Studio 9 - Smart Homes

Smart Homes were something originally thought of as sci-fi fantasy or something that people would only see in Star Trek. This is not the case anymore as tomorrows world is today, and users of smart homes are clearly seeing the benefits. There is a whole heap of benefits that can be taken from the use of a smart home not just for your average person but it can be of immense benefits to disabled people, mentally challenged and especially people who choose to be lazy.

A list of devices used for the implementation of a smart home are as follows:
• Remote controls
• Infrared controllers
• Telephone control
• Doors
• Windows opener / Curtail and blinds opener
• Cupboard and sinks
• Lighting
• Heating
• Alarms and security
• Existing appliances

What can a smart home do?
The smart home can perform so many different kinds of functions to help meet the average users needs as well as perform extra functions to help the disabled; such as lowering draws and cupboards. It has been discussed that a smart home could be used to monitor a person who suffers from dementia so that when they get out of bed or try to leave the home (when there isn't any care staff there) the home would prompt the individual suffering from dementia with a message encouraging them to go back to bed. If the user ignored this message then the smart home could notify the care staff immediately.

A smart home could also improve the secuirty of ones home greatly by detecting an intruder and in an instand it could notify the home owner, the police and possibl even neighbours.

Example: Its late at night, you have awoke from a deep sleep and as you are waking up the smart home senses this by using its motion detectors and by using an internal clock adjusts the lighting in the room to a dimmed light so that you can see where you are going without falling over anything. As you move from the bedroom to the kitchen downstairs the house lights the way for you and as you return to bed it turns the lights off for you.

Devices
The document we covered mentions a few devices that can be discovered within the smart home. I shall be discussing what these type of interfaces are, what they consist of and what things these interfaces control.

Universal Remote Control
This is a remote control device which is wireless (in the sense it allows the user to carry this device around the home with them without the need to be cabled). This remote device can control all electrical entertainment devices within the home i.e. television, hi-fi, dvd player, video player etc.

The interface on this device would be all of the buttons located on the remote control and these buttons would perform generic operations so that it would be able to control more than one device (possibly at the same time). The user of this device would see the output on different periphal devices depending upon what they have set the universal remote control to operate. For example: If the user chooses to operate the DVD player using the remote control and then the press the operative button play then the output would be the DVD disc playing and displaying a visual feedback via the television (providing they have turned it on).

Lighting
Everyday conventional light switches can be used as well a remote control unit or a motion detector. The switches on the wall will allow the user to turn a light on/off fully where a remote control would allow for this operation as well as dimming. A motion detection system would automatically adjust the lights according to the time and when a person entered/left a room it would turn the lights on/off accordingly.

In the case of an emergency i.e. a fire alarm, the lighting system could be used to guide the users from their current location to the nearest and safest escape route whilst the doorbell, alarms or telephone can be used to guide the hearing impaired.

Entertainment Unit
These are currently finding their way into 'normal' homes across the world already. A computer system dedicated to controlling hundreds of music cd-rom's, films, tv shows, internet etc and the entertainment unit itself is controlled nomrally via a universal remote control.

Doors & Windows
Each door and window can have an automatic opener fitted to them using an interface such as a switch, remote control or motion sensor located near the door or window. This would allow the user to open the door at the touch of a button or the window. This technology has already been implemented into disabled users homes, some shopping centres etc.

Security Alarm
A houses security system/alarm is controlled normally by a panel located on a wall near to the front door as can act as an answering machine as well. A security system within a smart home can be to used to enable to the central security locking system which will enable the locks on all doors and windows whilst turning off all electrical equipment within the house for safety.

Evaluating a Device
If I were to take one of the devices that can be found within a smart home to evaluate I would choose the universal remote control and I would evaluate it by using Usability Engineering.

This way I will focus upon the system properties and it will make sure that the device has the correct properties in order to complete all tasks, especially when required to complete this tasks using test subjects.

Whilst testing the universal remote control I would set up a scenario that would require multiple tasks for the user (test subject) to complete in order to get a good collection of data i.e. User is required to set a new security code on the security system, then dim the lights in their current location before adjusting the heating and turning on the television and pressing play on the DVD player.

I would conduct this type of study using a qualitative data technique so that I could see how the user was interacting with the device in the natural environment as opposed to testing it within a structured enviroment (lab). I personally would like to see how a number of different users were able to perform functions within the smart home using the universal remote control because this way I would be able to record the users acting naturally and I could see if they had any problems whilst undertaking their given scenario. Using a qualitative data technique I could then make improvements upon the device and the overall system rather than taking a statistical analysis which could leave errors within the device and the system.

References

http://home.howstuffworks.com/smart-window.htm
http://www.jrf.org.uk/housingandcare/smarthomes/what.asp
http://www.smarthome.com/_/INSTEON/_/23b/nav.aspx
http://www.smartkontrols.co.uk/smarthome_controls.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4607747.stm
http://www.hightechhomemag.com/blog.php?id=92