A Survey Study of the Usefulness and Concerns about Smart Home Applications from the Human Perspective

Yu Zhai,Johanna Virkki,Minghao Yang,Feiyuan Long,Yan Liu

doi:10.4236/jss.2014.211017

Yu Zhai, Johanna Virkki + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4236/jss.2014.211017

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Abstract

It is not yet clear how smart home technologies and applications will actually be accepted as part of our everyday lives. In this research, the thoughts of 248 people about smart homes were collected by interviews and with an Internet survey in Europe and Asia. It was found that people have very versatile thoughts about what the term “smart home” means in practice and when smart houses will become part of our daily lives. The Asian answerers can be considered to be slightly more optimistic about the schedule. The majority of the answerers were found to be interested in versatile smart home applications and willing to live in a smart house. The cost can be considered to be their biggest worry and the Asian answerers were found to be more worried about the reliability, practicability, and cost than the answerers from Europe. Also some privacy concerns were found from both the European and the Asian answerers.

Highlights

The growth of the Internet of Things (IOT) means more and more daily things and devices connecting each other and creating a pervasive computing world where they will exchange data and information about the environment, while reacting independently to different events, influencing their surroundings, and creating services with or without human intervention
In a study made in Finland, the IOT and its applications were seen tempting, in principle, but the necessity of the versatile applications was questioned by the answerers [3]
There is a significant difference between the results from the interviews and the Internet survey in the case of the European answerers

Summary

Introduction

The growth of the Internet of Things (IOT) means more and more daily things and devices connecting each other and creating a pervasive computing world where they will exchange data and information about the environment, while reacting independently to different events, influencing their surroundings, and creating services with or without human intervention. (2014) A Survey Study of the Usefulness and Concerns about Smart Home Applications from the Human Perspective. In a study from China, the authors proposed an IOT acceptance model consisting of several factors: the results showed strong support for the effects of perceived usefulness, ease of use, enjoyment, and behavioral control, and of social influence [5]. The results of another study showed that the acceptance of IOT services would be affected by various contradicting factors, such as perceived privacy risks and personal interests. One study exploring the social barriers to smart home diffusion, including how these vary by expertise, life-stage, and location, highlighted the importance of control, security, and cost [12]. The personal thoughts and feelings of people who are potential end users of the IOT and its applications, i.e., “ordinary people”, are an important research area. The last section summarizes the results and presents the conclusions of this paper

Interviews and Internet Survey

Results and Discussion

When do you think smart homes will become a part of our everyday life?