Welcome back! Having navigated the intricacies of risk assessment and mitigation in our previous posts, we now dive deeper into our home automation system. In this entry, we will outline the system requirements that implement the safety goals we defined earlier. Let’s get started!
Note: The system requirements outlined in this post are general and can be applied to any home automation system. They will need to be calibrated for each specific setup, including for different home automation software (like Home Assistant) and for individual homes. This calibration will account for the particularities of each setup, including different hardware, different home layouts, and different user needs.
System Requirements
Every system is unique, and ours is no exception. To fully comprehend its nature, we need to set its boundaries and define what lies within and outside them.
Inside the System Boundary
Our system boundary encapsulates all the hardware and software that comprise our home automation instance. Let’s take a look at what’s inside:
Hardware Sensors - Our Eyes and Ears
From window contact sensors and climate detectors for each room, to smoke, gas, and carbon monoxide detectors, our hardware sensors form the primary input interface. They’re our eyes and ears, consistently monitoring the surroundings for any changes.
Cloud Sensors - The Extended Senses
Apart from the hardware sensors, we’ve also integrated a variety of cloud sensors into our system. These sensors provide us with weather information, occupancy details, system health data, and network status.
Actuators - The Responders
Equally vital are the actuators that form our system’s output interface. Our hardware actuators include smart locks, a siren, and various alert lights. Simultaneously, our cloud actuators generate notifications in our phone application, maintain the main card in our UI, and manage our user action scheduler.
Outside the System Boundary
Outside our system boundary, we have the physical environment in which our home is located, the users who interact with the system, and the Internet services providing data such as weather forecasts.
System Modes - The Different States of Being
Our system operates in several modes:
- Armed Mode: Here, the system actively monitors for hazards and is ready to respond.
- Disarmed Mode: In this state, the system is not actively monitoring for hazards.
- Maintenance Mode: The system uses this mode to check sensor and actuator status, update software, and perform other maintenance tasks.
Each mode determines how our system reacts and responds to different scenarios.
Interface Requirements - The Building Blocks
To ensure each part of our system performs as intended, we’ve set specific requirements for each interface. These interface requirements span across various elements like smoke/gas/CO sensors, window/door contacts, house occupancy events, weather sensor data, system health data, and actuator performance. Each requirement defines the behaviors and conditions that the respective interface must fulfill.
Common Definitions - The Language of our System
Finally, we have our common definitions - the language that helps us understand our system better. Here, we define various terms like critical windows/doors and different notification levels that make our system more intelligible and easier to manage.
This comprehensive list of system requirements and definitions forms the backbone of our home automation system, ensuring it can effectively detect, respond to, and mitigate potential hazards.
While this overview of our system requirements is a work in progress, it’s an essential step in building a safer, smarter home. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into this subject in our upcoming posts!
Please note, detailed information and precise requirements can be found in our repository document.
Remember, the journey to safety is a continuous one, and we’re excited to have you with us every step of the way!