CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND

 Man has been in a continuous quest to improve his well being through reactions to problems and challenges posed by his environment. For the past decades, computer and computer communication had gained so much attention and grown tremendously, that portable and affordable computers have become ubiquitous. Statistics have shown that most people spend most of their time on computers, connected together by a network (locally or globally). Since much time is spent on computer systems, it becomes necessary to design a device for controlling switches from computer. Switches are so essential that one cannot avoid using them on a daily basis for putting on or turning off electrical devices, and as a result of these, many devices have been designed by man to help him conquer these problems and challenges posed by physical contact with electricity [1]. The switch control system can range from simply controlling of light without leaving a seat, to being able to switch on industrial electrical devices through a computer. There has to be an interface between industrial electrical devices and a controller, the personal computer (PC) in this case. Interface is required so that the PC can communicate with other devices. The interface used in this work is the computer port interface [2]. The microcontroller-based mains switch control system is made up of several devices connected together; keypads that transmit commands to the device, the controller that is programmed to put on or off the appliances automatically via a computer system [9]. 

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