Abstract

The aim of this research was to develop an application that uses short message service (SMS) from mobile phone to control electrical/electronic device. The developed application established two-way electronic data communication between mobile phone and the remote device. It also seeks to find a means of authenticating user while trying to gain access and run the application. The application was developed using C# (pronounced C-Sharp) Programming language within visual studio 2008 environment. Development process went in two stages. Phase I involves simulating the entire remote control application by using cellular emulator to represent GSM modem and device emulator to represent mobile phone. Phase II involves establishing two-way data communication with the GSM modem, by communicating with the modem through its serial port using C# programming codes. The simulation was successfully developed tested, and found to meet the expected goals of the research. SMS text messages and simulation commands were exchanged between the cellular emulator and the device emulator. Also, the emulated device control was established with user authentication. Phase II of the application development was able to establish actual communication with the modem via a separate application developed using C# programming code to open the modem’s serial port and this required the physical connection between the GSM modem and the developing computer- This was also a success. Even with the aforementioned achievements made, this research does not claim that the developed application represents the actual remote controlling system. However, this has laid down a solid foundation; by merging the two applications and integrating micro-controller into the setup, the actual remote control could be achieved.

Key words: Remote Control, Mobile Phone, GSM, Modem, Home Automation, cellular emulator, device emulator