The idea of applying semantic web technologies to the area of smart homes (SH) and building automation has resulted in a number of research activities and initiatives that have been recently developed. This article starts with an overview of ongoing work towards embedding semantics into home automation services. We then highlight the problems not considered by previous solutions. The core value of the work presented here is contained in a novel goal-driven approach for building automation service allocation and control. A new concept of semantic homes (SeH) and its architectural vision is another significant contribution. The comparison between existing and suggested solutions is rounded off by a use case scenario from the area of ambient assisted living.

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iLoc is an ultrasound ranging based indoor localization system which is deployed at the iHomeLab laboratory. For example, the system can be used for visitor tracking: Visitors get an electronic name badge comprising an ultrasound transmitter. This badge can be localized with an average accuracy of less than 10 cm deviation in its spatial position, by means of reference nodes distributed in the lab rooms. Depending on the position update rate, a small battery may suffice for several month of tag operation. Other advantages when compared to existing ultrasound ranging systems (like CRICKET, CALMARI, BAT) are for example the simple deployment with its 2 wire "IPoK" bus system. In this paper we report on the system itself and on the participating of iLoc at the first EvAAL indoor localization competition.

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