Smart Homes
Smart homes refer to residences equipped with interconnected devices that enhance convenience, security, and energy efficiency through automation and remote control. These homes utilize a network of smart technologies, including programmable thermostats, motion-sensored lighting, and smart security systems, which can be monitored and controlled via smartphones or other devices. The integration of these technologies allows for customizable environments that can adapt to the homeowner's lifestyle, potentially improving quality of life for individuals, including the elderly and those with disabilities.
Setting up a smart home typically requires a central hub that connects various devices, which can operate through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Wi-Fi networks enable broader internet-based control, while Bluetooth is limited to shorter ranges within the home. More advanced systems may use mesh networks, allowing devices from different manufacturers to communicate seamlessly, enhancing reliability and reducing interference from other electronic devices.
Despite the advantages, consumer adoption of smart home technology faces challenges, including concerns over data privacy and security vulnerabilities. Additionally, the complexity of family dynamics and varying user preferences can complicate the effectiveness of these systems. Nevertheless, the smart home concept continues to evolve, promising greater automation and personalized living experiences in the future.
Smart Homes
Fields of Study
- Network Design; Computer Engineering; Embedded Systems
Abstract
Smart-home technology encompasses a wide range of everyday household devices that can connect to one another and to the internet. This connectivity allows owners to program simple daily tasks and, in some cases, to control device operation from a distance. Designed for convenience, smart homes also hold the promise of improved independent living for older people and those with disabilities.
The Growing Field of Home Automation
Smart homes, or automated homes, are houses in which household electronics, environmental controls, and other appliances are connected in a network. Home automation became a growing trend in the 2010s and 2020s, allowing owners to monitor their homes from afar, automate basic home functions, and save money on utility payments and other costs. Creating a smart home generally involves buying a hub and then various smart devices, appliances, plugs, and sensors that can be linked through that hub to the home network. Setting up a smart home can be costly and requires strong network infrastructure to work well. In the 2020s, smart home technology began evolving from a series of disconnected gadgets to a personalized ecosystem better able to cater to consumers' needs.
Creating the Home Network
Not all smart devices are designed to connect in the same way. Wi-Fi enabled devices connect to Wi-Fi networks, which use super-high frequency (SHF) radio signals to link devices together and to the internet via routers, modems, and range extenders. Other smart devices have Bluetooth connectivity. Bluetooth also uses SHF radio waves but operates over shorter ranges. Assorted Bluetooth devices may be connected to a smart-home network for remote in-home control but cannot be operated outside the home. Essentially, a Wi-Fi network is necessary for internet-based control.
More advanced options for smart-home networking involve mesh networks. In these networks, each node can receive, repeat, and transmit signals to all others in the network. Mesh networks may be wired, with cables connecting the nodes. More often, they are wireless, using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi to transmit radio signals between nodes. Companies have created products linked into dual-mesh networks. Such networks use a dual-band connection, with both wired and wireless connections between the nodes. Dual-mesh networks are designed to avoid electronic interference from outside signals coming from sources such as microwave ovens and televisions. In a dual-mesh network, interruption to the power lines entering the home or to the home's wireless network will not prevent the signal from reaching a networked device. Mesh networks also work with devices from different manufacturers, while other types of networks may not be compatible with all of an owner's devices.
By the late 2010s, voice assistants like Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri had become central to smart-home ecosystems. Such devices integrated with a wide range of smart home products, allowing for even more convenient control and automation.
Connecting Smart Devices and Utilities
Different types of devices can be connected to smart-home networks. Smart light switches and dimmers can be used to control existing light fixtures, turning lights on or off or connecting them to a scheduler for timed activation. A smart-home owner might program their lights to coincide with the sunrise/sunset cycle, for example. The use of smart plugs also allows for the control of existing, ordinary devices. Smart kitchen appliances and entertainment units are available as well.
Other devices can be used to monitor home utilities. For instance, smart water sensors can detect moisture or leaks. Smart locking devices placed on doors and windows can alert the owner when a door or window is unsecured and allow them to lock and unlock doors and windows remotely. Sensors and controls can measure heat within each room and adjust thermostat settings. Smart-home owners can use programmable thermostats to lower temperatures during sleep periods and to raise heat levels before they wake. While many thermostats have timers, automated systems also allow owners to adjust heat and energy consumption from their smartphone or computer, even when away from the home. Increasingly, smart thermostats and other energy management solutions have become more advanced, featuring machine learning, in which the device adjusts its behavior over time in response to repeated usage patterns. By shutting off air conditioning, heat, or electricity when not needed, automated monitoring and control can save owners large amounts of money in utility costs each year.
Smart home devices are also used to monitor users' health and wellness, including monitoring air quality, detecting allergens, and performing tasks that can improve users' overall physical and mental health, such as tracking sleep patterns.
Goals and Challenges
Smart-home technology is part of a technological movement called the Internet of things (IoT). IoT is based on the idea that devices, vehicles, and buildings will all someday be linked into a wireless network and collect and communicate data about the environment. This concept relies on ubiquitous computing, the practice of adding microprocessors and internet connectivity to basic devices and appliances. Ubiquitous computing aims to make data processing a constant background activity embedded in daily life.
Smart-home technology is intended to enhance security and convenience for homeowners. A home can be configured, for instance, so that motion sensors detecting activity in the morning open window shades, turn on a coffee maker, and raise the heat. Home automation is also beginning to help older adults and people with disabilities. Features such as voice activation, mobile apps, and touch screens make it easier for those owners to control their environment and live independently. Some organizations, such as the Pennsylvania Assistive Technology Foundation, provide smart-home planning and installation to people with disabilities.
Some consumers have been slow to adopt smart-home technology. One reason is fear that manufacturers will use such devices to collect and sell data about their personal habits. Another is fear that the security of such systems could be hacked and lead to safety issues such as burglary. The multiple users' preferences, power dynamics, and rapid shifts in schedule that present in family life pose further challenges for smart-home systems. Enhanced security features helped ease the minds of some users. Smart home security devices such as smart locks, video doorbells, and comprehensive security systems increasingly include features like facial recognition and biometric authentication to improve security. Further, with the rise in ownership of wearable digital devices like smartwatches, companies began linking wearable and smart-home devices. Wearable devices that can record biometric data can be used to verify a homeowner's identity for increased security and personalization, for example. Manufacturers have also implemented stricter security measures to better protect personal data and prevent cyberattacks.
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