SenseBox: A low-cost smart home system

Smart home technologies are getting acclaimed for providing a wide variety of functionalities - security, appliance control, HVAC control and remote monitoring. Installation cost and interoperability issues have restricted the adaptability of these technologies. In this demo paper, we demonstrate the design of an interoperable prototype of our smart home system, SenseBox using low-cost embedded device as part of an NSF I-Corps project. We integrated an off-the-shelf commercially available inexpensive ($12) hardware (PogoPlug). We paired commercially available PIR sensors, door sensors and moisture sensors with our smart home system prototype to monitor human activities. We deployed our prototype and collected real-time activity data traces from a retirement community center. We articulated the SenseBox development, integration and testing challenges and insights along with real deployment experience.