A systematic review of the research framework and evolution of smart homes based on the internet of things

Abstract

The Internet of Things has brought unprecedented technological innovation to smart homes, but the impact of this change on technology and users is limited and dispersed. Based on a systematic literature review, the present research conducted a quantitative analysis of 2874 papers (published in 2008–2020) obtained from the Web of Science to bridge the research gap. The current research identifies the development status and trends, country distribution, and journal categories in this area. Then, based on the main topics covered by smart homes, we proposed a holistic research framework that integrates the infrastructure layer, the communications technology layer, the data analytics layer, and the user service layer. The framework analyzed wireless sensing networks, communication protocols, and security threats, as well as the activity identification process and user services, highlighting the lack of some degree of integration in this area. This study also discussed the evolution of hot spots in the field of smart homes and summarized potential future research directions. Finally, in the discussion section, this paper summarized the research contribution and compared the main proposed technical solutions. We hope this work will provide a solid basis for research and practical guidance for scholars and developers interested in smart homes based on the Internet of Things.