WiFi auto configuration architecture using ZigBee RF4CE for pervasive environments

This paper presents a novel architecture to provide a simple and easy control and sharing between various CE and IT devices for realizing a smart digital home using RF4CE that is based on IEEE 802.15.4. The proposed architecture is working on RF4CE which is a reliable bidirectional communication standard and also optimizes Zigbee protocol in order to provide a simple and energy efficient networking stack and standard application profiles in creating a multi-vendor interoperable solution for home entertainment and monitoring. In proposed architecture, RF4CE protocol provides a key idea to establish an initial network between devices. After that, the proposed architecture is probing a connection type from devices, and then sharing configuration information to make a zero-configuration, i.e., Wi-Fi connectivity setup. In order to show the feasibility of the proposed architecture, we make a development various H/W prototypes and implementation results demonstrate a mobile terminal can control other devices and provide contents sharing between the devices. Furthermore, based on the RF4CE-based zero-configuration architecture, it can be extended to support smart connectivity in a smart digital home with various wireless technologies like Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, UWB, and so on.