ZUMA: a Platform for Smart Home Environments The Case for Infrastructure

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ZUMA a Platform for Smart Home EnvironmentsThe
Case for Infrastructure

• Jana van Greunen
• University of California, Berkeley

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Introduction

• Trends in the information age
• Information anywhere, anytime
• Small, multi-function devices store content
  must be syncd
• Host of networking technologies

• Problems
• Difficult to setup devices (esp. diff categories
  TIVO cellular)
• Isolated clusters of connectivity
• Multiple user interfaces
• Increasing application space w proprietary
  protocols

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Objective

• To render content on any device (plug play)
• Guarantee the quality of the user experience
• Solution Universal Content Router
• Infrastructure that manages connectivity and
  devices

UCR
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Two-Pronged Approach

• Platform
• focus on Top-Down Approach
• This talk
• focus on the Bottom-up Approach

Programming abstraction
Resource abstraction
Top Down
Ambient OS
Routing mapping
Device Management
Bottom Up
Seamless Connectivity
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ZUMA Home Platform

• Zero-Configuration minimal need for device
  configuration
• Universality ability to connect any device to
  any other device
• Multi-User Optimality optimize user experience,
  with multiple users and simultaneous tasks
• Adaptability change according to users desires,
  location, and integrate new devices

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Challenges Requirements

• Physical layer must be flexible configurable
  to support future protocols
• Protocol conversion between standards such as
  802.11, 802.15.4, Bluetooth, etc.
• Routing Dynamic routing based on devices
  capabilities
• Presentation conversion devices expect different
  data formats data rates
• Determine what type of trans-coding is needed
• Real-time constraints
• Discovery Uniform way to discover integrate
  new devices

The Home Network as the new Tower of Babel
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Bottom-up Solution Universality

• Stovepipe (develop a single standard)
• Not feasible in free-market with existing solns
  
• Apps have different requirements (power,
  bandwidth)
• Flexible peripherals (Cell phone model)
• Not economically viable
• Hard to incorporate new standards (not future
  proof)
• Overlay centralized infrastructure
• Acts as NxN switch
• Easier for management upgrade
• Easy to deploy

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UCR Structure
Configurable fabric / mix
pre-config blocks with
configurable
inter-connect
Ambient OS Application Management Backplane
Configuration Allocation
Phy
Link
App

Flexible SDR front-end
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UCR Operation
1) Connecting a bluetooth PDA to a laptop (w/o
bluetooth)
2) PiP composition for TV w/o PiP
Ambient OS Application Management Backplane
Configuration Allocation
App
Phy
Link

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UCR Desired Properties

• Home infrastructure must be durable (replaced
  10-20 years)
• Must have
• Flexible physical connectivity legacy support
• Flexible link, transport and presentation
  protocols
• Flexible and dynamic routing capabilities
• Discovery mechanism for new devices protocols
• Flexibility incurs computation/resource usage
  overhead

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Future Physical Layer Connectivity

• The future is WIRELESS
• Future-proof radio (SDR)
• Scheme for detecting decoding a new protocol
• Continuously scan a wide range of frequencies
• Upon detecting a new signal
• Match new frequency profile with all known
  profiles (Info can be stored in an online
  database)
• Implements the closest match decode the signal
• If the decoded signal is nonsense, try next
  closest match

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Bandwidth Considerations

• Bandwidth Requirements
• Unlicensed channels (2.4 5.2-8GHz) are
  insufficient
• Solution Scavenge unused licensed spectrum in TV
  Bands (Cognitive Radio)
• How much can we gain? Approx 55 unused channels /
  area!!

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Computation Requirements

• Protocol conversion
• Computation mostly at PHY layer
• Standards vary OFDM steps include frequency
  offset correction, a 64-point FFT, channel
  equalization and QAM demodulation.

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Prototype UCR
Universal Content Router
BEE2
Control FPGA
xx.yy.zz.1
eth0
802.11pre-n Bridge
eth1-4
Slave FPGA2
Slave FPGA5
Slave FPGA4
Slave FPGA1
xx.yy.zz.2
xx.yy.zz.4
xx.yy.zz.3
xx.yy.zz.5

• All devices use Internet Protocol
• Data RTP (Real Time Protocol) encapsulated in
  UDP
• Control Home Gateway Control Protocol (HGCP)
  encapsulated in TCP

• Control FPGA runs Linux
• A router between the Slave FPGAs and the outside
  world.
• Four Slave FPGAs
• Run-time configured with required trans-coder

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Example Scenario Playing Video

• Video follows user around the house
• Displays require different formats
• Sensors detect users location find closest
  display
• UCR automatically trans-codes routes video
  stream

Universal Content Router
BEE2
Control FPGA
xx.yy.zz.1
eth0
eth1-4
Slave FPGA2
Slave FPGA1
Slave FPGA4
Slave FPGA5
xx.yy.zz.2
xx.yy.zz.4
xx.yy.zz.5
xx.yy.zz.3
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Conclusion

• ZUMA is our vision for the intelligent home
• Infrastructure Configurable, future proof
  overlay for multi-protocol conversion
• Software management presented earlier
• Future
• A commercial solution will have to be in a box of
  300
• Driver of new technologies
• Reconfigurable architecture exploration
• CAD for resources allocation and mapping
• Wireless technologies (SDR, CR)
• Sensor networks

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Questions?

• Other Contributors
• Yury Markovsky, Chris Baker
• Jan Rabaey, Adam Wolisz, Jan Newmarch,
• Subra Subrahmanyam, John Wawrzynek
• Funding Sponsors
• Gigascale System Research Center (GSRC)
• http//www.gigascale.org/
• Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC)
• http//bwrc.eecs.berkeley.edu/

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Prototype Connectivity
Content Storage
Universal Content Router
Presence Sensor
Presence Sensor
Speakers