“Let There Be Light!” : Comparing Interfaces for Homes of the Future

As smart devices proliferate in the home and become universally networked, users will experience an increase in both the number of the devices they can control and the available interaction modalities for controlling them. Researchers have explored the possibilities of speech- and gesture- based interfaces in desktop scenarios, but it is also necessary to explore these technologies in the context of an intelligent environment, one in which the user’s focus moves off of the desktop and into a physically disparate set of networked smart devices. We report results from a lab study where six families tried various traditional and non-traditional interfaces for controlling lights in the home. Results indicate that speech is the preferred interface for controlling lights. More importantly, the study indicates location awareness and gaze tracking are vital when building a usable intelligent environment system for the home, even though users did not perceive added value from these technologies.