Use Of Smart Home Technologies Research Articles

Unfulfilled Promises of Child Safety and Privacy: Portrayals and Use of Children in Smart Home Marketing

Smart home technologies are making their way into families. Parents' and children's shared use of smart home technologies has received growing attention in CSCW and related research communities. Families and children are also frequently featured as target audiences in smart home product marketing. However, there is limited knowledge of how exactly children and family interactions are portrayed in smart home product marketing, and to what extent those portrayals align with the actual consideration of children and families in product features and resources for child safety and privacy. We conducted a content analysis of product websites and online resources of 102 smart home products, as these materials constitute a main marketing channel and information source about products for consumers. We found that despite featuring children in smart home marketing, most analyzed product websites did not mention child safety features and lacked sufficient information on how children's data is collected and used. Specifically, our findings highlight misalignments in three aspects: (1) children are depicted as users of smart home products but there are insufficient child-friendly product features; (2) harmonious child-product co-presence is portrayed but potential child safety issues are neglected; and (3) children are shown as the subject of monitoring and datafication but there is limited information on child data collection and use. We discuss how parent-child relationships and parenting may be negatively impacted by such marketing depictions, and we provide design and policy recommendations for better incorporating child safety and privacy considerations into smart home products.

Smart Home Technologies to Facilitate Ageing-in-Place: Professionals Perception

An ageing population is a global phenomenon. Like other developed economies, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), China, also faces a severe ageing problem. One initiative to enhance the safe living and well-being of the growing elderly population is to assist them by building ageing-friendly living environments with the application of smart home technologies (SHTs). Therefore, this study focused on investigating the perception of professionals on the use of SHTs to improve and enhance the “ageing-in-place” (AIP) of elderly residents in HKSAR, China. A questionnaire survey was employed to obtain the perception of professionals with requisite knowledge of the older people facility needs regarding SHTs in achieving AIP for the elderly. The data retrieved were analysed with different statistical analyses. Based on the results of the analyses, all the professionals had similar perceptions of the use of SHTs for the safety and well-being of the elderly, except for the incongruence observed between the government employees, contractors and academic regarding how SHTs may not help to better monitor elderly daily activities. The possible reasons for the inconsistent opinions of the academics with other groups were linked to the knowledge of human behaviours and early dementia symptoms in gerontology. The findings will help care receivers, healthcare professionals, social workers, policymakers, smart home designers and developers to improve and enhance AIP in elderly residences in HKSAR, China.

Proactive and Ongoing Analysis and Management of Ethical Concerns in the Development, Evaluation, and Implementation of Smart Homes for Older Adults With Frailty.

Successful adoption and sustained use of smart home technology can support the aging in place of older adults with frailty. However, the expansion of this technology has been limited, particularly by a lack of ethical considerations surrounding its application. This can ultimately prevent older adults and members of their support ecosystems from benefiting from the technology. This paper has 2 aims in the effort to facilitate adoption and sustained use: to assert that proactive and ongoing analysis and management of ethical concerns are crucial to the successful development, evaluation, and implementation of smart homes for older adults with frailty and to present recommendations to create a framework, resources, and tools to manage ethical concerns with the collaboration of older adults; members of their support ecosystems; and the research, technical development, clinical, and industry communities. To support our assertion, we reviewed intersecting concepts from bioethics, specifically principlism and ethics of care, and from technology ethics that are salient to smart homes in the management of frailty in older adults. We focused on 6 conceptual domains that can lead to ethical tensions and of which proper analysis is essential: privacy and security, individual and relational autonomy, informed consent and supported decision-making, social inclusion and isolation, stigma and discrimination, and equity of access. To facilitate the proactive and ongoing analysis and management of ethical concerns, we recommended collaboration to develop a framework with 4 proposed elements: a set of conceptual domains as discussed in this paper, along with a tool consisting of reflective questions to guide ethical deliberation throughout the project phases; resources comprising strategies and guidance for the planning and reporting of ethical analysis throughout the project phases; training resources to support leadership, literacy, and competency in project teams for the analysis and management of ethical concerns; and training resources for older adults with frailty, their support ecosystems, and the public to support their awareness and participation in teams and ethical analysis processes. Older adults with frailty require nuanced consideration when incorporating technology into their care because of their complex health and social status and vulnerability. Smart homes may have a greater likelihood of accommodating users and their contexts with committed and comprehensive analysis, anticipation, and management of ethical concerns that reflect the unique circumstances of these users. Smart home technology may then achieve its desired individual, societal, and economic outcomes and serve as a solution to support health; well-being; and responsible, high-quality care.

DESIGN AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A SMART HOME AUTOMATION SYSTEM

Objective: Due to the rapid development of various technologies and communication devices, the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) for automation has become increasingly common in non-industrial environments. It has integrated well into our day-to-day activities, leading us toward the use of smart home technology. Smart home systems are intelligent system that provide control to home appliances and also security systems. There are limited numbers of intelligent systems that address multiple aspects of the home automation, such as appliances control, security bridge detection, and reducing energy consumption and cost simultaneously. Hence, this research developed a system that solves these problems with an intelligent home automation system. Methods: The designed system was based on Arduino ATMEGA328P microcontroller, MQ2 sensor for gas detection, passive infrared (IR) sensor for motion detection, and flame sensor to detect fire outbreak. Arduino ATMEGA328P was used as a central controlling unit that controls the flow of system operations to achieved smart home automation system. Results: The system sends audible alarms through a buzzer to draw the user’s immediate attention. It also sends a warning message to the user’s mobile phone through the global system for mobile communication module. Conclusion: The system achieved a precision rate of 94.44% and provided a cost-effective platform for interconnecting a variety of devices and various sensors in a home through the IoT.

Residents’ perception of the use of smart-home technologies in a retirement community

Residents’ perception of the use of smart-home technologies in a retirement community

IMPROVING HOME SECURITY USING BLOCKCHAIN

The major problem with the use of smart home technology is that it often leads to various security issues. This mainly happens because the devices use open internet connections that may be vulnerable and subjected to multiple threats, hackers, and viruses. Some household IoT devices are forcefully introduced to the market, exposing the customers to significant risk factors. The websites and links do not have any copyright information or any privacy policies, due to which the hackers may immediately steal the confidential information of the user. For instance, the door locking password may be hacked by cyber criminals, and they may use it to attack the home when there is nobody in the home. This paper presents how to use block-chain to improve home security.

Critical Barriers of Using Smart Home Technologies (SHTs) to the Elderly in Hong Kong

Similar to other developed economies, Hong Kong also faces a severe aging-related problems. Considering the aging-in-place initiative to enhance the safe living of the elderly population in their familiar living environments, the use of smart home technologies (SHTs) has been proposed and employed. Meanwhile, there are challenges that may impede the purpose of developing SHTs by the elderly. Therefore, this paper investigated the barriers of SHTs to the elderly in Hong Kong, determined the critical ones and further categorized into manageable size. A total of 201 face-to-face questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong. Based on the data collected, various descriptive and inferential statistics namely, mean score, standard deviation, factor analysis, and reliability analysis were conducted. Based on the various analyses conducted, the characterization of the critical barriers of SHTs to the elderly in Hong Kong are cost and knowledge barrier, personal concern, and uncertainty barrier. The study provides recommendations to manufacturers of SHTs, the organizations where the senior adults worked before retirements, families of the elderly, the government and the seniors that could help to improve and enhance the aging-in-place (AIP) in Hong Kong.

Factors Influencing Intention of Greek Consumers to Use Smart Home Technology

New technologies’ advances offer innovative automations to people’s daily lives. More and more devices are continuously connected to the internet allowing people to control them remotely. The smart home is such a technological development. However, it is uncertain whether and to what extent the average consumer will accept smart home technology. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors that affect the intention of Greek consumers to use smart home technology. The results of this study show that Greek consumers are beginning to have a positive attitude towards smart home technology. Important factors that contribute to their intention to use smart home technology include their perceived usefulness, compatibility, and ease of use of smart home technology. On the contrary, they do not think that they are influenced by their social environment regarding their intention to use smart home technology. Finally, they think that the major benefits of using smart home technology include the health monitoring, home security, and cost savings.

Penerapan Model Terdistribusi untuk Sistem Smarthome Menggunakan Multi-Sensor Berbasis Internet of Things (IoT)

The use of smarthome technology to monitor and control homes is growing recently. The smarthome system requires the integration of several sensors to determine the conditions in the house. In a centralized smarthome system, all sensors are connected to a single node to perform data processing and communication which can result in system failure if this node is broken. In this study, we use a distributed model for the smarthome system. The designed system consists of three nodes, which are kitchen instrument, room instrument, and door instrument. These three instruments are equipped with RFID sensors, temperature sensors, gas sensors, and reed switch sensors to perform security features of the smarthome that can be accessed remotely via smartphones or computers. The results show that the system has been able to work well and can overcome the problem of failure on some instruments without causing the whole system to collapse. This smarthome system has an average delay of 2.21 seconds.

Barriers and Facilitators to Using Smart Home Technologies to Support Older Adults

This research explores the principle barriers to and facilitators of the use of Smart Home Technology, telemonitoring and telemedicine systems to support healthcare and enable older adults to maintain their independence. The research focuses on organizational rather than technological issues. Semi-structured interviews explored the perspectives of three populations of stakeholders (N = 17): managers of rest homes/retirement villages, technology developers in a university setting and older adults (age 65 years and older). Key barriers to and facilitators of adoption are identified for the stakeholder groups. The results indicate that a lack of information about the capabilities and availability of the technologies is a key barrier to adoption. Other issues identified in previous studies are also found to be relevant, such as costs, platform management and infrastructure, and human issues such as privacy. The research provides practical recommendations for directions to be explored by developers and researchers in New Zealand and elsewhere.

Outcomes of training in smart home technology adoption

While various forms of smart home technology have been available for decades, they have yet to achieve widespread adoption. Although they have risen in popularity during recent years, the general public continue to rate smart home devices as overly complex compared to their benefits. This article reports the results of an eight-month study into the effects of training on smart home technology adoption. Building upon the results of a previous study, and using the same living laboratory approach, we studied the effects of training on the attitudes of a group of residents toward use of smart home technology. Results show that training influences those attitudes toward smart home technology, including increased confidence in future use, and increased actual use of more complex smart home features. Results also indicate that users tended to seek out other users rather than training materials for advice, and that privacy concerns were not a deterrent to using smart home devices.

Utility of Smart Home Technology Within OT Practice

Abstract Date Presented 04/13/21 This study examines the use of smart home technology (SHT) by international OT practitioners via a quantitative, descriptive research design using survey methodology. The results show supports and barriers to using SHT in practice, and conclusions indicate steps needed to further the use of these innovative interventions. This study sheds light on the future of SHT in practice and the potential SHT has to assist clients in leading more independent and meaningful lives. Primary Author and Speaker: Kylie M. Walthers Additional Authors and Speakers: Kathryn Bach, Megan Gray Contributing Authors: Karla Ausderau, Brittany St John

Barriers and Facilitators to Using Smart Home Technologies to Support Older Adults

This research explores the principle barriers to and facilitators of the use of Smart Home Technology, telemonitoring and telemedicine systems to support healthcare and enable older adults to maintain their independence. The research focuses on organizational rather than technological issues. Semi-structured interviews explored the perspectives of three populations of stakeholders (N = 17): managers of rest homes/retirement villages, technology developers in a university setting and older adults (age 65 years and older). Key barriers to and facilitators of adoption are identified for the stakeholder groups. The results indicate that a lack of information about the capabilities and availability of the technologies is a key barrier to adoption. Other issues identified in previous studies are also found to be relevant, such as costs, platform management and infrastructure, and human issues such as privacy. The research provides practical recommendations for directions to be explored by developers and researchers in New Zealand and elsewhere.

Smart Home: An Empirical Analysis of Communication Technological Challenges

Smart home is a prime research interest among researchers around the globe due to the fact that it offers ample features to make people’s life effortless and efficient. People can lead their life smartly through the use of smart home technology [17]. There are numerous communication systems in both wired and wireless media exist that are used in smart home technology. However, not a single communication system itself can satisfy all the demands of secure, comfort and intelligent smart home system. Wireless communication is flexible, requires negligible number of instruments, cheap and easy to install but the key concerning issue for wireless communication system in smart home technology is the slow data rate. In contrast, wired communication provides better performance through the provision of higher data rate and uninterrupted connectivity; however, consumers have to pay substantial amount of payment for smart home services [3]. Therefore, it is essential for researchers to analyze both wired and wireless communication system in terms of data rate and area of coverage in order to find out the right communication system for right feature of smart home system. In this paper, authors reviewed and analyzed both wired and wireless communication methods that are commonly used in smart home technology. It can be seen after careful analysis that for majority of the services of smart home system can get better result through the use of wireless communication system even though wired communication system offers better data rate and greater coverage.

Smart Home: An Empirical Analysis of Communication Technological Challenges

Smart home is a prime research interest among researchers around the globe due to the fact that it offers ample features to make people’s life effortless and efficient. People can lead their life smartly through the use of smart home technology [17]. There are numerous communication systems in both wired and wireless media exist that are used in smart home technology. However, not a single communication system itself can satisfy all the demands of secure, comfort and intelligent smart home system. Wireless communication is flexible, requires negligible number of instruments, cheap and easy to install but the key concerning issue for wireless communication system in smart home technology is the slow data rate. In contrast, wired communication provides better performance through the provision of higher data rate and uninterrupted connectivity; however, consumers have to pay substantial amount of payment for smart home services [3]. Therefore, it is essential for researchers to analyze both wired and wireless communication system in terms of data rate and area of coverage in order to find out the right communication system for right feature of smart home system. In this paper, authors reviewed and analyzed both wired and wireless communication methods that are commonly used in smart home technology. It can be seen after careful analysis that for majority of the services of smart home system can get better result through the use of wireless communication system even though wired communication system offers better data rate and greater coverage.

Evaluating the Use of Smart Home Technology by People With Brain Impairment: Protocol for a Single-Case Experimental Design.

BackgroundSmart home technologies are emerging as a useful component of support delivery for people with brain impairment. To promote their successful uptake and sustained use, focus on technology support services, including training, is required.ObjectiveThe objective of this paper is to present a systematic smart home technology training approach for people with brain impairment. In addition, the paper outlines a multiple-baseline, single-case experimental design methodology to evaluate training effectiveness.MethodsAdult participants experiencing acquired brain impairment who can provide consent to participate and who live in housing where smart home technology is available will be recruited. Target behaviors will be identified in consultation with each participant based on his or her personal goals for technology use. Target behaviors may include participant knowledge of the number and type of technology functions available, frequency of smart home technology use, and number of function types used. Usage data will be gathered via log-on smart home technology servers. A smart technology digital training package will also be developed and left on a nominated device (smartphone, tablet) with each participant to use during the trial and posttrial, as desired. Measures of the target behavior will be taken throughout the baseline, intervention, and postintervention phases to provide the evidence of impact of the training on the target behaviors and ascertain whether utilization rates are sustained over time. In addition, trial results will be analyzed using structured visual analysis, supplemented with statistical analysis appropriate to single-case methodology.ResultsWhile ascertaining the effectiveness of this training protocol, study results will offer new insights into technology-related training approaches for people with brain impairment. Preliminary data collection has been commenced at one supported housing site, with further scoping work continuing to recruit participants from additional sites.ConclusionsEvaluation evidence will assist in planning for the smart technology set-up as well as training and support services necessary to accompany the provision of new devices and systems.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR1-10.2196/10451

Ten questions concerning thermal comfort and ageing

This ‘10 Questions’ contribution provides an overview of thermal comfort in relation to ageing and the way the indoor environment can contribute to and improve well-being and health of older adults to age-in-place. The number of older people is increasing rapidly and these demographical changes put a large stress on the health care system. Furthermore, as most older people wish to age-in-place, adequate ageing-in-place strategies become significantly important. Housing impacts health, therefore appropriate and comfortable housing is a key determinant to facilitate older people to age-in-place. One of the aspects of concern is thermal comfort; however, the thermal requirements of older people differ from those of young adults. They are also relatively vulnerable to thermal conditions outside the generally accepted range. This ’10 Questions' contribution addresses issues related to thermal comfort and ageing and argues that the current models for assessing thermal comfort are not sufficiently accurate to be used for older adults. It also discusses approaches to facilitate ageing-in-place including the use of smart home technologies. The paper is based on extensive literature review of numerous relevant studies relating to thermal comfort, physiological differences between older and younger people, the relationship between thermal environment, comfort and health, as well as housing design and smart home technologies for older people.

Pervasive Computing Moves In

Researchers have studied pervasive computing in many domains, but few are as complex as the home. Decades of early-adopter use of smart home technologies have blazed the path and highlighted numerous research challenges. Today, the long-standing vision of pervasive computing, commonly referred to as the Internet of Things, is finally starting to come to fruition in people's homes. The articles in this special issue showcase the diverse range of research in domestic pervasive computing.

Ethical Considerations Regarding the Use of Smart Home Technologies for Older Adults: An Integrative Review.

With the wide adoption and use of smart home applications, there is a need for examining ethical issues regarding smart home use at the intersection of aging, technology, and home environment. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of ethical considerations and the evidence on these ethical issues based on an integrative literature review with regard to the utilization of smart home technologies by older adults and their family members. REVIEW DESIGN AND METHODS: We conducted an integrative literature review of the scientific literature from indexed databases (e. g., MEDLINE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO). The framework guiding this review is derived from previous work on ethical considerations related to telehealth use for older adults and smart homes for palliative care. Key ethical issues of the framework include privacy, informed consent, autonomy, obtrusiveness, equal access, reduction in human touch, and usability. Six hundred and thirty-five candidate articles were identified between the years 1990 and 2014. Sixteen articles were included in the review. Privacy and obtrusiveness issues appear to be the most important factors that can affect smart home technology adoption. In addition, this article recommends that stigmatization and reliability and maintenance of the system are additional factors to consider. When smart home technology is used appropriately, it has the potential to improve quality of life and maintain safety among older adults, ultimately supporting the desire of older adults for aging in place. The ability to respond to potential ethical concerns will be critical to the future development and application of smart home technologies that aim to enhance safety and independence.

Real-time Energy Monitoring and Controlling System based on ZigBee Sensor Networks

The use of smart home technology in the home or building o_ers significant potential for energy savings. In this paper, we propose an energy management system based on wireless sensor networks. The proposed system is composed of two main components: a wireless sensor network and an intelligent home gateway. Wireless sensors are used for sensing and transmitting electricity data and remote monitoring and control of home appliances are provided to users through the intelligent home gateway. The system enables users to save energy by monitoring and controlling home appliances through web and mobile devices.