Embedded web server-based home appliance networks

Powerful microcontrollers are used as parts of most home and office appliances of today. Integrating web servers to these intelligent devices will aid in controlling them over the Internet and also in creating effective user interfaces in the form of web pages. Assigning multiple functionalities to a single button on an appliance help manufacturers economize user interfaces, but, this can easily create confusion for the users. Since the cost of web-based interfaces is considerably low, they can be used to provide the infrastructure for the design of simple and more user-friendly interfaces for household appliances. Also, a web page based interface is much easier to change, when needed, as compared to a hardware interface. This paper presents a novel approach to control devices with embedded web servers over the Internet and to form device networks such that their components can make use of one another's services and functions while improving the user interfaces. The main benefits of this approach include its lightweight design, automatic configuration, and, utilization of widely available and tested network protocols of TCP/IP and HTTP. The validity of the approach has been verified through a prototype system working with real appliances.