| dc.description.abstract | A growing topic in modern society is the concept of smart homes, which consist of smart
automated devices, such as home appliances, that interact with each other and users. These
devices could, however, be quite expensive, and automating a home could thus become an
economical setback. This Bachelor’s thesis examines how a home-automation system could
be developed to automate existing devices, providing them with smart technology, in a more
cost effective way rather than replacing them entirely.
The resulting home-automation system consists of adapters that enable existing nonsmart
devices to be automated. Adapters have the ability to control power supply to an
existing device and interact with each other through a Bluetooth mesh network, allowing
for an extensible system. A user can control these adapters with an Android application,
either directly connected to the network of adapters, or through the Internet with the
help of a gateway installed in the network. Furthermore, the application provides several
utilities for managing the home-automation system and increasing user convenience.
Several features of the resulting home-automation system were evaluated by test
groups, and considered to be an improvement in their homes. Other features were considered
to be of less importance and possibly causing inconvenience. The overall assessment
of the system was considered to be positive. However, there is room for improvement. | sv |
