Possible Uses For UPnP
UPnP is being promoted heavily by Microsoft as they are the largest sponsor of the technology. The technology is very promising and many examples can be found. This is especially true of computing hardware such as routers and modems, as well as wireless gadgets like certain mobile phones and hand-held computers. Most examples are restricted to consumer technologies. This may be not a bad thing since a mass market will drive prices down.
Applications to Home Care
UPnP is a service-based technology, meaning that it relies on state changes to determine what happens on the network. This makes it extremely useful for automating a home by detecting what is happening in the surrounding enviroment.
Consider the example of a person waking up in the morning. A UPnP enabled network can use assorted services to determine when events should occur:
- Sensors inside the home can detect current room temperature. If below a certain level, a UPnP service can be called to increase temperature to a predetermined level. This could become an important service in the winter to prevent an older person from waking up to a cold room.
- Once a person has woken up in the morning, a switch could be pressed which enables a wakeup service for the home. Mundane tasks such as opening the blinds could occur automatically. The water heater could be switched on so the user can have a bath or shower. The kettle could be boiled for a cup of tea.
UPnP offers many possible uses for home care network systems as it is software-based. Software engineers could create Service programs for any task, as long as the devices are there to carry the tasks out.
