The Smart Home Simulator: a Semantic Mixed-Reality application for domestic environments configuration

This paper introduces the Smart Home Simulator (SHS), a mixed reality application supporting the design and the configuration of the smart objects (SOs) within a domestic environment, with the aim of answering to specific users’ needs. SHS finds its most suitable exploitation in the field of Ambient Assisted Living, providing tailored services to the home dwellers. In particular, it exploits the virtual and mixed reality features, which allow the simulation and testing of different SOs solutions. Smart objects are made interoperable taking advantage of semantic web technologies, which provide a comprehensive overview on the relevant aspects that must be considered to tailor the proposed solution to the end user’s needs, also including his/her health condition. The SHS is useful both during the “static” design phase, during which the Smart Home designer places the various SOs within the domestic environment, and during the “dynamic” design phase, in which the end user can actually test the SOs interaction through a properly simulated virtual scenario. Finally, the paper reports two use cases in order to show the potential of the herein introduced application.