Design of a Secure Wireless Home Automation System with an Open Home Automation Bus (OpenHAB 2) Framework

• Main Authors: Robert A. Sowah, Dale E. Boahene, Dalton C. Owoh, Rexford Addo, Godfrey A. Mills, Wiafe Owusu-Banahene, Gifty Buah, Baffour Sarkodie-Mensah
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hindawi Limited 2020-01-01
• Series: Journal of Sensors
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8868602

There is rapid interest growing in the use of smart, connected devices. The developing world market for smart technology is evolving to adopt and adapt to the interconnected world of devices leading to the Internet of Things (IoT) everywhere. This research paper presents the design, development, and deployment of a prototype for the secure wireless home automation system with OpenHAB 2. We employed the use of two (2) high-performance microcontrollers, namely, the Arduino Mega 2560, interfaced with a 16-channel relay, and Raspberry Pi Model B, running the OpenHAB software. The Raspberry Pi functioned as the server to develop a prototype of an automated smart home that is remotely controllable from both a web application and an Android mobile app. In designing a wireless controlled switch for home appliances, two security procedures were implemented, namely, the token-based JSON Web Token (JWT) interface and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) procedures for authentication and data encryption. Our system delivered a home automation system that leverages on the power of the latest version of OpenHAB to maximize productivity and overall home security while making it adaptable to the management of individual devices. When tested, both the developed hardware and software modules performed extremely well to meet the goal of a secured home automation system. Industry-standard penetration testing tools and frameworks, including Aircrack-ng, were utilized; wireless network audit began with a full sweep of the wireless frequencies with excellent results. It also ensures the efficient use of energy in the home as devices are intelligently controlled from both mobile and web applications. The results of the design and implementation of the additional layer for the security of the OpenHAB framework provide various theoretical and practical implications for home automation.