Human activity recognition using binary sensors: A systematic review

Abstract

Human activity recognition (HAR) is an emerging area of study and research field that explores the development of automated systems to identify and categorize human activities using data collected from various sensors. In the field of Human Activity Recognition (HAR), binary sensors offer a distinct approach by providing simpler on/off readings to indicate the presence of events such as door openings or light switch activations. Compared to other sensors used for HAR, binary sensors have several advantages, including lower cost, low power consumption, ease of installation, and privacy preservation. For instance, they can be effectively used in smart homes to detect when someone enters or leaves a room without user input. This study presents a systematic review of the state-of-the-art methods and techniques for HAR using binary sensors. We comprehensively consider five crucial aspects: data collection methods, preprocessing techniques, feature extraction and fusion strategies, classification algorithms, and evaluation metrics. Furthermore, we identify the gaps and limitations of the existing studies and provide directions for future research. This comprehensive and up-to-date review can serve as a valuable reference for researchers and practitioners in the field of HAR using binary sensors.