Design and implementation of user-centered home appliance controlling service environment

Home appliances are becoming more multifunction and intelligent every day. Many manufacturers are making their new products, and there are also many smartphone applications for appliances controlling. However, between different manufacturers there are many compatibility problems. On the other hand, the complex interface of those applications sometimes make users more confused. This research is developing an User-centered universal controlling system that will provide a new experience of appliances controlling. Task based controlling process will be introduced so that users' activities and their appliances can be connected. The system includes an universal infrared(IR) controller for sending commands to different types of IR controlled appliances, a web-based application for managing appliances and controlling tasks, and a server that communicating with the application and controller side. The initial prototype was developed based on Arduino and web platform. The detail design and implementation of will be described further in this paper.