Kleinere, günstigere und effizientere Sensoren und Aktoren sowie Funkprotokolle haben dazu geführt, dass Smart Home Produkte in zunehmend auch für den privaten Massenmarkt erschwinglich werden. Damit stehen Hersteller und Anbieter vor der Herausforderung, komplexe cyber-physische Systeme für Jedermann handhabbar zu gestalten. Es fehlen allerdings empirische Erkenntnisse über die Rolle von Smart Home im Alltag. Wir präsentieren Ergebnisse aus einer Living Lab Studie, in der 14 Haushalte mit einer am Markt erhältlichen Smart Home Nachrüstlösung ausgestattet und über neun Monate empirisch begleitet wurden. Anhand der Analyse von Interviews, Beobachtungen und Co-Design Workshops in den Phasen der Produktauswahl, Installation, Konfiguration und längerfristigen Nutzung zeigen wir Herausforderungen und Potentiale von Smart Home Systemen auf. Unsere Erkenntnisse deuten darauf hin, dass das Smart Home immer noch von technischen Details dominiert wird. Zugleich fehlen Nutzern angemessene Steuerungs- und Kontrollmöglichkeiten, um weiterhin die Entscheidungshoheit im eigenen Zuhause zu behalten.
Frequently the main purpose of domestic artifacts equipped with smart sensors is to hide technology, like previous examples of a Smart Mirror show. However, current Smart Homes often fail to provide meaningful IoT applications for all residents’ needs. To design beyond efficiency and productivity, we propose to realize the potential of the traditional artifact for calm and engaging experiences. Therefore, we followed a design case study approach with 22 participants in total. After an initial focus group, we conducted a diary study to examine home routines and developed a conceptual design. The evaluation of our mid-fidelity prototype shows, that we need to study carefully the practices of the residents to leverage the physical material of the artifact to fit the routines. Our Smart Mirror, enhanced by digital qualities, supports meaningful activities and makes the bathroom more appealing. Thereby, we discuss domestic technology design beyond automation.
In Software development, the always beta principle is used to successfully develop innovation based on early and continuous user feedback. In this paper we discuss how this principle could be adapted to the special needs of designing for the Smart Home, where we do not just take care of the software, but also release hardware components. In particular, because of the 'materiality' of the Smart Home one could not just make a beta version available on the web, but an essential part of the development process is also to visit the 'beta' users in their home, to build trust, to face the real world issues and provide assistance to make the Smart Home work for them. After presenting our case study, we will then discuss the challenges we faced and how we dealt with them.
Smart home systems are becoming an integral feature of the emerging home IT market. Under this general term, products mainly address issues of security, energy savings and comfort. Comprehensive systems that cover several use cases are typically operated and managed via a unified dashboard. Unfortunately, research targeting user experience (UX) design for smart home interaction that spans several use cases or covering the entire system is scarce. Furthermore, existing comprehensive and user-centered longterm studies on challenges and needs throughout phases of information collection, installation and operation of smart home systems are technologically outdated. Our 18-month Living Lab study covering 14 households equipped with smart home technology provides insights on how to design for improving smart home appropriation. This includes a stronger sensibility for household practices during setup and configuration, flexible visualizations for evolving demands and an extension of smart home beyond the location.