An Android Based Home Electrical Appliance Control System

Electric bulbs, television sets, fans and other home appliances are usually controlled largely with human effort using mechanical switches. However, over the past decade, there has been drastic improvement and advancement in consumer electronics and embedded systems. This has ensured a home environment where appliances can be connected and controlled using wireless technology and an Android smart phone. This study demonstrates the design of an automated system to assist and provide support in order to fulfill the needs of the physically disabled and elderly ones in controlling electrical appliances in homes. The heart of the control system is the wireless Bluetooth technology which provide remote access from a smart phone to a Bluetooth module and then to a control and switching unit. Bluetooth wireless connection enables the system to communicate with a Java application on an Android smart phone without cable. The user can easily touch on the phone screen to control the home appliances linked to the system. This method which requires minimal human effort is able to assist the disabled, sick and elderly people who have difficulties with locomotion. Thus, a control system has been designed which offer a low design, installation ease, quick response time and a user friendly interface in controlling home electrical appliances. Keywords - Android Phone, Bluetooth, Microcontroller, Relay and Switching