Providing the modern homeowner with security, control and convenience is what drove the researchers to develop the SMS (Short Message Service) - Controlled Home Automation and Monitoring System.

It is a system which acts as a caretaker of a home; that is, it informs the home owner of any security breach of the house, provides information on the electrical status of the house, informs the homeowner of fire or emergency and enables the homeowner to control anything in the house which is electrically operated. All of this is done by the system with the utilization of a conveniently hand-held cellular phone. These cellular phones can be carried anywhere therefore providing the homeowner with control of his house wherever he may go.

One of the limitations found would be that if the cellular phone has no network signal, it cannot receive or transmit data. Therefore the system could not send predefined input messages and accept commands coming from the homeowner.

Cellular phone operated systems already exist but mostly with the use of a Personal Computer as the processing device. The developers replaced this energy consuming appliance with a single-chip micro controller which is relatively small in size, stable, battery operated and consumes less energy.

Extensive research was done before the fabrication and development of the system. It took the researchers seven months to conceptualize and research on the project. Fabrication and development was done in three months. Testing procedures were done before subjecting the system to a qualitative evaluation to ensure that the objectives of the system are met. The criteria for evaluation consist of the system's usefulness, operability, performance reliability, appearance, safety, compatibility, sturdiness, reparability, portability, cost and service. The system is rated as excellent, very satisfactory, satisfactory, needs improvement and poor. The qualitative evaluation yielded excellent results.

Thus, it is finally concluded that after experimenting, testing and evaluation, the system is 100% functional. Recommendations for the improvement of the system are replacement of relays with high-speed switching devices, integration of enhancement peripherals like LCD display and keyboards, optimizing the program for the micro controller and port expansion.

The modern homeowner in this modern world values three important elements. That is, convenience, security and control. The homeowner wants everything to be convenient. Just a snap of the finger and the homeowner wants things to be done. The homeowner wants his investments to be secured. The homeowner sees to it that his investments are in good hands and would not just easily be taken away. The homeowner wants to be in control of everything. Whenever an error occurs, the homeowner wants it to be rectified first hand.

The homeowner's house is the homeowner's home. It is the homeowner's castle. Everything the homeowner built, everything the homeowner worked for is symbolized in this structure. Losing a home or any part inside it is a big loss. These losses are usually attributed to fire or burglary. Fire is usually caused by faulty electrical wiring, faulty electronics, or most of the times overheating of an appliance which was not turned off. When the homeowner leaves the house for work the homeowner sleeps at night, the house is vulnerable to these incidents.

Sure the homeowner could install burglar alarms, fire alarms or any other form of alarm which will call the homeowner's attention. But these alarms will only call the homeowner's attention if the homeowner is in the vicinity of the house. If the homeowner is in any other place, like the mall, it would be impossible for these alarm systems to call the homeowner's attention. And so far as home control is concerned, there are some devices or equipment in the market which gives the homeowner remote control but of only one appliance; that is one remote for each appliance. Now that would be very inconvenient because there are several appliances in the house and each remote for a specific appliance would have to be carried by the homeowner.

To integrate all of those stated above into a system which will provide security and control in the most convenient way is what motivated the designers to do this research project.

The objective of this project is to construct a system which will provide security and control to the homeowner's home in a convenient way. This is done by equipping the home with artificial intelligence. This artificial intelligence will have the power to monitor the home and inform the homeowner of any activity that is out of the norm. Through this system, the homeowner will have the power to rectify or respond if such things happen.

Specifically, these correlated actions can be achieved by creating a system that will:

1. monitor the status of the homeowner's windows, doors, or any entry point (open/close)

2. monitor the temperature of the homeowner's home

3. monitor the status of the homeowner's electrical and electronic equipments (on/off)

4. provide the status of the above when the homeowner wants it to

5. call the homeowner's attention if any of the above was breached, altered or in any way does not conform to what the homeowner wants it to be

6. conveniently provide control or response to the homeowner in order to rectify any alterations made above.

Like any other system, this system has also its scope and limitations. The messages are limited by size. An SMS message can't exceed 160 characters. That is, text commands should only be limited to 160 characters.

For the cellular phone, generally, non-repairable internal corrosion of parts results if the phone gets wet or wet hands are used to push the buttons. Extreme heat can damage the battery or the cell-phone electronics. Extreme cold may cause a momentary loss of the screen display.

The System uses the Nokia 6210 GSM Modem. It operates at 220 volts. It uses 12Vdc as secondary power supply for electronic locks. Nokia 6210 uses 3.6Vdc as backup battery.

The system will operate as long as it is reached by the provider's signal. Both the Nokia Cellular Phone (system module) and control/monitor Cellular Phone (one used by homeowner) must have airtime balances.

All modules, appliances and peripherals controlled by the system must be always on the "on" state in order for the system to determine each of the devices electrical status. The Prototype system is designed to work in the Philippines only.