探索家居自動(dòng)化

雅姬·克拉

A smart house is a home that has highly advanced， automated systems to control and monitor any function of a house—lighting， temperature control， multi-media， security， window and door operations， air quality， or any other task of necessity or comfort performed by a homes resident. With the rise of wireless computerization， remote-controlled devices are becoming smart just-in-time. Today， its possible to pin a programmed chip onto any occupant and have systems adjusted as a person passes by and through a smart house.

Is it really smart？

A smart home appears “intelligent” because its computer systems can monitor so many aspects of daily living. For example， the refrigerator may be able to inventory its contents， suggest menus and shopping lists， recommend healthy alternatives， and even routinely order groceries. The smart home systems might even ensure a continuously cleaned cat litter box or a house plant that is forever watered.

The idea of a smart home may sound like something out of Hollywood. In fact， a 1999 Disney movie titled Smart House presents the comical antics of an American family that wins a “house of the future” with an android maid who causes havoc. Other films show science fiction visions of smart home technology that seems improbable.

However， smart home technology is real， and its becoming increasingly sophisticated. Coded signals are sent through the homes wiring （or sent wirelessly） to switches and outlets that are programmed to operate appliances and electronic devices in every part of the house. Home automation can be especially useful for the elderly， people with physical or cognitive impairments， and disabled persons who wish to live independently.

Open standards

Think of your house like its one， big computer. If you ever opened up the “box” or CPU of your home computer， youll find tiny wires and connectors， switches and whirling discs. To make it all work， you have to have an input device （like a mouse or a keyboard）， but even more importantly， each of the components has to be able to work with each other.

Smart technologies will evolve more quickly if people didnt have to buy entire systems， because lets face it—some of us arent as wealthy as Bill Gates. We also dont want to have 15 remote control devices for 15 different devices—weve been there and done that with televisions and recorders. What consumers want are add-on systems that are easy-to-use. What small manufacturers want are to be able to compete in this new marketplace.

Two things are needed to make homes truly “smart，” writes research journalist Ira Brodsky in Computerworld. “First are sensors， actuators and appliances that obey commands and provide status information.” These digital devices are already omnipresent in our appliances. “Second are protocols and tools that enable all of these devices， regardless of vendor， to communicate with each other，” says Brodsky. This is the problem， but Brodsky believes that “smartphone apps， communication hubs and cloud-based services are enabling practical solutions that can be implemented right now.”

Home energy management systems （HEMS） have been the first wave of smart home devices， with hardware and software that monitors and controls a homes heating， ventilation， and air conditioning （HVAC） systems. As standards and protocols are being developed， the devices in our homes are making them appear smart—very smart！

Domotics and home automation

As the smart house evolves， so， too， do the words we use to describe it. Most generally， home automation and home technology have been the early descriptors. Smart home automation has derived from those terms.

The word domotics literally means home robotics. In Latin， the word domus means home. The field of domotics encompasses all phases of smart home technology， including the highly sophisticated sensors and controls that monitor and automate temperature， lighting， security systems， and many other functions.

No need for those pesky robots， however. These days most mobile devices， like “smart” phones and tablets， are digitally connected and control many home systems. And what will your smart home look like？ It should look just like what youre living in now if thats what you want.

智能家居，即具備極先進(jìn)自動(dòng)化系統(tǒng)的房屋，可以控制和監(jiān)測(cè)照明、溫度、多媒體、安保、門(mén)窗開(kāi)閉、空氣質(zhì)量等家居功能，或住戶其他出于必需或提升舒適度目的而設(shè)的功能。隨著無(wú)線計(jì)算機(jī)化的興起，遙控設(shè)備隨之變得智能。如今，任何住戶都可以別上一塊編好程序的芯片，讓系統(tǒng)在有人經(jīng)過(guò)和進(jìn)出智能家居時(shí)作出相應(yīng)調(diào)整。

但它真的智能嗎？

智能家居之所以看起來(lái)“機(jī)智聰明”，是因?yàn)槠渲械挠?jì)算機(jī)系統(tǒng)能夠監(jiān)測(cè)日常生活的方方面面。舉個(gè)例子，在系統(tǒng)的幫助下，冰箱也許能夠自主清點(diǎn)存貨、推薦菜單和購(gòu)物清單、介紹健康飲食替代品，甚至進(jìn)行常規(guī)采購(gòu)。智能家居系統(tǒng)甚至還能讓貓砂盆一直保持清潔，讓室內(nèi)植物永遠(yuǎn)不缺水。

智能家居這個(gè)概念聽(tīng)上去像是好萊塢的產(chǎn)物。其實(shí)，迪士尼公司曾在1999年發(fā)行過(guò)影片《我的媽咪不是人》，講述一個(gè)贏得了 “未來(lái)房屋”的美國(guó)家庭搞笑經(jīng)歷——“未來(lái)房屋”中的機(jī)器人女仆狀況頻出，讓一家人鬧出了不少笑話。其他影片中，看似不可能的智能家居技術(shù)則以科幻的場(chǎng)景展現(xiàn)。

不過(guò)，智能家居技術(shù)是真實(shí)存在的，而且正日趨成熟。通過(guò)有線或無(wú)線的方式，設(shè)有內(nèi)置程序的開(kāi)關(guān)和插座能夠接收到編碼信號(hào)，從而操控屋內(nèi)各處的家用電器和電子設(shè)備。對(duì)老年人、身體或認(rèn)知有缺陷者，以及想要獨(dú)立生活的殘疾人士來(lái)說(shuō)，家居自動(dòng)化的益處尤其明顯。

開(kāi)放式標(biāo)準(zhǔn)

試想你的居室就像一臺(tái)巨大的電腦。如果打開(kāi)家中電腦的“主機(jī)箱”或中央處理器，就會(huì)知道里面有細(xì)小的線路和接頭、各種開(kāi)關(guān)和飛速運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的硬盤(pán)。要讓這一切運(yùn)行起來(lái)，必須有個(gè)鼠標(biāo)或鍵盤(pán)之類(lèi)的輸入設(shè)備才行。但更重要的是，各個(gè)元件必須能夠協(xié)同工作。

如果用戶不必購(gòu)買(mǎi)整個(gè)家居系統(tǒng)的話，智能技術(shù)會(huì)發(fā)展得更快，因?yàn)槲覀冞€是得面對(duì)現(xiàn)實(shí)——畢竟不是每個(gè)人都像比爾·蓋茨那么有錢(qián)。我們也不希望家里15個(gè)不同設(shè)備有15個(gè)遙控器——家里已經(jīng)有幾個(gè)電視機(jī)和錄像機(jī)遙控器了。消費(fèi)者真正想要的是簡(jiǎn)單好用的附加系統(tǒng)。小型制造商想要的是搶占這個(gè)新興市場(chǎng)的高地。

調(diào)查記者艾拉·布羅德斯基在《計(jì)算機(jī)世界》雜志中提出，要想讓家居真正“智能”起來(lái)，離不開(kāi)兩類(lèi)東西。“首先是能夠遵從指令并提供狀態(tài)信息的傳感器、致動(dòng)器和器械裝置?！蹦壳埃@些數(shù)碼設(shè)備已普遍安裝在家用電器中了。“其次是能讓這些來(lái)自不同廠家的設(shè)備互相溝通的數(shù)據(jù)傳輸協(xié)議和工具?！边@一點(diǎn)才是難題所在。但布羅德斯基認(rèn)為“手機(jī)應(yīng)用、通信集線器和云端服務(wù)的出現(xiàn)，正為我們帶來(lái)切實(shí)有效、立等可行的解決方案”。

家居能源管理系統(tǒng)便是第一波問(wèn)世的智能家居設(shè)備，借助硬件和軟件來(lái)監(jiān)測(cè)、控制住宅的供暖、通風(fēng)及溫控系統(tǒng)。隨著技術(shù)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)和協(xié)議的開(kāi)發(fā)，家居設(shè)備將顯得越來(lái)越智能了——堪稱機(jī)智過(guò)人！

家居自動(dòng)化

隨著智能家居的發(fā)展，用于描述它的詞匯也發(fā)生了變化。早先最常用的是家居自動(dòng)化和家居技術(shù)這樣的詞，后來(lái)又衍生出了智能家居自動(dòng)化的說(shuō)法。

從字面意思來(lái)看，domotics指的是家居機(jī)器人技術(shù)。在拉丁語(yǔ)中，domus的詞義為住宅。家居自動(dòng)化領(lǐng)域涵蓋智能家居技術(shù)的方方面面，包括極為精密的傳感器和控制器，用于監(jiān)測(cè)和自動(dòng)控制溫度、照明、安保等功能。

不過(guò)，我們不需要那些麻煩的機(jī)器人了。如今，“智能”手機(jī)和平板電腦等大多數(shù)移動(dòng)設(shè)備都能進(jìn)行數(shù)碼連接，從而操控許多家居系統(tǒng)。你的智能家居會(huì)是什么樣的呢？要是你想，無(wú)須大改，你的住處就能保持目前的模樣。

（譯者單位：復(fù)旦大學(xué)中文系）