiple
protocols including Wi-Fi, Z-Wave and
Insteon and lets you access and control
varied devices such as the Nest thermostat, Sonos speakers, Philips Hue
lightbulbs and more, using the Revolv
app on your smartphone.
That said, Kumar warns us, “Connectivity allows full control remotely
by the owner, but at the same time
brings in security risks that need to be
addressed.”

Home in your palms

“I believe that smart homes need to be
looked at from the lens of mobility and
smartphones today. The smartphone
has quite quickly become the centre
of our lives and I see tremendous potential for it to become the centre of
our homes, and that is the single biggest trend in this space,
says Annie Mathew, director, Alliances and
Business Development,
BlackBerry India. “What
smartphones bring to the
table are wireless protocols such as NFC and
Miracast that are driving
device connectivity. That
said, they also bring a
plethora of apps that
create a singular console
to manage home automation.”

There are many
popular mobile-based
Blacksumac’s ‘Piper’ smart home automation and security device
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Technology Focus
In India...
 “At the moment, the market is at an early stage due to
cost economics, but we see that changing as innovation drives
consumer value and competition drives price down for mass market
adoption. The other trend that will help is the real estate industry
increasingly building smart technology into homes and innovative
service providers bringing ‘solutions’ to consumers by integrating
these smart gadgets with telecom, mobile and tablets. Current
devices, we are already seeing in reasonable numbers, include CCTV
surveillance systems, sensor-based LEDs and climate control apps
on smartphones.”—Guru Ganesan, president and MD, ARM India
 “In India, the idea of smart home is slowly catching up with
luxury homes and corporate offices making a conscious effort
towards providing green environments. The idea is yet to become
pervasive amongst the common man and may be incentives to
support green initiatives and lower costs will increase the adoption.
There is also growing interest in big cities as it does offer a lot of
safety, security and automation benefits.
“For instance, it does enable working couples to manage
their homes much more efficiently, help remotely monitor old-age
parents and respond to any issues in a timely and effective manner.
The most popular home automation systems today are safety and

security systems, automated lighting, automated entertainment and
automated energy management amongst others.”—Thilak Kumar,
regional engineering manager, Wind River
 “In India, smart homes have gone from being a premium
concept to one that is fast becoming mainstream. Realtors have
been integrating this into their constructions for a while now, and the

smarthome solutions today, such as
the Samsung Smart Home platform,
Canary, Insteon Hub, MobiLinc, Roger
Smart Home Monitoring and so on.
Roger Smart Home Monitoring,
for example, helps subscribers to view
and control their smart home monitoring system from wherever a mobile
Internet connection can be made. The
app helps to remotely arm and disarm
your smart home monitoring system,
and allows you to control security and
monitoring devices including cameras,
thermostats and lights.
Technologies such as NFC and Miracast make it easy to wirelessly connect
a mobile phone to the television, home
theatre or sound system, and enable
users to stream their mobile games to
the television or music from the mobile
radio to the home speaker systems.
An app that comes to mind at this
juncture is NFC Shortcuts, which allows users to launch apps or shortcuts
conveniently by tapping a BlackBerry
phone to NFC tags. “For example,

when you reach home, you can just tap
an NFC tag at the entrance and your
BlackBerry will turn off the cellular
radio, turn on Wi-Fi (home network),
24

April 2014 | Electronics For You

average home owner is increasingly looking for ways to automate.
The last two years have seen cost of technology and the speed of its
advancement become inversely proportionate.
“As technology advances, costs continue to come down and
affordability is therefore driving smart home adoption. Its application
has evolved as well. In that, home automation has moved from
switching buttons on and off, to complete home surveillance and
helping to operate and observe the home remotely. Intelligent
fire safety systems, gas leakage detectors, motorised curtains,
remote controlled lighting, video phone, automated alarms, remote
monitoring of homes via Internet and adjustment of heating/
cooling, wireless door locks and video door stations for security are
some of the systems that have gained popularity. Again, as these
become mainstream, we are of the firm opinion that smartphones
will remain at the centre of driving adoption as they are being used
as the primary controllers of these automation technologies.”—
Annie Mathew, director, Alliances and Business Development,
BlackBerry India
 “Smart home as a concept is on the rise in India. With
increased need for security, builders and real-estate developers are
installing holistic surveillance systems that help to monitor large
residential campuses. In India, cameras with smarter analytics are

witnessing growing demand, especially the vandal-proof cameras
and video motion detectors. Here, one can also witness higher
adoption of thermal cameras, cameras with HD motion sensors and
facial recognition software.” —Sudhindra Holla, country manager,
Axis Communications, India

turn off Bluetooth (used for hands-free
in the car) and even send an SMS to
your family members (not at home)
notifying them that you are home. You
can even tap a tag on your nightstand
to set the BlackBerry into bedside
mode and tap it again in the morning to take the device out of bedside
mode,” explains Mathew.  
Mobile phones enable the concept
of smart home to extend beyond the
home too. The SkyPark Café in Hyderabad is an exciting example. The
cafe is set up with BlackBerry devices,
NFC points and a BlackBerry music
gateway to play music to customers in
a jukebox style.
In addition to that, PlayBooks are
used to browse, work and play on and
also double as the menu. There is also
a wall dedicated with NFC stickers
for customers to easily check-in with
NFC-compatible devices. And there
are also QR codes that customers scan
to avail of freebies as well as an App of
the Month offer.

Plus, nowadays there are smartphone apps such as Control4, which
integrate all your home automation
systems from media, security, lights

and thermostats using one easy-to-use
interface.
For example, a single ‘goodnight’
button could ensure all your lights are
switched off and doors are locked. A
‘cooking’ button could brighten the
kitchen lights, switch on the chimney,
pre-heat the oven, and play your favourite music on the kitchen speakers!
Life becomes even easier.
“Home automation has created
opportunities for consumer durables
to cross-sell devices and products that
are compatible with each other. Smartphones have driven this trend, given
that it is today our single view of the
world and consumer durable brands
are fast adopting capabilities such as
NFC and Miracast to ensure that consumers are able to control their homes
from their smartphones,” says Mathew.

Do it yourself
Obviously, you know your needs best,
and that is the greatest motivation for
DIY in the home automation space.
A simple web search and you will be
overwhelmed by a mind-boggling list
of projects in this space. Low-cost microcontrollers and development boards

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