Home control via mobile devices: State of the art and HCI challenges under the perspective of diversity

Abstract

With technological advancements in recent decades, home environments incorporate several electronic appliances in order to facilitate activities and improve users' quality of life. The increasing complexity of household appliances makes their management a nontrivial task. Mobile devices emerge as excellent platforms to enable control over such a range of appliances, providing convenience, flexibility and several interaction possibilities. However, home control via mobile devices also present some challenges, among others regarding the diversity of users. This paper presents the state of the art in home control via mobile devices. Based on an analysis of these solutions, we identify and discuss Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) challenges under the perspective of diversity. In addition, we propose a set of guidelines in order to minimize or overcome these challenges. This work may support design process of new solutions and future research focusing on domestic environment. © 2014 Springer International Publishing.