A Green Context-Aware Platform for Smart Living

Smart living has always been considered as a killer application when new technologies emerged. It is envisioned that smart living will enable a healthier, safer and more comfortable life while reducing resource consumption. Unfortunately, adoption of smart-living technologies and services has been very slow especially in residential environments. Several factors have contributed to such slow and limited deployment. First, installation and configuration of a smart system is usually complicated. Second, maintenance is always a headache for ordinary users. Any repair that requires rewiring is not only time consuming but also very costly. Finally, access to smart-living information and services was not properly addressed. In views of these challenges, a green and context-aware platform is proposed for smart living. In this platform, a full range of self-powered behavioral sensors are developed. These sensors connect objects including toilets, doors, windows, gas stoves, faucets and even tooth brushes to a home network so that various user/environment activities can be recorded. The platform, with the the help of our sensors, is able to provide customized, context-aware services without using any intrusive sensors such as cameras. The platform is implemented in an off-campus apartment to demonstrate its potentials.