Prototype, method, and experiment for evaluating usability of smart home user interfaces

IF 4.1 2区计算机科学 Q1 COMPUTER SCIENCE, HARDWARE & ARCHITECTURE

Computer Standards & Interfaces Pub Date : 2024-08-03 DOI:10.1016/j.csi.2024.103903

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Despite the widespread adoption of smart devices and home automation systems, users still face usability challenges. Additionally, evaluating the usability of smart home systems is not straightforward. Our paper focuses on building a Smart Home Prototype, selecting, and evaluating software User Interfaces (UI). We have chosen the smart home heating system as the basis, but the principles are applicable to other applications. To discuss smart home UIs, it is necessary to understand the components, implementation scenarios, configuration, and operation of smart home systems. Therefore, we devote considerable attention to these topics in the paper. Our smart home system utilizes a Raspberry Pi computer, temperature sensors, servo drives, an Android-based smartphone, and other necessary hardware. We installed and configured open-source software and third-party services on the experimental setup. We provided a brief description of each selected software. We used the Home Assistant operating system, its mobile application, voice assistant Alice, and Telegram chatbot. In our study, we described a methodology for evaluating user interfaces in smart homes and conducted an experiment to assess their usability. The experiment results indicated which interface was more user-friendly and identified the drawbacks of each. In conclusion, we discuss UI features that can improve usability and available options for building a smart home based on capabilities.

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评估智能家居用户界面可用性的原型、方法和实验

尽管智能设备和家庭自动化系统已被广泛采用，但用户仍然面临着可用性方面的挑战。此外，评估智能家居系统的可用性并不简单。本文的重点是构建智能家居原型、选择和评估软件用户界面（UI）。我们选择智能家居供暖系统作为基础，但其原理也适用于其他应用。要讨论智能家居用户界面，就必须了解智能家居系统的组件、实施方案、配置和操作。因此，我们在本文中对这些主题给予了相当大的关注。我们的智能家居系统使用了 Raspberry Pi 计算机、温度传感器、伺服驱动器、基于安卓的智能手机和其他必要的硬件。我们在实验装置上安装并配置了开源软件和第三方服务。我们简要介绍了所选的每个软件。我们使用了 Home Assistant 操作系统、其移动应用程序、语音助手 Alice 和 Telegram 聊天机器人。在研究中，我们介绍了评估智能家居用户界面的方法，并进行了一项实验来评估它们的可用性。实验结果表明了哪种界面对用户更友好，并指出了每种界面的缺点。最后，我们讨论了可提高可用性的用户界面功能，以及根据功能构建智能家居的可用选项。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Computer Standards & Interfaces 工程技术-计算机：软件工程

CiteScore

11.90

自引率

16.00%

发文量

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： The quality of software, well-defined interfaces (hardware and software), the process of digitalisation, and accepted standards in these fields are essential for building and exploiting complex computing, communication, multimedia and measuring systems. Standards can simplify the design and construction of individual hardware and software components and help to ensure satisfactory interworking. Computer Standards & Interfaces is an international journal dealing specifically with these topics. The journal • Provides information about activities and progress on the definition of computer standards, software quality, interfaces and methods, at national, European and international levels • Publishes critical comments on standards and standards activities • Disseminates user''s experiences and case studies in the application and exploitation of established or emerging standards, interfaces and methods • Offers a forum for discussion on actual projects, standards, interfaces and methods by recognised experts • Stimulates relevant research by providing a specialised refereed medium.