INTEROPERABILITY MODEL BASED ON INTERNET OF THINGS FOR SMART HOMES

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a group of assorted technologies working seamlessly together. The recommended approach to IoT is to support interoperability in the midst of heterogeneous devices. The challenges associated with smart homes is interoperability in areas such as message exchange, difference in protocols used, energy consumption, antenna design, how to implement adaptive techniques for dynamic situations in the face of heavily constrained resources and security. The objectives of this research are: - To determine the state of device interoperability in Smart Homes, to establish the role of interoperability in Smart Homes in the Internet of Things environments, determine the factors that affect interoperability of devices in smart homes and to develop a model for interoperability in smart homes. The research contributes to the overall concept of making smart homes a reality and enhance acceptance and deployment of heterogeneous Internet of Things devices. The scope of the study included smart home users and experts who deploy smart home devices in Kenya. Two theories adopted were the standards based theory for service providers and voluntary theory which guided the research. The population covered the users/owners and the experts/vendors or technical staff who deploy smart devices in homes. The data collection methods were interviews and observations. Purposive and snowball sampling was adopted. 18 users and 7 vendors were used. The data was analyzed to derive the mean and standard deviations using statistical package for social scientists and presented in tabular form, pie charts, bar graphs and line graphs. Critical factors found in the investigation were: - Technical, Organizational, Semantic and Legal metrics are critical in the deployment of interoperability of devices in smart homes. A model was developed and a test device implemented to prove viability of the model. The model developed meets the basic needs of the users within a heterogeneous environment however there is need for further education to users on available smart home devices solutions in view of interoperability.