Smart homes technologies are and will remain a new idea for quite some time. Research is taking place to understand the potential advantages that smart homes can achieve, however So far most of the research has centered around graphical interface control, with very little thought going into alternate user interfaces, the most notable being the use of voice, which would prove to be a very convenient method of automating your home appliances.
When using a GUI the homeowner can usually only controls appliances from a display screen and is unable to automate the smart home technology elsewhere in the household. For a voice application Bluetooth is a good wireless standard to use because it can connect easily to a PC and as long as the user stays within 10-100 metres of the computer the smart home application can be controlled.
Voice control would be particularly advantageous to those with disabilities, for example, a visually impaired user would find it difficult to use a GUI and somebody with motor impairments would have a tough time using a keyboard and mouse, however deaf users would clearly struggle to use a speech-enabled system, so I would recommend including a GUI and voice control functionality.
There are a number of voice applications out there in industry, for instance, when you top up your mobile phone or telephone the bank you are taken through a series of steps and can select from a number of options that were programmed into an automated voice application. Typically these applications are designed using VoiceXML on a standard PC, which can then be accessed from any telephone via a pre-determined number.
Maybe there is potential here to control your appliances simply by picking up a phone and selecting from a series of options. I hope this gives you something to think about at least.
Please visit http://smarthomeguru.blogspot.com for more on smart homes
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