HoloHome: An Augmented Reality Framework to Manage the Smart Home

This paper introduces the HoloHome, an Augmented Reality framework which aims to provide new means of interaction with the Smart Home and its components. HoloHome integrates multiple technological paradigms encompassing Internet of Things, Ambient Assisted Living, and Augmented Reality to offer the ultimate tailored comfort experience for the Smart Home’s inhabitants including frail elderlies and people with mild cognitive disabilities. The main purpose of the HoloHome is to provide a Mixed Reality environment implemented on the Microsoft HoloLens, to allow the user interaction with the Smart Home devices and appliances through the Augmented objects. HoloHome tackles the issue of real world locations of the objects and alignment of the virtual objects on the real objects within the spatial environment, using Vuforia image processing engine. It also defines the modality of the interconnection between the Mixed Reality application and the distributed network of smart devices through the communication channel of WiFi-enabled microcontrollers. Two use cases depict the HoloHome interaction methods and functionalities in two typical scenarios: regulating the domestic devices – such as turning on/off light – through the Augmented Reality framework, and providing visual hints and clues to help the users with mild cognitive impairments to find the objects they need easily.