Home Automation Device Protocol (HADP): A Protocol Standard for Unified Device Interactions

Abstract

Daily activities have become more efficient and convenient with home automation. There are many different home automation devices in the market for consumers to enjoy their home for being smarter, resourceful, and remotely accessible. However, current home automation protocols lack extensibility and compatibility. In this paper, we propose a protocol standard for home automation system called Home Automation Device Protocol (HADP). This protocol standard aims for the interoperability of home automation devices across different platforms. Based on the IFTTT (IF-This-Then-That) model, we define a set of device communication protocols where devices’ triggers and actions are combined to generate and manage interactions through a central node. The proposed protocol standard offers low power consumption and low bandwidth requirements using the minimum data packets to trigger an action on a home automation device. The protocol supports various communication mediums such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, ZigBee IP, 6LoWPAN, IEEE 802.15.4 standards, and Ethernet or any network layer supporting IPv6 protocol.