smart homes and user va lues

Transkript

SMART HOMES AND USER VALUES
GREGER SANDSTRÖM
ULF KEIJER
Editors
The Urban International Press
Greger Sandström and Ulf Keijer, Editors
187 Pages, 11 chapters
First published 2007
Gateshead, The United Kingdom
Copyright © The Urban International Press
Smart Homes and User Values
ISBN 1 - 872811 - 08 - 06
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, or utilized in any form
or by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording or in any information storage or retrieval system without
permission in writing from the publishers.
The publisher makes no representation, expressed or implied with regard to the accuracy of the
information contained in this book and cannot accept any legal responsibility of liability for any
errors or omissions that may be made.
ISBN 1 - 872811 - 08 - 06
Cover and Layout Design:
Emre and Esra Akbil - [email protected]
Layout and DTP Work:
Ahmet Daghan Önkol - [email protected]
Technical Editing:
Yonca Hürol, Eastern Mediterranean University, TRNC.
To order this book go to:
www.openhouse-int.com or
e-mail [email protected]
,
Greger Sandström and Ulf Keijer,
THE EDITORS
Dr Greger Sandström
Dr Greger Sandström, PhD (eng.) and BBA, is employed
by JM, leading developer of housing and residential areas
in the Nordic region, joined the research group at KTH in
2001. His doctoral thesis is very much oriented towards
the theme of the present book, Smart homes and User
values. Greger Sandström represents a figure seldom
present in research, a profound industrial experience and
a clear zest for research in its proper sense.
Dr Ulf Keijer
Dr Ulf Keijer, D.Sc. and M.LL. has worked, since the
beginning of the 1990s, with research and development
on information technology and its societal implications in
various field. Of primary regard has been issues
concerning user benefit from IT and its applications. Since
1997 Ulf Keijer serves as professor and research team
leader at the Architectural School at KTH within a
programme named IT-supported Service Infrastructures in
the Built Environment.
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CHAPTER 1: HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE BOOK
1
2
4
1
Content
Greger Sandström and Ulf Keijer
1.1. Introduction
1.2. The history of Smart Homes
1.3. Structure of the book
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9
11
14
16
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23
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CHAPTER 2: USER VALUES OF SMART HOME FUNCTIONS IN RESIDENTIAL LIVING 7
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Useful technology
2.3. The study objects
2.4. Choice of method for the evaluation
2.5. Results
2.6. Discussion
2.7. Conclusions
2.8. Acknowledgement
2.9. References
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CHAPTER 3: MAINSTREAMING SMART TECHNOLOGY FOR OLDER PEOPLE:
CONSUMER VIEWS AND WIDER IMPLICATIONS
Alison Bowes and Gillian McColgan
3.1. Introduction
3.2. The West Lothian programme
3.3. Evaluating the West Lothian programme
3.3.1. Housing with Care - clients' and carers' perspectives
3.3.2. Home safety services - clients' and carers' perspectives
3.3.3. Staff experiences and perspectives
3.4. Conclusions
3.5. Acknowledgements
3.6. References
iii
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67
CHAPTER 4:SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY: ON THE MOVE TO AMBIENT AND
INVISIBLE INTELLIGENCE
45
Ilse Bierhoff and Ad van Berlo
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Smart Home Environment
4.2.1. Hierarchal classes of smart homes
4.2.2. The residents
4.2.3. Smart home applications and services
4.2.4. Standardization
4.3. Smart Home Projects in the Netherlands
4.3.1. Common used applications and services
4.4. Evaluating Smart Home Projects
4.4.1. The evaluated projects
4.4.2. Methods of evaluating
4.5. Results of the evaluations
4.5.1. The building process
4.5.2. The installation of smart home technology
4.5.3. Applications and services
4.5.4. Communication towards the residents
4.5.5. Communication towards relatives, nursing staff and call centers
4.5.6. Service
4.5.7. Utility, usability and accessibility
4.6. Conclusion
4.7. References
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CHAPTER 5:SMART HOMES FOR OLDER PEOPLE - USER PERSPECTIVES AND
PROFESSIONAL DILEMMAS
Malcolm J. Fisk
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Northern Ireland
5.3. Policy Context
5.4. The 'Going Home, Staying Home' Project
5.5. The Tyrone and Fermanagh 'Telecare' Project
5.6. Evaluation Outcomes
5.7. The Northern Ireland Projects in Context
5.8. Dilemmas that Affect the Spread of Smart Technologies
5.9. Conclusion
5.10. References
iv
CHAPTER 6:AUTOMATED BEHAVIOURAL MONITORING AS A VARIATION OF
SMART HOME
Anthony P. Glascock and David M. Kuznik
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Design Principles
6.3. What to Monitor
6.4. System Development
6.5. Technological Description
6.5.1. Residential system
6.5.2. Web-based remote monitoring site
6.6. Field Test
6.7. Reliability and Validity
6.7.1. Reliability
6.7.2. Validity
6.8. The Pyramid
6.9. Pilot Study
6.9.1. Care Provision
6.10. Testimonials
6.11. Conclusion
6.12. Acknowledgements
6.13. References
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CHAPTER 7: POST OCCUPANCY EVALUATION OF DIGITAL HOME IN KOREA 107
Yeunsook Lee
7.1. Introduction
7.2. Background
7.2.1. The Housing Market in Korea
7.2.2. Development of Housing with Added Value
7.2.3. Digital Services and Emergence of Digital Living
7.3. Overview of the Studied Digital Home
7.4. Method
7.5. Results
7.5.1. Description of the Participants
7.5.2. Use of Digital Functions
7.5.3. Preference for Digital Functions
7.5.4. Attitudes toward Digital Home
Yeunsook Lee and Hyunjeong Lee
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Background
8.2.1. The History of Korean Housing
8.2.2. Housing Supported by Information and Telecommunication Technologies
8.3. Method
8.4. Results
8.4.1. Demographics of the Respondents
8.4.2. Use of Digital Home Services
8.5. Preference of Digital Home Appliance and Controller
8.6. Use of Internet and On-line Services
8.7. Attitude toward and Perception on Digital Living
8.8. Conclusion
8.9. References
CHAPTER 8:USE OF COMPUTER-BASED SERVICES AND PREFERENCES FOR
DIGITAL HOME SERVICES IN IT-SUPPORTED APARTMENTS IN KOREA
7.5.5. Internet Use
7.6. Conclusion
7.7. References
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CHAPTER 9: INTEGRATED SYSTEMS IN SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSES AN INCOMPLETE INNOVATION
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9.1. Introduction
9.2. The innovation concept
9.3. The competence bloc theory
9.4. The study object
9.5. The Swedish construction market
9.6. The organisational model of the Smart Living development
9.7. Method
9.8. Results
9.9. Discussion
9.10. Conclusions
9.12. References
vi
Mats Edenius
10.1. Introduction
10.2. Notes about the smart home concept, scientific view and methodology
10.3. To adapt to an unstable system
10.4. The importance of transparency and its profound effects
10.5. The complexity of a smart living system
10.6. Epilogue
10.7. References
10.8. Appendix
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CHAPTER 10: HOW TO BRING ´SMARTNESS´ INTO A ´SMART HOME´ SYSTEM 165
CHAPTER 11: LESSONS LEARNT AND CONCLUSIONS
CONTRIBUTORS
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INDEX
2
measurement on their residential premises.
In this chapter three particular housing
projects equipped with a number of IT functions
will be described. The projects were developed
in Stockholm, Sweden, between 1999 and
2002. They all show characteristics as to be
recognised as smart homes, even integrated
smart homes. The projects were Vallgossen with
in all 126 flats, Ringblomman with 59 flats, and
Smart Living which comprises six detached
single-family houses. The Smart Living will be
elaborated in chapter 9 further on. Typical
examples of IT based functions are alarm
systems detecting fire, leakage and intrusion,
measurement of energy consumption for each
separate flat, lighting control, security camera
at the front door, electronic keys, bookings of
common facilities (e.g. the common laundry
room - a typical Swedish facility) and reception
boxes. Regarding scope and content, these
three projects are much alike but their designs
USER VALUES OF SMART HOME FUNCTIONS IN RESIDENTIAL LIVING
2.1 Introduction
In the end of the last century a huge optimism
prevailed around the concept of Smart Homes,
in Sweden and elsewhere. Building developers
and real estate companies wished to become a
part of the smart homes development along
with the prospering IT-industry. Buzz words like
'future living' and 'connected homes' were aired
in many boardrooms those days. The
developers' interest was based primary on the
assumption that homes equipped with the
visionary IT label would be easier to sell on the
market. The smart technology should either be
installed from the beginning or be offered as an
option. Real estate companies saw an
opportunity to lower their administrative costs by
modern technology, in addition to the
opportunity to let or sell their flats more easily.
Another typical argument of the age was that a
real estate company would gain goodwill by
appearing as an environment-friendly
enterprise,
offering
individual
energy
8
differ. The projects were at the time, without
doubt, the state-of-the-art of what was offered
on the open housing market in Sweden
considering the range of applications. And so
far, more than five years later, anything similar regarding the comprehensiveness - is hardly
seen on the market.
Largely, the availability of technology
defined the adopted functionality of the
installed IT equipment. At this point of time
there was limited knowledge in general of the
consumers' opinions and perceived user values
of smart functions in homes. In order to gain
further experience and knowledge about the
potential residents' appreciation of different IT
functions, a Swedish housing developer and the
Royal Institute of Technology, started a research
project characterised as "Smart Homes - Buying
Motives and User Values". The aim of the study
was to evaluate and analyse user values of
installed smart homes technology in real
homes. The questions to be examined
concerned what kind of technology the
residents really ask for and what demands the
residents put on different IT solutions, their
design and functionality.
Central concepts in the survey were
usability, usefulness and accessibility. Usability
uncovers when a product is used. Usefulness
characterises the ability of a product or a
service to support the user in fulfilling a task or
satisfying a need. Usefulness and usability are
easily confused. A product or a service can be
demanded by a user and appear useful to him
or her on first sight. Still in practice it remains
useless. It may depend on the fact that the user
GREGER SANDSTRÖM AND ULF KEIJER
does not understand how he or she is supposed
to use the function. It can also be out of order
or not available when asked for. One could say
that the function is not accessible. Accessibility
is complementary to usability in order to attain
usefulness.
The first evaluations in Vallgossen and
Ringblomman were carried out in 2002. Twenty
households were interviewed once or twice
when they just had moved in. In all 31
interviews were completed. The households
revealed full satisfaction with their new
dwellings. From other research it is a wellknown phenomenon that respondents seldom
express criticism on their own significant
purchases, including that of their choice of
dwellings (SOLOMON, BAMOSSY and
ASKEGAARD, 1999). They have invested much
money and they will generally stick to their
decisions. Further, when the members of the
households were asked to judge the IT
functions, they were generally very positive, also
if the households had not used them. A number
of respondents stated that they probably would
use more of the functions when they had got
used to them and understood them better.
The results showed that the foremost
factors for buying a new flat principally were
three: "the location in the urban area", "the floor
layout" and that the purchase was a "brand new
production". As to the IT functions, they were not
the conclusive reason for buying these flats, the
households considered them rather to be a
boon. There was no extra charge for the IT
functions in comparison to other flats of similar
sizes and location. Worth mentioning is that a
User Values of Smart Home Functions in Residential Living
substantial number of the residents that actually
bought these flats were IT professionals of
different categories or were otherwise skilled IT
users. It is reasonable to assume that these
buyers were interested in the offered IT functions
more than an average consumer. It can also be
assumed that these persons appreciated a
value, or as it were said: "fun", to have a home
with a technology that distinguishes it from
homes in general.
If not being the decisive reason for the
purchase of the flats, the IT functions still were
considered to be important. Functions
increasing safety (e.g. alarms) and saving time
(e.g. booking of common facilities) were most
valued. On the other hand, the possibility to
energy conservation and the access to single
non-integrated functions were less appreciated.
A comprehensive report of the 2002 interview
round is presented in SANDSTRÖM et al.
(2003).
The remaining part of this chapter will be
devoted to a description of the abovementioned smart home projects in connection
with the 2005 user evaluation and the results
thereof. To the authors' knowledge few, if any,
similar evaluations are available that monitor
the residents' long-term use of installed IT
functions in their homes and their views of them.
In addition another task is to use these
evaluations to outline and examine a model
considered suitable for evaluations of IT
functions in the home environment.
2.2. Useful technology
9
Introductorily three central concepts were
mentioned for the study: usefulness, usability
and accessibility. The notion of usability has
shifted over time from focusing only on the man
as a user over to perceiving the product and its
use in a context. Most methods and techniques,
like usability and system development methods,
take notice on the connection between a
product's expected usefulness and the design of
the product, often however rather superficially.
Usability is not an objective, observable and
intrinsic product quality such as colour or a
specific technical function. Instead, usability is a
quality that comes into being at the very
moment the product is used.
The international standard ISO defines usability
as:
"Usability is the extent to which a product
can be used by specified users to achieve
specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency
and satisfaction in a specified context of
use."(ISO 9241:11)
Further ISO defines effectiveness, efficiency,
satisfaction and context of use as:
Effectiveness: 'Accuracy and completeness
with which users achieve specified goals.'
Efficiency: 'Resources expended in relation
to the accuracy and completeness with
which users achieve goals.'
10
Satisfaction: 'Freedom from discomfort, and
positive attitudes towards the use of the
product.'
Context of use: 'Users, tasks, equipment
(hardware, software and materials), and the
physical and social environments in which a
product is used.'
Figure 2-1
Relationship
between
usefulness,
usability and
accessibility when
evaluating smart
home systems.
These definitions are certainly valuable as they
make it possible to discuss usability in order to
attain to an unambiguous understanding of the
concept. The ISO definition involves some
essential aspects, more important for the user
than what is commonly discussed regarding the
usability.
The concept usefulness is also a part of
2-1
the ISO definition of usability. Usefulness can be
cost effective it is defined to offer usefulness to
defined as what the user wants to achieve with
the resident.
a product, i.e. the user's goal. Usefulness
But in order really to offer usefulness,
explains if a product or a service helps the user
such a function demands usability and
to satisfy a need or solve a problem.
accessibility. The concept usability includes
One has to bear in mind that the ISO
aspects of both physical/technical and cognitive
definition originates from the development of
usability. Physical/technical usability involves
ergonomic requirements for office work, chiefly
aspects of the feasibility to expand, integrate,
concerning human work in front of a visual individualise and upgrade the function or the
display terminal. Earlier experiences from system. Cognitive usability refers to how easy it
evaluations of IT in homes suggest that usability is to understand, to learn and to use the
and accessibility in combination realise function. Intuitiveness is a key property to
usefulness and may offer benefit to the user achieve the desired easiness in these respects.
(SANDSTRÖM, 2003). A tentative model
The concept accessibility includes
describing the relationships between these technical aspects such as response time, set-up
concepts is shown in figure 2-1 below. time and availability. Availability consists of upConcepts discussed below refer to the figure.
time, mean-time to repair and mean-time
If a new function in a home enhances comfort, between failures. According to IEEE Standard
improves easiness, increases safety or is more Glossary of Software Engineering Terminology
Mean time to repair (MTTR): The expected
or observed time required to repair a system
or component and return it to normal
operations.
Up-time: The period of time during which a
system or component is operational and in
service.
Set-up time: The period of time during
which a system or component is being
prepared for a specific operation.
Availability: The degree to which a system
or component is operational and accessible
when required for use.
Response time: The elapsed time between
the end of an inquiry or command to an
interactive computer system and the
beginning of the system's response.
(610.12-1990) these components are defined
as (www.ieee.org):
Figure 2-2
Vallgossen.
2-2
11
Mean time between failures (MTBF): The
expected or observed time between
consecutive failures in a system or
component.
It is important to remember that usefulness can
only be achieved if the goals of both usability
and accessibility are met, not just one of them.
This is symbolised by two dashed lines
connecting them in figure 2-1.
In addition, the model has to be placed
in a context, represented by the grey area in
figure 2-1. The context involves aspects such as
trust, culture, knowledge, gender, economy, etc.
The user must feel trust while applying the
function. If not, it will not be usable, at least in
the way it was designed for. The trust concept is
complex. According to CHOPRA and WALLACE
(2003) trust is an attitude held by an individual.
It is influenced by the personality of the trustor
(the resident) and by the attributes of the
recipient (the function), and it in turn influences
the behaviour of the trustor, but it is equivalent
to none of them. Trust is an attitude composed
of two parts: confidence in positive outcomes,
and a willingness to modify one's behaviour in
expectation of those outcomes. Thus an
integrated definition of trust recognises it as the
union of three elements: a trustee (the function)
to whom the trust is directed, confidence that
the trust will be upheld, and a willingness to act
on that confidence.
2.3. The study objects
In the central parts of Stockholm, two residential
12
housing units, Vallgossen and Ringblomman,
were constructed during 1999-2002. These
projects were characterised by modern
architecture and design, and, very specifically,
by an advanced set of IT functions aiming to
support the inhabitants in their daily living.
Vallgossen, figure 2-2, comprises 126 flats in
all. The sizes vary from 44 to 144 square
meters. Ringblomman, figure 2-3, comprises
59 flats in total. Here the flats' sizes vary from
46 to 185 square meters.
The first occupancy in Vallgossen took
place in September 2001 and in Ringblomman
in February 2002.
Regarding the IT system in Vallgossen, all
126 flats have a set of basic functions of type 1,
see table 2-1, while 21 flats have some
additional, more advanced functions, type 2.
Another two specific flats served as test units for
assisted living, SANDSTRÖM and KEIJER
(2003). These latter flats will not be commented
upon further here. All 59 flats in Ringblomman
2-3
2-1
Table 2-1
Description of the
IT functions in
Vallgossen and
Ringblomman.
Figure 2-3
Ringblomman.
have the same IT functions, similar to the type 2
ones in Vallgossen. All functions are more or
less integrated, meaning that a central system
controls the functions and authorises them to
influence and interact with each other. The IT
system in the flats is called "the home network".
For a detailed list of the IT functions in
Figure 2-4
Description of the
communication
between a flat
and the Internet
and the home
network.
2-4
Vallgossen and Ringblomman, see table 2-1.
The IT system in Vallgossen and
Ringblomman was developed by the company
e2-Home, a joint-venture between two major
enterprises, Ericsson and Electrolux, in Sweden.
Electrolux wished to develop their white goods
products into solutions for e-homes, i.e. smart
homes. Ericsson was thinking about network
solutions for residential users in its Home
Communication Concept (MADSEN and
ULHØL, 2002). So the companies established
on equal footing in October 1999 a new
company called "e2-Home". It was to take care
of their joint interest based on the Home
Communication Concept (HCC). The idea was
to offer a number of applications on a
communication platform. The platform was
based on an open standard, the OSGi, for
homes designed for "Intelligent Living". The
market for the platform, however, did not
develop according to expectations; the jointventure company went into trouble and
presently has a low profile on the market. Today,
the maintenance and the support of the home
network are taken care of by a third company.
In late 2004 the joint-venture company initiated
discussions with the residents in Vallgossen and
Ringblomman to replace their IT system with a
13
simpler one, based on the web.
The IT system is located at two main
places: the main server site and the home
network. The main server site is the back-end
site of the system and contains the central
servers. It is the centre of services, and handles
all information and administration of the system
as a whole. The home networks service each
single flat. The access network connects the
main server with the home networks.
The residential gateway is the heart of
the home network. It controls all of the home
devices and exposes them to the main server
site. It collects home information and status
data on home devices and sends them to the
main server site. In addition, it handles local
functions in the home network. This structure
offers the support organisation a possibility to
remotely control the residential gateway and the
touch screen in the home network.
In figure 2-4, a communication schema
is shown. Further, in each flat there are two
different wire-based networks, one for the home
network and one for the Internet. They are
connected via a common access point for all
flats located in the basement. The access point
is connected to the access provider (AP) who
directs the user to the home network or the
Internet.
The home network functions are
controlled via a terminal in every flat. During
the construction phase it was planed to equip
the flats with a refrigerator with a touch screen.
This product was never manufactured and was
replaced by a laptop computer in Vallgossen
and by a touch screen placed on the wall in
14
Ringblomman.
Figure 2-5 shows the home network
screen in Ringblomman and Vallgossen. It
displays the picture that appears when the
resident clicks on the magnet-like icon "My
Home". Here the resident can get information
regarding safety functions like alarms for fire,
burglar and leakage, the status of the flat
energy measurement, the indoor temperature,
etc.
Figure 2-5
The home
network screen.
Left at the top of
the figure there
are four circles
which symbolise
magnets. They
are called
Calender
(Kalender), My
Home (Mitt
Hem), Bookings
(Bokningar) and
Information
(Uppgifter).
2.4. Choice of method for the
evaluation
The focus of the study is on the relationship
between man and the built environment. The
focus on the user is further accentuated with the
application of a Post Occupancy Evaluation
(POE). POE is an established method applied in
evaluations of built environment (PREISER et al.,
1988). Two evaluation design alternatives were
considered for the study: one based on
2-5
qualitative methods and another requiring
quantitative data. Qualitative methods permit
the evaluator to study selected issues in depth
and in detail, generally by direct interviews of a
limited number of respondents. With a
quantitative approach it is possible to capture
data of a larger sample of people, often,
however, to the expense of a reduced set of
problems to be asked about. This gives a
broad, generalised set of findings presented
succinctly. By contrast, qualitative methods
typically produce a vast amount of detailed
information about a distinctly smaller number of
people or cases. The latter increases the
understanding of the studied cases, however
reduces the possibility to generalise the findings
underpinned by statistical analysis.
If one wants to achieve some form of
generalisation, the sample need to be
randomised in some sense. Case studies, on the
other hand, become particularly useful where
one needs to understand a unique situation in
depth, and where it is possible to identify cases
which contain rich information. For the present
study, Vallgossen and Ringblomman are the
objects for case studies, and consequently a
qualitative method was chosen.
Unstructured interviews can provide the
interviewer with a wider range of qualitative
data than more structured types of interviews.
The essence of unstructured interviews is to
understand rather than to explain (DENZIN and
LINCOLN, 1998). As this was a new field of
evaluation it was considered important to
understand the respondents' experiences in
connection with the introduction of new
15
technology. Unstructured interviews were
chosen to give a wider perspective of the
adoption and use of these new services.
Examples of questions asked are the
following:
z what IT functions have been useful in
your daily life?
z how often does your household use the IT
functions in the home network?
z could the functions have been designed
differently?
z what demands should a resident put on
the technology?
z does this technology add some value to
the household living in the flat?
The assessment of the usefulness of the
functions was not estimated in monetary terms,
rather by soft values like safety, easiness and
comfort.
The purpose of the study was to
investigate if and how the residents' behaviour
regarding the separate IT functions changed
over time; thus, their long-term use was placed
in focus. The objective was to interview the
same households once again that were
interviewed in 2002. However, a number of
households had already moved. In addition to
the ones staying six new respondents were
selected. So, respondents V7, V8 and R5, R6,
R7, R8 were not interviewed earlier, see table 22.
The households chosen for the study
represent the most frequent categories of
households and flats in Vallgossen and
Ringblomman.
16
2.5. Results
The 2005 evaluation showed two distinct types
of results. First, there were concrete results from
the interviews, providing opinions and attitudes
related to the installed technology. Second,
knowledge and experiences from the
performance of the leading actor for the smart
home development, the joint-venture company,
could be collected. This latter type of result
became useful in order to understand and
interpret the answers of the respondents.
In table 2-3 below, all results are
Table 2-2
Data over the
selected
households and
their flats.
2-2
displayed in a condensed form. In the following
some typical and interesting results from
interviews with different residents in Vallgossen
and Ringblomman are presented, as comments
to the table.
Vallgossen - experiences 2005
The interviews in Vallgossen took place in
February 2005, some three and a half year
after the completion of the flats. As said, the
purpose was to gain knowledge about the
households long term use and experience
regarding the IT functions.
The most useful function controlled by
the home network was the booking opportunity
for the common laundry facility. No comparable
interest was shown for any other available
function of the home system, such as the
calendar, e-mail and e-notes. The away lock
and functions activated by the away lock were
largely appreciated. It offered a feeling of safety
albeit few consciously comprehended the
function as such. They locked two locks at the
front door as an old habit - not in order
consciously to activate the away lock.
The electronic key to the entrance door
and common spaces offered a feeling of safety,
too. Some households mentioned that even if
the person they meet is unknown, e.g. in the
basement, they were certain that that person did
have access and was allowed to be there.
All respondents in Vallgossen stated that
they had had no problem accessing the home
network. At the beginning some problems
occurred, which became less pronounced later
on. The respondents revealed that they
probably would use more of the available
functions if the set-up time had been shorter.
One particular household pointed to the
disadvantage of using a laptop computer to
cancel a false alarm, as it takes several minutes
only to start the computer; a screen on the wall
with a fixed connection to the home network
would have been a much better solution,
according to the view of this particular
respondent.
Ringblomman - experiences 2005
The results from the interviews of the
17
households in Ringblomman are presented in
this section. The interviews took place in
January and February 2005.
The most useful function in the home
network according to the respondents was the
booking system for the common laundry
facilities, including the indication of the status of
the washing machines (in use or out of use).
Another useful function was the broadband
connection to the Internet. Opinions regarding
other functions differ. Some appreciate the
alarm system and the away lock, but some
others do not. One respondent looked at the
energy consumption recorder every day; other
households did not pay any attention at all to
this particular function. The function to control
lights in the home was found to be good.
However, as the system did not control every
outlet in the flat it appeared to be imperfect,
especially as often wrong outlets were the
controllable ones. The respondents did not use
the calendar, e-notes or e-mail due to
difficulties in using the touch screen for writing.
Only one of the respondents used the reception
box, however, only for returning things to friends
when they are not at home, not for shopping
deliveries for which it was intended.
Most respondents use the home network
every day to look at the indoor temperature, the
weather forecast and the clock.
The use of the terminal and the home
network has diminished over time, chiefly due to
its low reliability. For example, the individual
energy measurement was often faulty, as was
the weather forecast. The respondents did not
trust the displayed information and therefore
18
they did not use it. The reason why they use the
weather forecast is more out of curiosity, e.g. to
compare the weather forecast on the TV with
the one predicted by the home network.
The temperature controlling system did
not meet the respondents' expectations either.
The residents were told that they themselves
could create a comfortable indoor climate and
preset different temperatures in different rooms,
which proved to be impossible in practice. Due
to the open floor layout, with the influence of
the heat level of adjacent flats, and the sunshine
influx the controlling system became confused.
Opinions related to the electronic key
were patchy, too. Most respondents appreciated
the electronic key for the lobby and for common
spaces, however, not for the front door. They
reported that they felt uncertain about its proper
functionality, which could turn out to be really
crucial if they would not be able to enter their
homes at all.
The maintenance of the technology was
reported to be a problem, too. The cost for
repair and maintenance is a factor that
generally turned out to be too expensive.
Another reported problem was that the residents
were not able to identify the responsible body
for the electronic key system.
The responsibility seemed to be shared
between several actors to the inconvenience of
the end user, e.g. raising questions as follows:
z is it the company that developed the
electronic key system?
z is it the company that installed the
electronic key system on the construction
site?
2-3
Table 2-3
The households'
opinions of the
home network in
Vallgossen and
Ringblomman.
z is it the company that installed the front
doors?
z is it the company responsible for the
integration of the electronic key system into
the home network?
Discussion
These questions of where, or with whom,
the responsibility of maintenance rested were
not answered during the whole time of
occupancy being surveyed.
Another reported disadvantage with the
home network was the long response times. The
response time was regarded to be too long for
several otherwise desired functions, e.g. the
security camera at the front door and the
automatic hall lamp, which turned on the lamp
when the away lock was deactivated.
Sometimes - however, not always, it took several
minutes after the residents entered their home
before the light was on.
2.6.
In this section the households' revealed opinions
about the technology in their homes will be
reviewed along with the different components
constituting the model of the concept usefulness
described in the introduction to this chapter and
depicted in figure 2-1, which is referred to in the
following discussion.
Usability
The overall usability is separated into two
distinguished structures, viz. physical/technical
usability and cognitive usability. Further the
physical/technical usability consists of the user's
ability to expand, integrate, individualise and
upgrade the function.
Ability to expand
Some of the respondents would appreciate a
19
possibility to expand the system on their own,
typically by installing new functions. This would
improve possibilities to choose between
functions and to differentiate the functions by
price. One respondent mentioned that it
seemed to be a bit peculiar that no new services
had been launched during the time of their
occupancy.
Ability to integrate
A fact is that the home network cannot be
integrated with other systems or applications.
Many of the respondents have electronic
calendars, e.g. mobile phones or PDAs
(Personal Digital Assistant). But, since the
calendar in the home network cannot be
synchronised with other electronic calendars
they did not use it. On the other hand, if they
were able to synchronise, it would have been a
very useful function. KLAMER (2002) reported
similar findings.
No resident used the e-mail function.
One reason is that one could not read or send
attachments. Another reason was that the
respondents already had one or several other email addresses and had no use for more.
Ability to individualise
Most of the respondents mentioned they would
have appreciated if they could have been able
to select their own service package and only
pay for the selected functions. On the other
hand, as one of the households of
Ringblomman remarked, this may lead to a
situation when no one pays for any function.
However, it was markedly emphasised
20
that the idea with a home network is a good
one. This kind of technology will indeed
become more common in the future, but this
particular system has not fulfilled the demands
on uptime and response time.
Ability to upgrade
Most of the respondents pointed to the fact that
it should have been possible to put a larger
responsibility on the resident for the
maintenance of the technology, e.g. for
upgrading and booting the system. But, at the
same time, there must be a possibility to call a
serviceman, if the fault cannot be remedied by
the residents themselves. The resident needs the
opportunity to choose whether to take on the
responsibility for the maintenance or not. It
should not be possible to force a resident to
take this responsibility if he or she does not want
to.
Cognitive usability
The graphical user interface (the GUI) of the
home network was generally perceived to be
intuitive, easy to learn and to remember. Most
of the respondents never used the manual. They
knew what to do when sitting in front of the
screen.
In the late 1990s a group at North
Carolina State University proposed seven
general principles of universal design (STORY et
al., 1998). These principles were intended to
cover all areas of design and are equally
applicable to the design of interactive systems.
One of the principles is about simplicity and
intuition, regardless of prior knowledge or
experience, language skill or level of
concentration of the user. The design needs to
support the user's expectations. It should not be
unnecessarily complex and should be organised
to facilitate access to the most important areas.
These principles was fulfilled to a great extent
with the particular graphical user interface
installed in Vallgossen and Ringblomman. One
should bear in mind that similar principles was
known much earlier though. KEIJER (1980) cites
JONES (1978) who emphasised that the manmachine dialogue should simulate the human
dialogue as much as possible, in terms of
expectation, prediction and implication. The
possibility of experimenting with the program
was considered an important possibility. Finally,
the user interface should be designed in order
to generate over all confidence. The user needs
to feel that his problem or desire is in safe
hands; he or she will, if the user interface is
systematic, predictable and consistent.
Accessibility
The terms affecting accessibility are response
time, set-up time and availability. In addition
availability consists of up-time, mean time to
repair and mean time between failures. How
these terms affect accessibility will now be
discussed, based on the results from the 2005
interviews.
Response time
The response time of a function turned out to be
an important component of the accessibility of
the home network or a function. Two typical
examples are the security camera at the front
door, available both in the Vallgossen and the
Ringblomman, and the touch screen, installed
in Ringblomman only.
The respondents in Ringblomman
pointed out that it took too long time to engage
the security camera. The time lapse between the
moment a visitor activated the security camera
till the residents were able to reply was long
enough to cause a visitor to believe that the
resident was not at home. The idea with a
camera picture of the person who wants to pay
a visit was found perfect, but the system was too
slow to be useful.
The usefulness of many functions in the
home network was influenced by the poor
writing possibilities of the touch screen. Using
the touch screen to produce an e-mail or an
appointment in the calendar was tedious. Many
of the residents in Ringblomman would have
preferred a separate keyboard. In Vallgossen,
the reason for not using these functions, on the
other hand, were due to a boringly long set-up
time.
Another kind of revealed dissatisfaction
with the response time was the residents'
inability to perform their tasks by using the
home network. Many of the respondents in
Ringblomman mentioned that it took too long
time to browse around. It ought to be as fast as
an ordinary PC, otherwise it was not interesting.
Set-up time
Set-up time is defined as the time required for
the users to gain access to the functions in their
home network. The respondents made clear
that the hardware, i.e. the laptop computer and
21
the touch screen, were the crucial parts of the
home network and decided the actual range of
use of the system.
In Vallgossen, there was only one socket
in each flat connecting the home network; other
sockets could only be used for the Internet. The
laptop computer had two different partitions,
causing a person to restart the computer every
time to switch between the Internet and the
home network. If one had to move oneself
physically and to restart the laptop computer, in
order to connect to the home network, it would
never have been done.
In Ringblomman, on the other hand, it
was not necessary to login to the home network.
The touch screen was always connected to the
home network. The respondents could easily
watch the weather forecast, the clock and the
indoor temperature, without any fixes.
In Vallgossen most of the residents had
their home network laptop computer shut off or
converted to surfing on the Internet. This was to
be interpreted that there is no need to visit the
home network. Some respondents mentioned
that it probably would have been better with a
dedicated screen for the home network and a
separate laptop computer for surfing on the
Internet.
Uptime
Some parts of the hardware were remotely
controlled by the support organisation, e.g. the
residential gateway in each flat and the touch
screen in Ringblomman flats. In the beginning
some problems were identified; they needed to
be rebooted regularly. Most of the faults were
22
taken care of by booting the gateway or the
touch screen. After about a year the support
organisation began to boot all gateways and
touch screens as a preventive measure. This
was done during the nights minimising the
influence on the residents' usage. Some of the
respondents mentioned that they had stopped
calling the support organisation, as they had no
absolute need for the home network. They
could wait a couple of days. One day or
another the system will be up and running.
No respondent in Vallgossen mentioned
any problems with the home network. This
could have been referred to the function of the
very terminal. The households login to the
home network once or twice a week to access
the booking system. By having a shorter set-up
time - set-up was possible by touching the
screen when passing by - in Ringblomman, the
residents were more often aware of the system
and if it was up and running or not.
Mean time to repair
This term was earlier described as the expected
or observed time to repair of a system or
component and to return it into normal
operation. A good example showing why this is
important is the respondents' opinions
regarding the separate energy measurement
and billing flat by flat. In the very beginning
some initial problems with the energy
monitoring functions were noticed. The system
was designed assuming inhabitants in all flats,
which was not the case. Thus, it became
impossible to compare one's own usage of
energy with the average use in the building. On
top of that, in Ringblomman all water meters
were defective. The respondents revealed that
most of them adopted a wait-and-see policy
until the system operated as promised. In 2005
many stated that the energy metering system
was of no use for them. They could not rely on
the energy measurement from the beginning; to
use it later on was highly influenced by the
previous mistrust.
Mean time between failures
A substantial part of the respondents in
Ringblomman mentioned that their initial
expectations on the home network system were
never fulfilled from the beginning. Better uptime
and higher reliability than experienced were
anticipated.
Context
Last but not least the context. Context is a
background aspect, albeit not less important,
and is related to usefulness. Cultural
experience, knowledge, gender, economy, trust,
all aspects contribute to specific user's ability to
experience usefulness. Within the framework of
this analysis the notion of context cannot be
explored very much further. Only the trust
aspect will be touched upon briefly, in order to
give a hint of what can be observed during such
in-dept interviews conducted for the presented
investigation. Further reading on aspects of
context and usefulness, see e.g. DAVIS et al.
(1989) and PREECE et al. (2002).
It was revealed during the interviews that
the trust of technology is important for the
residents' acceptance of the offered not so well
understood functions of a smart home. An
individual can have use for a function and even
consider it to be useful; still he or she does not
set about to use it because lack of trust. Trust
can be oriented towards the function itself:
"probably it will not function", or towards
oneself: "I will not be able to manage it".
In Vallgossen the residents have two
locks in their front door operated by the same
key. The upper lock activates the away-lock
function. The functions (electricity, alarms, water
supply) due to be activated or deactivated when
the away-lock is on or off, respectively, were
highly appreciated by the residents in the
Vallgossen. These functions were believed to
increase safety and the proper behaviour of the
away-lock over time would enforce trust.
Eventually, trust is supposed to infuse a sense of
well-being into the individual, which could be
said to be the ultimate goal of the different
functions of a smart home.
Almost the same functions were activated
in Ringblomman via the away-lock. The
difference at Ringblomman in comparison to
Vallgossen was that the electronic lock was
operated via a keypad. If the resident wished to
leave her home without activating the away-lock
she just had to close the door to lock it. To
activate or to deactivate the away-lock it was
necessary to dial a code. First, dialling this code
was found laborious. Second, the keypad did
not always respond appropriately. Sometimes
the resident had to dial the code three or four
times before the lock activated or deactivated.
Due to this uncertainty and inconvenience some
residents in Ringblomman installed ordinary
23
mechanical door locks; the electronic lock was
not to trust.
Another example on the importance of
trust was discussed above in the section mean
time to repair.
2.7. Conclusions
The qualitative approach in the evaluation of IT
functions in homes was found to be useful and
appropriate for the objective of the
investigation. It gave a large room for variation
in response. Small and individual details, which
very likely would have been lost in a
questionnaire, were allowed to be expressed by
the informants and could be captured by the
interviewer.
Although the IT functions were not a
conclusive reason for buying a particular smart
homes flat, they still have a specific value for
those living in it. Functions contributing to
increasing safety and security (e.g. alarms) and
to saving time (e.g. booking of common
facilities) were throughout the most appreciated
functions. However, the residents' revealed
opinions showed the importance of the usability
and accessibility in order to appreciate its
usefulness. It is not enough only to fulfil the
user's demands or wishes expressed in terms of
functions, equipment and services. The
usefulness of the matter, in its full range, has to
be considered.
The home networks installed in
Vallgossen and Ringblomman, totally 185 flats,
were not installed elsewhere before. Tests of the
24
home networks were performed only in
laboratory prior to the site installations. As a
consequence, not all possible faults and errors
were detected in advance. The residents were to
find them. Coping with a new and unstable
technology is not the best environment for
imposing trust between the user and the system.
Despite lacking functionality in many respects
the comprehensive two projects with their
unique smart homes installations have offered a
tremendous opportunity to learn lessons in
order to be able to answer the question: "What
requirements are really put on technological
systems if they are to be used in a fully
unpredictable environment, your own home?"
The technology in this area is still
developing. The accessibility and usability of the
technical systems have to be continuously
improved. The functionally of the technology
must be secured over time. Cheap maintenance
and easy upgrading of the technology will be
important issues for the future of smart homes.
Even if these conditions are met
satisfactorily, a guarantee cannot be set that the
technology as a whole will be accepted and
asked for. Another issue enters, put aside in the
present analysis but of utmost importance, viz.
the consumers' willingness to pay. The residents,
eventually, have to pay the cost for the
technology and the services. Smart homes will
remain a hot issue for the future, provided that
functional quality is pursued and the users'
benefit and comfort are kept in focus.
The authors gratefully acknowledges the
financial support of JM AB, the Swedish
research
and
development
program
Competitive Building and the Development
Fund of the Swedish Construction Industry
(SBUF). The academic supervision of the
research project is partly funded by the Swedish
Formas Research Council.
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