Figure 1
Introduction
Embedded Systems
The Technology
Operating System
CPU
Network Protocol
Network interfaceEthernetSMTP/POP3 Implementation
Serial
Telephony
Bluetooth
PowerLine
Amstrads EmailerUsers
OnDigital
Open (SkyDigital)
Mobile phones
Hardware
I will examine and discuss how integrating email capabilities into everyday household appliances can potentially improve their functionality. The method with which the appliance connects to the Internet (or intranet), allowing it to receive emails will be explained. Some of the available products will be evaluated. I will also examine the technology required to be able achieve this integration.
By integrating email capabilities into an appliance how we use that appliance may also change. I will examine some of the ways in which this will happen.
A section of this report will examine how these developments will affect the way that people use and perceive email.
I will assume that the reader has some limited knowledge about email and the method with which it works. If this isn’t the case then the reader should take a look at www.howstuffworks.com/email.htm
All terms and abbreviations will be defined when first used.
An embedded system can be said to be any additional capabilities added to a device by adding computer technology. An example of this is the computer controller included in almost all new cars. The embedded system has no input from the user, but may depending on the car model report basic information back to the user about any problems with the car. With this example however the system is designed primarily for a mechanic so that they can quickly obtain diagnostic information about the car – without first having to dismantle it.
The previous example helps to illustrate the wide variety of embedded systems, and there is no reason why the above system couldn’t utilise email capabilities to contact the local garage to alert them of the nature of the problem. If necessary the garage could contact the car owner alerting them to the severity of the problem. It would also allow the garage to obtain the parts before the owner takes the car in for repair – therefore cutting down on the usual delays of wait for the parts to be delivered.
By adding network capabilities to a device the possibilities of how to operate with the device are greatly increased, as are the features that the device can support.
Before we examine what can be done with the technology I will examine the technology that makes the system work.
For any device to be capable of sending and receiving emails it must have the following features:
For any electronic device of a reasonable level of sophistication there needs to be some form of operating system. With the previous example of a car management system the operating system would be responsible for collecting the data and making it available to the mechanic.
The operating system needs to be able to run on the choice of CPU, be able to handle the chosen network protocol and interface. It must also be sufficiently developed enough to be able to handle the creation and sending of emails, and the ability to receive (and optionally store) emails.
Various different companies are currently pushing their own operating systems, in the hope that they will become the dominant platform in the user market. For example Microsoft are pushing for WindowsCE (amusingly abbreviated to WinCE) to be used in all small-scale devices, from fridges to set-top boxes.
The most important aspect when choosing the CPU is ensuring it has enough power to do its intended job. For simple applications where there is no flashy user interface or other demanding tasks then a simple processor is sufficient as sending and receiving email is not a processor intensive task.
However if applications like voice and video mail are added then it becomes necessary to use a processor with enough power, not only to decode and display the data but also to drive the viewing environment provided by the operating system.
Whether a TCP/IP (Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) Stack is needed depends on the network solution used, as TCP/IP is not designed for all applications. For example a mobile phone does not use the TCP/IP protocol, the high levels of interference that are incurred and the slow data rate available on a mobile network would render TCP/IP virtually useless because of the high error rates. Instead of TCP/IP mobile phones use a protocol called WAP (Wireless application protocol). The WAP protocol is similar to TCP/IP, but has been optimised for mobile networks. [WAP]
Because email doesn't care what network protocol is used the choice of network protocol should be dictated by what is best for the network hardware.
If a device is to be able to send emails then it must be connected to a network in some way. Traditionally this has involved some sort of Ethernet, serial, or telephony connection. These all require a physical link to the network and are potentially very restrictive, as it will limit and networked devices to those that do not need to be mobile. To overcome this a new technology called Bluetooth has been developed which uses radio waves to transmit data.
This provides a high-speed connection between the host device and the network. For the purposes of sending emails this is really not necessary. Although currently emails are almost entirely text based in the future voice and video emails will become more common, this will require higher capacity links, which Ethernet can provide.
To be able to connect a device using an Ethernet connection then it needs to have network hardware installed and an external connection.
Serial is significantly slower than Ethernet, but still sufficiently fast enough to be usable for transferring emails.
It's very easy to think of a serial connection looking like the connections on the back of a computer, and for a small device this is far from ideal. However only a small number of the wires in a standard serial connection are actually needed. Some devices that support serial connections like digital cameras and personal mp3 players have a serial connector that looks very similar to a headphone socket.
For most people the telephone is how they connect to the Internet, and is the transport medium for their emails. For the average computer user this is more than sufficient for their needs, however if voice and video emails are to become popular then a dial-up connection simply won't be able to cope. The real killer for an embedded device though is the cost, not only of the connection but also of the additional bulky hardware (in comparison to other technologies).
Particular problems arise due to different regulations in each country about exactly what you can connect to a telephone network, and ensuring that the device is properly licensed.
Bluetooth is a wireless network using radio frequency's that are globally available. This eliminates the need for any interconnecting wires. Although Bluetooth provides a high-speed 1Mbit/s connection, that is far greater than is needed for simple email the technology isn't specifically designed for any one technology.
Because the Bluetooth technology is so small it can be fitted inside virtually anything. A common example for its use is surfing the net using your laptop whilst Bluetooth technology in both the laptop and mobile phone (which will have dialed up to the users ISP (Internet service provider). This example can be easily expanded to household appliances like the microwave and fridge using Bluetooth technology to not only network with each other, but to gain access to the Internet.
Although the range with which Bluetooth can operate is limited to approximately 10 meters (from another Bluetooth enabled device) it could be used to add networking abilities to sensors placed around the house to monitor, for example, room temperature and adjust the central heating to increase or decrease the temperature in the room. [BlueTooth]
This technology enables a device to make a network connection via its mains power connection. Clearly from the users point of view the main advantage of this is that there is not additional wiring and that it truly is a plug and play system. The technical side however is much more daunting. The network needs to be able to deal with the power surges, the 240 volts, and any transformers the user is using. Despite these problems speeds of 10Mbps are expected soon. [PowerLine]
The method of communicating with either the SMTP server or POP3 server doesn't vary according to the hardware or the operating system. All that is needed is for the code to work with the network protocol and for the operating system to be able to use the implementation.
Embedding email abilities in a device can fall into two distinct categories, the automatic sending of emails by a device, and emails created by an end user.
When an email is automatically sent by a device there is either no interaction with the user (so they don't know anything's been sent), some interaction e.g. "A message has been sent alerting the repair centre of the problem", or possibly a Yes/No prompt.
There are many applications are there for automatically sending emails. Very often when the integration of Internet applications is discussed in the news the "interactive fridge" [Making your kitchen cool] is mentioned as an example. Not only will the fridge be able to display what is actually in there it will also be able to be used to do the weekly shopping, sending you're list to the supermarket who then deliver it to your door.
Another much touted device is the interactive microwave which will display recipes especially selected for the user, again useful. But add the ability to email you're favourite recipes to you're friends at the touch of a button.
Heading away from the consumer market high cost computer equipment often includes self-diagnostic abilities and error reporting abilities, this ability has usually been provided with a modem and phone line. Replacing that with email would enable the equipment to be configured to not only notify the manufacturer of the fault but also the head of the team responsible for maintaining the equipment. Another ability would be for the manufacture to automatically update the equipments firmware – fixing bugs and potential problems before they cause any serious problems.
Figure 1
Amstrad have recently launched a telephone/email hybrid device (show in Figure 1). It allows the user to send and receive emails using a small display and keyboard.
It uses a dialup connection to amserve (Amstrads ISP), and therefore uses the owner's telephone line – blocking the user from making any phone calls.
For PC owner's devices like this aren’t that useful because it replicates what can be done with greater flexibility using their computer (or they laugh at such devices). But for many people a PC is either to expensive or simply to baffling to use, so devices like this do have a viable market.
For such a low cost device (£79.99 at Dixon's) the Emailer has a surprisingly good specification. It can be used to add sound attachments to an email and can display images attached to an email. It can be used to send faxes (although it seems not receive them).
This is a good example of a household device that has had its capabilities extended by adding emailing abilities to it. [Amstrads Emailer]
To be able to use the OnDigital email service (called OnMail) the user must pay a one off fee of £30 (this fee includes a small keyboard), which, other than the cost of the local rate phone call, is the only fee the user pays. To signup to the service the customer must phone OnDigital, the user cannot signup via their television.
This service uses the telephone to connect the user to OnMail. Like the Amstrads Emailer this further enhances what can be done with a standard household device, in this case a television.
The user is able to send both sound and video stills by email. [OnDigital]
Like OnDigital Open only provides access to email, and bucking the trend towards free Internet access the user is charged at the local rate + 1p a minute.
To be able to use the email the user must first create a profile within the systems personal organiser, amongst other things this contains details such as the users name and address, although the details entered here can also be used by the other services offered on Open. Once the user has entered their details into the organiser they can they proceed to set-up and email account.
When the user starts the signup process they are connected to the service (at the premium rate, remember). During this process the user is asked to select from a list of suggestions based on the users name, or create an email address.
By default the user does not have a keyboard (available separately at £34.99), however the user can use the remote control to enter text as each number has a series of letters on it, in the same manner that mobile phones do.
To connect to Opens internal network a modem is used. The operating system used by the SkyDigital boxes is automatically updated with out any user intervention. [Sky Digital]
With the introduction of WAP enabled mobile phones it has become possible for user to check there email, and send email using their mobile phone. BT Cellnet has spent a lot of time advertising this ability on the TV. A recent MORI poll however shows that only 2% of the population actually use WAP [MORI].
Due to the restrictions placed on the current generation of mobile phones each email is split into 160 character segments (BT Cellnet) with each segment being accordingly numbered.
With the next generation (often referred to as 3G) mobile phones operating more like a palm top computer than a mobile phone users will be able to send and receive emails with the same level of capabilities that can be expected from a normal PC. Because 3G mobile phones have a high data transfer rate (the exact rate will depend on the network provider) users will be able to send voice mail (and video mail if the phone has a camera attached) without suffering from excessive transfer times. [BT Cellnet 3G]
Should mobile phone technology continue developing along the current path, we will eventually see the mobile phone replacing the PC as the main device for accessing the Internet and checking your email. When this happens are we still using a mobile phone, or a palm top computer?
If email abilities are required to be added to a device without incurring any serious changes to an existing design, the email abilities are a secondary background feature, or to be included in an unmanned or hidden device then there are products available that enable the required abilities to be added.
Allegro Software has a range of products called RomMailer and RomPOP. RomMailer allows a device to send emails notifying someone of any event that has happened within the system. An example application would be a network router. If the router for some reason stops working it can send an email notifying a technician of the problem. By added RomMailer to the routers in the network it would be possible for the technician to remotely interrogate the router to try and get a better understanding of the problem. [Allegro Software]
So far I have not made any mention about how the proliferation of embedded email will effect how people use email as a communication medium.
Although a large number of households don't have access to email we can already see how popular it is becoming. For several years now it have been taken for granted that a TV show or radio program will have an email address which users can use to interact with the program in someway, and in many cases has become a central part of the programs output.
Without an increase in the availability of email to non-PC users there is a risk that some people will find themselves essentially excluded from participating in many things, already many radio competitions are only open to people with email access. By including email access in devices that are commonly available, not intimidating, and cheap peoples access to email will continue to increase.
Is this necessarily a good thing, anyone who has had an email account for more than a couple of months and is a serious internet user will know what its like to have more emails than can possibly be dealt with, colleagues emailing jokes to each other and emails that have little use other than to waste the readers time (usually SPAM). Do we really want more emails from people we know who don't currently have access to email, will the greater proliferation of email mean that we receive more emails. Unfortunately the only way to control such a situation is to educate users about the use of email, when its appropriate to send, and when its not.
By embedding email abilities into a device the functionality of the device can be greatly increased and add a lot of values to it for a relatively small cost. By doing so the way in which people use everyday appliances in the home will slowly begin to change as people become familiar with the new technology.
It is clear the choosing the right technology for the given application is important, and that not only are the technical aspects taken into consideration but how the technology will effect the way the user interacts and uses the device.
As new technology is developed a greater level of interactivity between both devices and humans will be achieved.
WAP.com, November 2000, [WWW] www.wap.com/cgi-bin/wapfaq.cgi?chapter=1.1
Bluetooth, November 2000, [WWW] www.bluetooth.com
Powerline, November 2000, Canosa, John [WWW] www.embedded.com/internet/0011/0011ia2.htm
Amstrads Emailer, November 2000, Amstrad [WWW] www.amstrad.com/HTML/emailer.htm
Making your kitchen cool, February 1999, BBC News [WWW] news2.thls.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_276000/276870.stm
OnDigital, November 2000, [WWW] webmail.ondigital.com/welcome_default.html
SkyDigital, November 2000, [WWW] http://www.sky.com/skydigital
MORI, November 2000, [WWW] http://www.mori.com/polls/2000/egg.htm
BT Cellnet 3G, November 2000, [WWW] bt3g.tui.co.uk/
Allegro Software, September 2000, [WWW] www.allegrosoft.com/index.html