Mobile Device Connectivity in Home Networks

A number of technologies are emerging that enable the creation of a market for networked consumer electronic devices for home use. As this market emerges, the research area of home networking is increasing in importance. In this paper, we first present some motivating use cases from the application area of networked home entertainment to illustrate the requirements posed on home networks, both for local and for remote access. The emphasis is on the use of mobile devices. We describe the challenges facing both the manufacturers and consumers in creating and using such home networks. Since the users of these systems are non-expert consumers, we argue that the most important challenge is creating easy-to-use, selfconfiguring and self-healing home networks. Finally, we present a de-centralized architecture and an overview of technologies that can be used to enable local and remote access to home networks using mobile devices.