Evaluation of Smart Home Systems and Novel UV-Oriented Solution for Integration, Resilience, Inclusiveness & Sustainability

Abstract

At present, smart Homes are receiving more attention as they are becoming the predominant space that houses people’s activities. Even though intelligent home appliances are capable of ameliorating residents’ quality of life and decreasing their household workload, current Smart Homes are still limited to providing support and services to satisfy the needs of the aging society, small families, and busy lifestyles.In addition to their limited capability, current Smart Homes lack robustness and resilience and introduce some unexpected new challenges, including waste of energy and resource, safety and security concerns, compatibility, discontinued service due to technology obsolescence, and financial challenges which are further aggravated by the imbalanced development of different regions and communities.In this paper, we first discuss the new trend in people’s lifestyles, the major needs of the current society, and the special requirements for their future homes. We further elaborate on the significance and contribution of existing Smart Home systems, the challenges of Smart Home applications, the importance of human involvement, and future development.We then propose the concept of the UV Smart Home and its general framework and evaluate, from the UV perspective, the current status of the Smart Home system based on the framework of a closed feedback control loop: data acquisition, communication, decision-making, and action, as well as the available technologies relevant to each element of the systems.After that, we explore the information flow and material cycle associated with UV Smart Home systems and study how Smart Homes would be affected by these two major impacting factors: information flow and material cycle. The need for information flow and the current absence of centralized management and disorganized information-sharing practices are discussed. We also propose the concept of hierarchical information fusion, addressing the lack of fusion between data content, temporal and spatial information, data from different sources, and the lack of fusion between different informational layers, such as human know-how and system data. The paper also points out that the material cycle is a key element in Smart Homes as it connects all UV components through the exchange of physical products, energy, and natural resources. We investigate and highlight several issues within the current Smart Home material cycle, ranging from improper handling of hazardous materials and exposed electrical wires to unauthorized access to firearms and improper mixing of cleaning substances. This part also emphasizes the risk of cascading failures in interconnected systems and processes. It underscores the need for improved information management, fusion, and coordination, as well as proper handling of materials and resources to ensure the safety and functionality of the UV Smart Home system.In addition, we propose that an effective Smart Home should take into consideration the interaction between Smart Home subsystems and the other seven smart city subsystems: smart medicine and healthcare, intelligent transportation, urban planning and crowd management, smart energy management, smart city infrastructure, smart environmental protection, smart response system for city emergency, and smart humanity. We identify the categories of information exchanges required for the interactions between UV Smart Home systems and other smart subsystems and how such information would support each other and enhance the performance of other smart subsystems.Moreover, we will be examining how human lifestyle and community dynamics could potentially shape the UV Smart Home concept, with a particular focus on their potential to enhance unique and diverse lifestyles, such as those of vulnerable groups. We will delve into how these smart homes can provide tailored support, catering to specific needs, and creating a more inclusive and supportive living environment. Whether it’s aiding the elderly with health monitoring or assisting people with disabilities through enhanced accessibility features, we’ll explore how smart homes can be a beneficial tool for a wide spectrum of lifestyles. In addition to individual lifestyles, we’ll explore how UV Smart Homes can integrate with and benefit diverse communities. We’ll delve into how these smart homes can provide specialized functions to cater to unique community needs, such as communal healthcare monitoring for elderly communities, or enhanced security features for urban neighborhoods. Furthermore, we’ll discuss how the collective strength of a community can compensate for certain limitations of smart homes, like addressing the digital divide or reinforcing community-wide data security, ultimately working towards a better, more sustainable living experience for all.Lastly, based on the in-depth exploration of the complicated dynamic relationship between multiple impacting factors, we propose a UV-oriented, integrated, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable UV Smart Home framework design to address current imminent challenges and to improve residents’ quality of life through multi-source real-time smart monitoring, hierarchical and context-based data fusion, directed information disclosure within families and communities, “home operating system” featuring life-long learning of users’ dynamic preferences, and smart appliances integration for subject-oriented, event-triggered and coordinated home services and actions.The proposed UV Smart Home system offers a comprehensive solution to the challenges identified in this paper. It addresses the diversity of human needs and lifestyles by structuring an integrated, personalized, and dynamic information package that captures various aspects of residents’ lives. The system incorporates a Multiple-Input-Multiple-Output (MIMO) package of coordinated processes, consisting of seven core functions and six system objectives, to provide personalized services and functionalities for different living groups and communities. By adopting a closed feedback loop, dynamic adaptiveness, and interactive human involvement, the UV Smart Home system aims to be a highly automated, intelligent, and human-controllable system. It leverages machine learning techniques and user feedback to continually update its knowledge base and adapt to changing lifestyles. The system’s coordination and automation capabilities ensure efficient information flow and seamless coordination across sensing, communication, decision-making, and action stages.