Smart Home Futures: Algorithmic Challenges and Opportunities

Humans are increasingly spending their time indoors. This, along with higher wealth levels and rise of internet of things, has provided designers and planners the opportunity to reimagine living spaces. The smart homes that have arisen out of this reimagining come in many different shapes; but to gain widespread acceptance they have to increase the utility of building occupants in some meaningful way while not being intrusive. The most straightforward way of achieving this end goal is assumed to be through artificial intelligence. In this paper, we take a critical look at some algorithmic approaches that have been formulated to do so and the opportunities they will create in the short term. We also present some key challenges that must be overcome before these opportunities can be realized in practice.