User-friendly home automation based on 3D virtual world

Abstract

Home automation refers to a system that is used to control devices around the home. These devices can include doors, lights, surveillance systems, and consumer electronics. A user can control a variety of home devices with the help of a home automation system. To provide mobility, a mobile phone-based home automation has been developed. As another approach toward home automation, an Internet-based home automation system has been proposed, providing a graphic user interface. However, these systems lack userfriendliness and are neither intuitive nor realistic. To improve the user-friendliness of the interface, a 3D view interface was designed. However, its level of realism was low. In this study, to provide a more realistic interface, a 3D virtual world is adopted as the user interface for a home automation system. Additionally, a home server is used as a controller for home devices. As an information exchange format between the virtual and the real world, a control protocol that works under a standardization process is introduced. With the help of a 3D virtual world, a user can control and monitor home devices via a user-friendly interface that works both intuitively and realistically anywhere and anytime through the Internet.