Internet of Things: The next evolutionary step- A Review

Now-a-days the world is witnessing the start of a new era of Internet of Things (IoT) also known as Internet of Objects. In this era, computing will be outside the realm of the traditional desktop and many of the objects surrounding us will be on the network in one form or another. Generally speaking IoT refers to the networked interconnection of everyday objects, which are often equipped with ubiquitous intelligence i.e. we can say that IoT stands for virtually interconnected objects that are identifiable and equipped with sensing, computing, and communication capabilities.IoT promises a great future for the internet where the type of communication is machine-to-machine (M2M). This review presents a vision for worldwide implementation of IoT while also discussing the key enabling technologies and application domains that are likely to drive IoT research in the near future

Learning to live in a smart home

Smart homes promise to significantly enhance domestic comfort, convenience, security and leisure whilst simultaneously reducing energy use through optimized home energy management. Their ability to achieve these multiple aims rests fundamentally on how they are used by householders, yet very little is currently known about this topic. The few studies that have explored the use of smart homes have tended to focus on special-interest groups and be quite short-term. This paper reports on new in-depth qualitative data that explore the domestication of a range of smart home technologies in 10 households participating in a nine-month field trial. Four core themes emerge: (1) smart home technologies are both technically and socially disruptive; (2) smart homes require forms of adaptation and familiarization from householders that can limit their use; (3) learning to use smart home technologies is a demanding and time-consuming task for which there is currently very little support available; and (4) there is little evidence that smart home technologies will generate substantial energy savings and, indeed, there is a risk that they may generate forms of energy intensification. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for policy, design and further research

Making ubicomp acceptable in the home

This thesis is concerned with the uses of ubiquitous computing (ubicomp) technologies in everyday domestic settings. In contrast to goal-oriented technology adoption (e.g. in the workplace), the integration of pervasive technology in the home faces not only social but also physical and technical constraints. We propose a design framework for the introduction of ubicomp technology into today’s homes that, firstly, considers a holistic approach to integrating pervasive technology; secondly, takes into account social factors and domestic activity when defining the nature of the system’s interaction; and thirdly, allows the user to adapt the system’s interaction and collaboration. Most of the work to date on domestic ubicomp takes the customization of domestic spaces for granted, presuming that the integration of sensing technologies can be accomplished to any required degree and usually assuming that context-aware systems have to be proactive, limiting users to the role of consumers of the system’s actions rather than allowing them a more participative or cooperative role. We have applied our framework to design a domestic ubicomp system to support parents with childcare in the home. The “Context-Aware Room” and the “The Parent-Child Companion Tool” prototypes are built to take account of the interaction between the social and physical and the social and digital contexts in order to address issues of integration of sensing technology, socially respectful collaboration and system adaptation. Two studies explore the potential social acceptance of the PChCT. The panel study considers parents’ overall perceptions of whether these kinds of ubicomp tools might help with parental tasks. The usability study considers the usefulness and usability of the PChCT. The results of the study reflect a positive attitude to the PChCT. Parents liked the collaborative resources and facilities to tailor collaboration. Further work might be done to assess how the system’s adaptation might fit within a wider context of user needs. Nevertheless, we argue that the use of our framework can lead to more socially acceptable ubicomp experiences in the home

Kehollistuneet vuorovaikutuskoreografiat. Kinesteettinen lähestymistapa älykkäiden ympäristöjen suunnitteluun

Research investigates interaction design through application of the concept of choreography. Special attention is paid to assess what kind of influences technological designs have on the user’s body and movements. Choreographic approach to interaction design emphasizes the felt experience of movement as content to interaction design and offers methods for conducting multi-level choreographic analysis. The concept of kinesthesia, which refers to the felt sensation of movement, is regarded as the foundational concept for both understanding and realizing the choreographic analysis. Choreographic method is applied in studying a future vision of intelligent information and communication environments. Intelligent environment refers to development where objects in everyday environments become connected and form a communicating-actuating network that possess abilities to collect information on the environment and of its users, and enables processing of this information for serving the user’s needs. The research data consists of two visions on intelligent environments in video format, introduced by Microsoft. Visions are analyzed through choreographic analysis with intention to investigate interactions between the user, the intelligent environment and the computer system. Micro level choreography analysis focuses on how the user experiences choreographies as movement continuums. Also local level choreographies that address the broader interaction context will be analyzed. Task based analysis focuses on two functions, first, sending and fetching digital information and, second, real time re-modelling of data and visualizations. Phenomenological methodology that enabled embodiment of the choreographies through dancing was applied in the analysis. Dancing aimed at internalizing the choreographies and enabled the analysis of felt sensation of movement. Key finding of the study is that choreographic analysis and hermeneutics of the body work well to be utilized in tandem in conducting a case study research on intelligent ICT environments. Dancing is considered as choreographic practice that provides understanding on the unfolding of interactions in space, time and movement. Furthermore, dancing integrates the designer’s explicit technological information to the design context and highlights the kinesthetic dimension of interaction. Presented methods provide relevant support for defining technological systems in intelligent ICT environments that are grounded in the embodied experience of interaction. I suggest that ‘dancing as choreographic practice’ is to be applied in user-centered design of intelligent information and communication environments.Tutkimus tarkastelee vuorovaikutussuunnittelua koreografian käsitteen kautta. Koreografinen lähestymistapa tarkastelee teknologian kokonaisvaltaista ohjausvaikutusta käyttäjän liikkeeseen teknologian käyttötilanteessa. Koreografinen suunnitteluote korostaa liikkeen kokemuksen huomioimisen tärkeyttä vuorovaikutussuunnittelussa ja tarjoaa menetelmiä monitasoisen vuorovaikutusanalyysin toteuttamiseen. Kinestesian käsite, jolla tarkoitetaan liikkeen kokemista kehossa, nousee yhdeksi koreografisen lähestymistavan keskeisistä käsitteistä. Sovellan koreografista menetelmää tulevaisuuden älykästä informaatio- ja kommunikaatioympäristöä kuvaavan vision tutkimiseen. Älykkäällä ympäristöllä viittaan kehityskulkuun, jossa jokapäiväisissä ympäristöissämme läsnä oleva teknologia verkottuu, kykenee keräämään ja jakamaan tietoa ympäristöstä ja käyttäjistä sekä mahdollistaa tiedon jalostuksen käyttäjän tarpeita palvelevalla tavalla. Aineistona on käytetty Microsoftin teknologiavisioita, joissa esitetyt kuvaukset älykkäistä ympäristöistä sekä esimerkit käyttäjän ja teknologian välisistä liikkeellisistä vuorovaikutuksista nousevat analyysin kohteeksi. Analyysissa keskitytään ensinnäkin käyttäjän toteuttamien mikroliikkeiden jatkumon kokemuksen analyysiin. Toiseksi analysoidaan yksilön kokemusta paikallisen tason koreografioissa. Tällä analyysitasolla huomiota kiinnitetään teknologista vuorovaikutusta laajemman vuorovaikutustapahtuman kontekstiin jolloin mm. sosiaaliset tapahtumat ja tilan vaikutus vuorovaikutukseen tulevat huomioiduksi. Analyysi toteutetaan tehtäväperusteisena ja analyysi käsittää kaksi toimintoa: tiedostojen jakaminen ja vastaanottaminen sekä datan ja visualisointien muokkaus. Toteutin tutkimuksen nojaten fenomenologiseen metodologiaan, joka mahdollisti koreografioiden henkilökohtaisen omaksumisen tanssin eli tutkimuksen kohteena olevien vuorovaikutustapojen kehollisen harjoittamisen kautta. Teknologiavisioissa esitetyn liikemateriaalin perusteella jäsentyi koreografia, jonka tanssiminen mahdollisti liiketiedon sisäistämisen ja vuorovaikutusten kehollisesti koettujen ulottuvuuksien arvioinnin. Tutkimus osoitti koreografisen analyysin ja osittain tanssimalla toteutetun ruumiin hermeneuttisen lähestymistavan soveltuvan hyvin sovellettavaksi yhdessä älykästä ympäristöä käsittelevässä tapaustutkimuksessa. Tutkimuksen johtopäätöksenä koreografisen menetelmän ja vuorovaikutusten kehollisen harjoittamisen todetaan auttavan suunnittelijaa tilassa, ajassa ja liikkeessä tapahtuvien vuorovaikutusten jäsentämisessä, ja arvioimaan miten teknologisen järjestelmän suunnitteluratkaisut vaikuttavat käyttäjän kehoon ja liikkeeseen vuorovaikutustapahtumassa. Esitän ’tanssimista koreografisena käytäntönä’ sovellettavaksi älykkäiden ympäristöjen käyttäjäkeskeisen suunnittelun menetelmänä