FROM TODAY’S AUGMENTED HOUSES 
TO TOMORROW’S SMART HOMES 
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR SMART HOME RESEARCH 
Sarah Mennicken, Jo Vermeulen, Elaine Huang 
UbiComp 2014 
Seattle, 09/15/2014
KEY TAKE AWAY 
Future smart homes will collaborate 
with their inhabitants and identify 
opportunities for automation 
that support their goals and values.
Edwards & Grinter 2001 3 
MOTIVATION
•Smart homes are not an under-explored 
field anymore. 
Edwards & Grinter 2001 3 
MOTIVATION
•Smart homes are not an under-explored 
field anymore. 
•Lots of related work in research 
•Increasing commercial smart 
home solutions 
3 
MOTIVATION
•Smart homes are not an under-explored 
field anymore. 
•Lots of related work in research 
•Increasing commercial smart 
home solutions 
•Visions and challenges keep on 
evolving. 
3 
MOTIVATION
METHOD 
4
METHOD 
•Literature review 
•Initial set of papers + top 50 ACM DL results 
(“home automation” ,“smart home”) 
= 131 papers, posters, and reports 
4
METHOD 
•Literature review 
•Initial set of papers + top 50 ACM DL results 
(“home automation” ,“smart home”) 
= 131 papers, posters, and reports 
•Focus on domestic environments and/or user 
experience? 
4
METHOD 
•Literature review 
•Initial set of papers + top 50 ACM DL results 
(“home automation” ,“smart home”) 
= 131 papers, posters, and reports 
•Focus on domestic environments and/or user 
experience? 
•Affinity Diagramming on 47 most relevant 
papers 
4
METHOD 
•Literature review 
•Initial set of papers + top 50 ACM DL results 
(“home automation” ,“smart home”) 
= 131 papers, posters, and reports 
•Focus on domestic environments and/or user 
experience? 
•Affinity Diagramming on 47 most relevant 
papers 
•Industry and home observations 
4
OVERVIEW 
1. Challenges for Research and Practice 
2. Visions for Future Smart Homes
6 
… the past …the present 
Technical feasibility and 
interoperability 
e.g., Edwards and Grinter 2001 
Meaningful technologies 
e.g., Harper 2011, Rode 2012 
CHALLENGES
7 
CHALLENGES 
… the past …the present 
Complex domestic spaces 
e.g., Tolmie et al. 2002 
Increasing complexity due to more 
users, more devices, more 
modalities 
e.g., Harper 2011, Urban et al. 2011
8 
… the past …the present 
End-user configuration of sensors 
and actuators 
e.g., Dey and Sohn 2003, Humble et al. 2003, 
Truong et al. 2004 
Understanding and interacting with 
machine learning and artificial 
intelligence 
e.g., Stumpf et al. 2012, Yang and Newman 2013 
CHALLENGES
9 
CHALLENGES ➔ VISIONS
9 
CHALLENGES ➔ VISIONS 
Understanding machine 
learning and interacting with 
artificial intelligence 
Future smart homes will 
collaborate with their 
inhabitants.
9 
CHALLENGES ➔ VISIONS 
Understanding machine 
learning and interacting with 
artificial intelligence 
Future smart homes will 
collaborate with their 
inhabitants. 
Increasing complexity due to 
more users, more devices, 
more modalities 
Future smart homes will help 
to identify opportunities for 
automation.
9 
CHALLENGES ➔ VISIONS 
Understanding machine 
learning and interacting with 
artificial intelligence 
Future smart homes will 
collaborate with their 
inhabitants. 
Increasing complexity due to 
more users, more devices, 
more modalities 
Future smart homes will help 
to identify opportunities for 
automation. 
Meaningful technologies Future smart homes will 
support their goals and values.
10 
How will future smart homes 
collaborate with their inhabitants?
10 
How will future smart homes 
collaborate with their inhabitants? 
Mediation and intelligibility are key 
Bellotti & Edwards 2001, Yang et al. 2013
10 
How will future smart homes 
collaborate with their inhabitants? 
Mediation and intelligibility are key 
Bellotti & Edwards 2001, Yang et al. 2013
10 
How will future smart homes 
collaborate with their inhabitants? 
Mediation and intelligibility are key 
Bellotti & Edwards 2001, Yang et al. 2013 
‘Nest Diamond Thermostat by Grant Sewell. https://flic.kr/p/bDyiFM 
License at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
10 
How will future smart homes 
collaborate with their inhabitants? 
Mediation and intelligibility are key 
Bellotti & Edwards 2001, Yang et al. 2013 
Focus on deviations and exceptions from routines 
Davidoff et al. 2006 
‘Nest Diamond Thermostat by Grant Sewell. https://flic.kr/p/bDyiFM 
License at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
11 
How can future smart homes help to 
identify opportunities for automation?
11 
How can future smart homes help to 
identify opportunities for automation? 
Maintaining discoverability of desirable solutions 
as complexity of sensor/actuator networks increases.
11 
How can future smart homes help to 
identify opportunities for automation? 
Maintaining discoverability of desirable solutions 
as complexity of sensor/actuator networks increases. 
Dixon et al. 2010
11 
How can future smart homes help to 
identify opportunities for automation? 
Maintaining discoverability of desirable solutions 
as complexity of sensor/actuator networks increases. 
Dixon et al. 2010 
studied by Ur et al. 2014
12 
How will future smart homes support 
goals and values? 
Interest in achieving peace of mind 
Brush et al. 2011, Mennicken & Huang 2012 
Feeling connected to one’s home 
Takayama et al. 2012
12 
How will future smart homes support 
goals and values? 
Interest in achieving peace of mind 
Brush et al. 2011, Mennicken & Huang 2012 
Feeling connected to one’s home 
Takayama et al. 2012
12 
How will future smart homes support 
goals and values? 
Interest in achieving peace of mind 
Brush et al. 2011, Mennicken & Huang 2012 
Feeling connected to one’s home 
Takayama et al. 2012 
+ = ?
12 
How will future smart homes support 
goals and values? 
Interest in achieving peace of mind 
Brush et al. 2011, Mennicken & Huang 2012 
Feeling connected to one’s home 
Takayama et al. 2012 
+ = ? 
? + ? = 
feeling like good parents 
Lee at al. 2008 
construction of family identity 
Davidoff et al. 2006
KEY TAKE AWAY 
Future smart homes will collaborate 
with their inhabitants and identify 
opportunities for automation 
that support their goals and values.
THANKS! 
Many thanks to Gunnar Harboe, Helen He, Christian Remy, 
Kris Luyten, Johannes Schöning, and Blase Ur. 
Thanks to all the researchers sharing their work with us to 
build upon!
FROM TODAY’S 
AUGMENTED HOUSES 
TO TOMORROW’S 
SMART HOMES 
NEW DIRECTIONS FOR 
SMART HOME RESEARCH 
Sarah Mennicken, Jo Vermeulen, Elaine Huang 
mennicken@ifi.uzh.ch 
zpac.ch 
collaboration 
opportunities for 
automation 
goals and values

UbiComp 2014 Talk: From Today's Augmented Houses to Tomorrow's Smart Homes

  • 1.
    FROM TODAY’S AUGMENTEDHOUSES TO TOMORROW’S SMART HOMES NEW DIRECTIONS FOR SMART HOME RESEARCH Sarah Mennicken, Jo Vermeulen, Elaine Huang UbiComp 2014 Seattle, 09/15/2014
  • 2.
    KEY TAKE AWAY Future smart homes will collaborate with their inhabitants and identify opportunities for automation that support their goals and values.
  • 3.
    Edwards & Grinter2001 3 MOTIVATION
  • 4.
    •Smart homes arenot an under-explored field anymore. Edwards & Grinter 2001 3 MOTIVATION
  • 5.
    •Smart homes arenot an under-explored field anymore. •Lots of related work in research •Increasing commercial smart home solutions 3 MOTIVATION
  • 6.
    •Smart homes arenot an under-explored field anymore. •Lots of related work in research •Increasing commercial smart home solutions •Visions and challenges keep on evolving. 3 MOTIVATION
  • 7.
  • 8.
    METHOD •Literature review •Initial set of papers + top 50 ACM DL results (“home automation” ,“smart home”) = 131 papers, posters, and reports 4
  • 9.
    METHOD •Literature review •Initial set of papers + top 50 ACM DL results (“home automation” ,“smart home”) = 131 papers, posters, and reports •Focus on domestic environments and/or user experience? 4
  • 10.
    METHOD •Literature review •Initial set of papers + top 50 ACM DL results (“home automation” ,“smart home”) = 131 papers, posters, and reports •Focus on domestic environments and/or user experience? •Affinity Diagramming on 47 most relevant papers 4
  • 11.
    METHOD •Literature review •Initial set of papers + top 50 ACM DL results (“home automation” ,“smart home”) = 131 papers, posters, and reports •Focus on domestic environments and/or user experience? •Affinity Diagramming on 47 most relevant papers •Industry and home observations 4
  • 12.
    OVERVIEW 1. Challengesfor Research and Practice 2. Visions for Future Smart Homes
  • 13.
    6 … thepast …the present Technical feasibility and interoperability e.g., Edwards and Grinter 2001 Meaningful technologies e.g., Harper 2011, Rode 2012 CHALLENGES
  • 14.
    7 CHALLENGES …the past …the present Complex domestic spaces e.g., Tolmie et al. 2002 Increasing complexity due to more users, more devices, more modalities e.g., Harper 2011, Urban et al. 2011
  • 15.
    8 … thepast …the present End-user configuration of sensors and actuators e.g., Dey and Sohn 2003, Humble et al. 2003, Truong et al. 2004 Understanding and interacting with machine learning and artificial intelligence e.g., Stumpf et al. 2012, Yang and Newman 2013 CHALLENGES
  • 16.
  • 17.
    9 CHALLENGES ➔VISIONS Understanding machine learning and interacting with artificial intelligence Future smart homes will collaborate with their inhabitants.
  • 18.
    9 CHALLENGES ➔VISIONS Understanding machine learning and interacting with artificial intelligence Future smart homes will collaborate with their inhabitants. Increasing complexity due to more users, more devices, more modalities Future smart homes will help to identify opportunities for automation.
  • 19.
    9 CHALLENGES ➔VISIONS Understanding machine learning and interacting with artificial intelligence Future smart homes will collaborate with their inhabitants. Increasing complexity due to more users, more devices, more modalities Future smart homes will help to identify opportunities for automation. Meaningful technologies Future smart homes will support their goals and values.
  • 20.
    10 How willfuture smart homes collaborate with their inhabitants?
  • 21.
    10 How willfuture smart homes collaborate with their inhabitants? Mediation and intelligibility are key Bellotti & Edwards 2001, Yang et al. 2013
  • 22.
    10 How willfuture smart homes collaborate with their inhabitants? Mediation and intelligibility are key Bellotti & Edwards 2001, Yang et al. 2013
  • 23.
    10 How willfuture smart homes collaborate with their inhabitants? Mediation and intelligibility are key Bellotti & Edwards 2001, Yang et al. 2013 ‘Nest Diamond Thermostat by Grant Sewell. https://flic.kr/p/bDyiFM License at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
  • 24.
    10 How willfuture smart homes collaborate with their inhabitants? Mediation and intelligibility are key Bellotti & Edwards 2001, Yang et al. 2013 Focus on deviations and exceptions from routines Davidoff et al. 2006 ‘Nest Diamond Thermostat by Grant Sewell. https://flic.kr/p/bDyiFM License at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en
  • 25.
    11 How canfuture smart homes help to identify opportunities for automation?
  • 26.
    11 How canfuture smart homes help to identify opportunities for automation? Maintaining discoverability of desirable solutions as complexity of sensor/actuator networks increases.
  • 27.
    11 How canfuture smart homes help to identify opportunities for automation? Maintaining discoverability of desirable solutions as complexity of sensor/actuator networks increases. Dixon et al. 2010
  • 28.
    11 How canfuture smart homes help to identify opportunities for automation? Maintaining discoverability of desirable solutions as complexity of sensor/actuator networks increases. Dixon et al. 2010 studied by Ur et al. 2014
  • 29.
    12 How willfuture smart homes support goals and values? Interest in achieving peace of mind Brush et al. 2011, Mennicken & Huang 2012 Feeling connected to one’s home Takayama et al. 2012
  • 30.
    12 How willfuture smart homes support goals and values? Interest in achieving peace of mind Brush et al. 2011, Mennicken & Huang 2012 Feeling connected to one’s home Takayama et al. 2012
  • 31.
    12 How willfuture smart homes support goals and values? Interest in achieving peace of mind Brush et al. 2011, Mennicken & Huang 2012 Feeling connected to one’s home Takayama et al. 2012 + = ?
  • 32.
    12 How willfuture smart homes support goals and values? Interest in achieving peace of mind Brush et al. 2011, Mennicken & Huang 2012 Feeling connected to one’s home Takayama et al. 2012 + = ? ? + ? = feeling like good parents Lee at al. 2008 construction of family identity Davidoff et al. 2006
  • 33.
    KEY TAKE AWAY Future smart homes will collaborate with their inhabitants and identify opportunities for automation that support their goals and values.
  • 34.
    THANKS! Many thanksto Gunnar Harboe, Helen He, Christian Remy, Kris Luyten, Johannes Schöning, and Blase Ur. Thanks to all the researchers sharing their work with us to build upon!
  • 35.
    FROM TODAY’S AUGMENTEDHOUSES TO TOMORROW’S SMART HOMES NEW DIRECTIONS FOR SMART HOME RESEARCH Sarah Mennicken, Jo Vermeulen, Elaine Huang mennicken@ifi.uzh.ch zpac.ch collaboration opportunities for automation goals and values