Guidelines to efficient smart home design for rapid AI prototyping

Abstract

Advances in ubiquitous technology have moved us towards the dream of creating intelligent houses that can help human in their everyday life. The next step in the completion of this vision is to make major breakthroughs in artificial intelligence. In fact, it is the key component for allowing sensors and effectors to give useful services when it is appropriate. In consequence, researchers need to conduct more experiments in realistic setting (e.g. smart home). In order to face this challenge, many research teams try to build new experimental infrastructures without any background experience, guidance or even a real idea of their research needs and issues. Our team is composed of specialists in AI for cognitive assistance and has worked with four major smart home infrastructures. From that experience, we propose, in this paper, a set of guidelines for designing and implementing an efficient smart home architecture on both hardware and software perspective. This paper aims to be a major step toward the AI development (rapid prototyping) and smart home research. Moreover, we share our recent experience with the construction of a new smart home and clinical trials conducted at our laboratory with real Alzheimer's subjects.