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This paper presents the design and implementation of a simple software-based home control platform used for the automatic control of audio/video devices. The system facilitates integration of various residential sensors, with an accent on users' localization and presence detection. For the presence detection and localization we utilize three, the most frequently used technologies: visual (3D camera), audio (Microphone array) and passive infrared (PIR sensors). The home controller interprets information about user's position as a command issued to a list of UPnP/DLNA rendering devices (PC, TV or Audio system). Current distance and user's position can activate, abort or change video presentation, pause and continue playback, amplify sound or silence it automatically with regard to information retrieved from sensors and actions described in a so-called ambient behavior patterns. The way the system automatically responds to detected positions is controllable and changeable, and it is defined by executing XML documents which represent the behavior patternsscripts. By using the easily accessible user interface, users are able to choose one of the available scripts or to prepare a new one, and to set up different audio/video modes in a room, similarly to switching profiles on mobile phones. The system is not limited to presence detection and audio/video control. Performing simple modifications of behavior scripts, the controller can interpret data from different kinds of sensors in an unobtrusive way of controlling various home appliances.

As the number of computer-based systems and consumer gadgets is growing, users are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the requests for attention coming from this variety of devices. In addition, technology has quickened the pace of life and work to the extent that interaction between people has become more frequent. Dealing with both social and device-driven interruptions has become one of the important goals of context-aware systems of today. This paper proposes a context-aware platform that can help mitigate the negative effects of interruptions in human work and living. The platform uses a scalable set of sensors to estimate user availability in the home or office environment. This information is announced to possible interrupters (e.g., household members and software application) by using a web portal, lighting effects, or interfaces to a home automation system or any other interested entity in the local network. This paper presents several contributions to the field. Platform architecture is considered scalable enough to fit to a variety of today's consumer devices and smart home systems. The experiments were conducted to show the effectiveness of the platform usage within a living room area, as opposed to the traditional office contexts where the availability tends to be easier to determine. The last contribution is related to the novel method and the evaluation of the use of lighting announcements of availability instead of the traditional inefficient busy flags.