A smart home hub, sometimes also referred to as a "smart hub", "gateway'", "bridge", "controller" or "coordinator", is a control center/centre for a smart home, and enables the components of a smart home to communicate and respond to each other via communication through a central point. The smart home hub can consist of dedicated computer appliance, software appliance, or software running on

computer hardware Computer hardware includes the physical parts of a computer, such as the computer case, case, central processing unit (CPU), Random-access memory, random access memory (RAM), Computer monitor, monitor, Computer mouse, mouse, Computer keyboard, ...

, and makes it possible to gather

configuration Configuration or configurations may refer to: Computing * Computer configuration or system configuration * Configuration file, a software file used to configure the initial settings for a computer program * Configurator, also known as choice board ...

, automation and monitoring of a smart house by communicating and controlling different smart devices that consist of for example home appliances,

sensor A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

s and relays or robots, many of which are commonly categorized under

Internet of things The Internet of things (IoT) describes physical objects (or groups of such objects) with sensors, processing ability, software and other technologies that connect and exchange data with other devices and systems over the Internet or other comm ...

. A smart home can contain one, several, or even no smart home hubs. When using several smart home hubs it is sometimes possible to connect them to each other. Some smart home hubs support a wider selection of components, while others are more specialized for controlling products within certain product groups or using certain wireless technologies (e.g. Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and/or Zigbee). A smart speaker with a virtual assistant can often be used for speech input to a smart home hub.

Open or closed source code

Smart home hubs can have software with

open source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized sof ...

code or use proprietary software with closed source code, and independently of this the

application programming interface An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how t ...

can be public or closed. Some smart home hubs must run on proprietary hardware, while others (like for example Home Assistant) can be installed on generic hardware (like for example a

laptop A laptop, laptop computer, or notebook computer is a small, portable personal computer (PC) with a screen and alphanumeric keyboard. Laptops typically have a clam shell form factor with the screen mounted on the inside of the upper li ...

single-board computer A single-board computer (SBC) is a complete computer built on a single circuit board, with microprocessor(s), memory, input/output (I/O) and other features required of a functional computer. Single-board computers are commonly made as demonstrati ...

with Linux).

Examples of commercial smart home hubs

Some examples of smart home hubs with closed source code are: * Logitech Harmony Hub * SmartThings Hub * Google Nest Hub * Amazon Echo Show and Amazon Echo Plus which both integrates a Zigbee hub. * Apple HomePod Some examples of smart home hubs based on

free and open-source software Free and open-source software (FOSS) is a term used to refer to groups of software consisting of both free software and open-source software where anyone is freely licensed to use, copy, study, and change the software in any way, and the source ...

are: * Home Assistant * OpenHAB Some examples of smart home hubs with closed source code, but an open application programming interface are: * Homey

Communication protocols

Various communication protocols can be used between smart home hubs and smart house components. The protocols can be grouped into wired and wireless technologies.

Wireless protocols

Some examples of wireless protocols commonly used in smart home hubs are: * 2,45 Ghz ( WiFi, Bluetooth, Zigbee,

Thread Thread may refer to: Objects * Thread (yarn), a kind of thin yarn used for sewing ** Thread (unit of measurement), a cotton yarn measure * Screw thread, a helical ridge on a cylindrical fastener Arts and entertainment * ''Thread'' (film), 2016 ...

, Matter) * Z-Wave (868 Mhz) * RF 868 (868 Mhz, various protocols) * RF 433 (433 Mhz, various protocols) * Infrared light (430 THz; 697 nm)

Wired protocols

There are several cabled bus systems, some of which are built directly into electric panels. Some examples of wired protocols commonly used in smart home hubs are: *

DALI Dali or Dalí may refer to: Chinese history * Kingdom of Dali (937–1253 AD), centered in modern Yunnan * Kingdom of Nanzhao or Dali, Kingdom of Dali's predecessor state * Dali, Emperor Daizong of Tang's third and last regnal period (766–779) ...

, open standard for network-based lighting control in buildings, well suited for dimming. *

KNX KNX is an open standard (see EN 50090, ISO/IEC 14543) for commercial and domestic building automation. KNX devices can manage lighting, blinds and shutters, HVAC, security systems, energy management, audio video, white goods, displays, remote ...

, older and well-established open standard for network-based control of lighting, sensors, HVAC, etc. in buildings. There is also a wireless extension of KNX called KNX-RF. *

DMX Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...

, a standard for control of

stage lighting Stage lighting is the craft of lighting as it applies to the production of theater, dance, opera, and other performance arts.

, smoke machines and more, but also used to a certain extent for home automation due to the widespread use in professional stage equipment and good availability on the market * X10, widespread in older home automation equipment in the USA, but only used to a small extent in new installations. * LonWorks, an open standard for networking platforms used for control applications of lighting and HVAC. * MQTT, an open network protocol for machine to machine communication, particularly used for transmission of telemetry data in

components. * BACnet, an open protocol (ISO 16484-5) for information exchange between building automation systems, regardless of the particular building service they perform. Designed for applications such as automation and control of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning control (HVAC), lighting control, access control, fire detection systems, and associated equipment. * Modbus, an openly published and royalty free data communications protocol, especially popular in industrial environments. *

Meter-Bus M-Bus or Meter-Bus is a European standard (EN 13757-2 physical and link layer, EN 13757-3 application layer) for the remote reading of water, gas or electricity meters. M-Bus is also usable for other types of consumption meters, such as heating ...

(M-Bus), an open standard for remote reading of consumption meters, e.g. water, gas or

electricity meter North American domestic analog electricity meter. Electricity meter with transparent plastic case (Israel) North American domestic electronic electricity meter An electricity meter, electric meter, electrical meter, energy meter, or kilowa ...

References