Some assembly required: Supporting end-user sensor installation in domestic ubiquitous computing environments

Abstract

This paper explores end-user sensor installation for domestic ubiquitous computing applications and proposes five design principles to support this task. End-user sensor installation offers several advantages: it can reduce costs, enhance users' sense of control, accommodate diverse deployment environments, and increase users' acceptance of the technology. The five design principles are developed from the design and in situ evaluation of the sensor installation kit for the Home Energy Tutor, a domestic ubiquitous computing application. To generalize the design principles, factors affecting sensor installation are outlined, and the advantages of end-user sensor installation for three ubiquitous computing application domains are discussed. © Springer-Verlag 2004.