Remote Control System Based on Power Line Communication

Abstract

In this paper is presented a versatile control system with remote operation that is implemented on the basis of power line communication technology. The proposed design is intended to be used in a wide range of applications including industrial and home automation, smart grid control, smart metering etc. In the prototype configuration, which is presented in this paper, the system comprises two modules, a transmitter and a receiver, which are both realized around a pair of Arduino Uno development boards having as main components two ATmega328 microcontrollers. More complex configurations, based on multiple transmission and receiving units are also possible. The implementation of the communication part of the control system is based on the narrowband KQ-330 modems that operates on the existing cable infrastructure used for distribution of electric power. By using a modern architecture which integrate versatile microcontrollers and highly efficient and reliable communication modules, the proposed system achieves very good performances in comparison with classical implementations. In addition, the control system is characterized by an improved scalability, flexibility and low implementation costs mainly due to the reuse of existing power lines as communication network infrastructure.