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A research project into the protocols, interoperability, and decentralization of the modern smart home infrastructure.
Project Outline
Project Outline
CSC 466 is the first academic opportunity I have been given to explore the networking protocols that power these ecosystems. Existing research has covered the history and evolution of smart home architecture, but with the introduction of standards such as Matter in 2022, the landscape is rapidly changing. Over the past five years, significant advancements have been made in smart home networking. My goal is to incorporate recent developments and provide an updated perspective on smart home networking, particularly looking at protocol operability.
This project will explore smart home networking from a historical, experimental, and forward-looking approach. It will focus on the evolution of protocols, real-world testing, and potential improvements to current networking models.
Project Presentation
https://youtu.be/NGbBakxOoTk
Historical Analysis
Historical Analysis
I will research and examine the history of smart home networking. Analyzing the most widely used protocols such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee, Z-Wave, Thread, and Matter will explore how these protocols evolved, how the differ technically from one another, and their role in smart home ecosystems. I will also reflect on discontinued or failed protocols, identifying the reasons behind their failure and what can be learned from their shortcomings.
Testing Hub Devices
Testing Hub Devices
I own a Google Nest Hub and an Apple HomePod Mini, as well as a variety of smart plugs from several manufacturers. These devices collectively use Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Thread, and Matter, which make them the ideal candidates for evaluating protocol performance in the real-world conditions of my apartment. I plan on using Wireshark, a popular network protocol analyzer software platform. My experiments will analyze command run time, network reliability, and interoperability across the different protocols. I will reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of each protocol and do a surface-level analysis of the findings.
Future Considerations
Future Considerations
I will explore possible improvements and protocols that smart home networking could benefit from adopting. While the protocols used today do the bare minimum, I want to investigate approaches that offer better advantages in latency, interoperability, dependency, and security. Learning about architectures that offer decentralization or peer-to-peer communication will help me provide insights into how smart home networking can evolve in the future.
Questions? Feedback? Ideas?
Questions? Feedback? Ideas?
I would love to hear from you! Connect with me on LinkedIn and let's chat.
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