A survey of research on context-aware homes

TLDR

The seamless integration of people, devices, and computation is poised to become part of daily life, yet current research on context‑aware environments remains largely work‑centric, obtrusive, and distant from users’ needs. This paper identifies research issues essential for improving the quality of life in context‑aware homes. We survey existing studies and propose strategies to embed information technology into homes, aiming to elicit positive emotions, enable effortless content exploration, and support occupants’ tasks.

Abstract

The seamless integration of people, devices and computation will soon become part of our daily life. Sensors, actuators, wireless networks and ubiquitous devices powered by intelligent computation will blend into future environments in which people will live. Despite showing great promise, research into future computing technologies is often far removed from the needs of users. The nature of such future systems is often too obtrusive, seemingly denying their purpose. Furthermore, most research on context-aware environments and ubiquitous computing conducted so far has concentrated on supporting people while at work. This paper presents research issues that need to be addressed to enhance the quality of life for people living in context-aware homes. We survey current research and present strategies that facilitate the diffusion of information technology into homes in order to inspire positive emotions, encourage effortless exploration of content and help occupants to achieve tasks at hand.