Multimedia, Computer Graphics and Broadcasting / Communications in Computer and Information Science Bd.60 (PDF)

[20]. Remote diagnosis and remote configuration of home appliances are some of the most attractive applications. In the entertainment field there are several interesting applications, for example, users can download movies on demand and an Electronic Programming Guide (EPG).

Power companies are also keeping an eye on home networking because it will allow them to provide valueadded services such as energy management, telemetric (remote measurement), and better power balance that reduces the likelihood of blackout. Consumer electronics companies started to design Internet-enabled products. Merloni Elettrodomestici, an Italy-based company announced their Internet washer Margherita2000 that can be connected to the Internet through which it can be configured, operated, or even diagnosed for malfunctions.

LG presented the GR-D267DTU Internet Refrigerator which contains a server which controls the communication to the other three appliances; it also has full internet capabilities. Matsushita Electric showed during a recent Consumer Electronic exhibition showed an Internet-enabled microwave, which can download cooking recipes and heating instructions from the Internet. There are several initiatives to define the specification for network protocols and API suitable for home applications, like UPnP [11], Jini [9] [10] , to name a few. It is expected that multiple home network protocols will coexist in the home and interoperate through the home gateway.

The gateway acts also as a single point of connection between the home and outside world. OSGi [14] [15] (Open service Gateway initiative) is a consortium of companies that are working to define common specifications for the home gateway. According to OSGi model, the gateway can host services to control and operate home appliances. In the OSGi model, services are implemented in software bundles (or modules) that can be downloaded from the Internet and executed in the gateway [6]. For example, HTTP service is implemented in a bundle while security application would be implemented in another bundle. Bundles communicate and collaborate with each other through OSGi middleware and thus, bundles depend on each other."