A Taxonomy of Home Automation: Expert Perspectives on the Future of Smarter Homes
by Adam Felts
AgeLab researchers are co-authors of a paper in Information Systems Frontiers that surveys experts on the classification of technological systems in the home.
The paper, titled “A Taxonomy of Home Automation: Expert Perspectives on the Future of Smarter Homes,” is based on interviews with and a survey of 21 experts across different fields, with representation from industry and academia and an international distribution.
In the survey, experts were asked about barriers to the introduction of new technologies in people’s homes, as well as how to define the “smart home,” a commonly used term in certain fields but often left vaguely defined. Finally, experts were asked about the future of the smart home industry in the next 10 years, with themes including the development of “smart cities,” moves toward eco-friendly technology, the erosion of privacy, and the introduction of new regulations.
Interviews with the experts focused specifically on the development of a taxonomy for smart home systems. They were presented with an existing taxonomy, developed by AgeLab researchers, and asked about ambiguities in the framework and potential areas of clarification and improvement. They were also asked about the extent to which new technologies – artificial intelligence, social robots, and “the smart city” – would play roles in reshaping how people use their homes.
Finally, using feedback from the experts, an updated version of the AgeLab’s smart home taxonomy is presented and described in the paper. A more consistent definition and vocabulary related to the smart home will help researchers and practitioners collaborate and better understand the state of today’s and future technologies.
The paper’s authors are Shabnam FakhrHosseini, Chaiwoo Lee, Sheng-Hung Lee, and Joseph Coughlin. Learn more about the study here.
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