A Novel Discovery Protocol for IoT Based Home Automation

Abstract

It is proposed that Home Automation systems would be vastly improved by the novel approach of eliminating 
the Permanent Central Controller as it is the source of significant problems. This leaves the responsibilities of the 
Permanent Central Controller to be assumed by the remaining devices in the system, including IoT devices and interface 
devices such as smartphones and computers. While the capacity for joining devices to a network without the 
Permanent Central Controller has been considered, device discovery has not. This paper examines existing protocols 
but finds that while many have worthwhile aspects none are suitable for the task. A novel discovery protocol is 
proposed, using smartphones or computers as intermittent control devices. This new protocol is developed with the 
aid of a new Robust Network Development Methodology which is able to anticipate problematic use cases prior to 
implementation. This methodology was very successful in identifying and eliminating significant problems with the 
new protocol. Implementation and measurement of the novel discovery protocol demonstrates the viability and 
robustness of discovery without a Permanent Central Controller on low cost ESP8266 family devices.