Control of electrical equipment via phone/internet

[AlexStark]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum. I'm only 19 years old but I want to major in Electrical & Electronics engineering. So besides some practical skill I've learned from working with my dad I have a lot to learn especially in terms of theory. During my experience I've heard a few companies mention controlling water/waste management stations via internet/mobile phone. I've seen commercials in which a person can control the lighting of his own home and even surveillance from a mobile phone but not something as big as an entire plant.

Is this done anywhere in the world? How does this even work? Regulating water and air pressure through mobile/internet, It seems really interesting to me that one can sit in an office and just click a button to turn off and on or even increase or decrease values to devices.

 

[russ_watters]

Sure, most industrial controls these days are digital (computerized), so the location of the front end (interface terminal) is arbitrary. And most interfaces are java or web based, so they can be used on a variety of platforms as well.

Here's an example of a non proprietary control system: http://www.tridium.com