The lights are on, but no one’s home: A performance test to measure digital skills to use IoT home automation

Abstract

As the Internet of Things (IoT) is making its entrance in people’s homes, differences in the skills to operate smart home devices need to be considered. This study examined (1) the levels of digital skills to use IoT home automation among Dutch adult citizens and (2) differences of these skills over gender, age, and education. Therefore, a performance test with actual real-life tasks was conducted among a representative sample ( N = 99) of the Dutch adult population to measure digital skill levels. The participants performed tasks while using interconnected smart home devices in a virtual test environment. The results revealed that the Dutch adult population possesses insufficient data and strategic skills to use smart home devices to its full potential. Even less likely to benefit are the elderly and less educated; they showed the lowest levels of data and strategic skills. In addition, the elderly lack operational skills to use IoT home automation beneficially.

Mapping a Decade of Smart Homes for the Elderly in Web of Science: A Scientometric Review in CiteSpace

“…It also anticipates and provides heating and hot water in advance based on daily activities and triggers the heating of equipment in advance. For many years, researchers have been investigating the use of information and communication technologies to automatically and intelligently control heating systems and intelligent air-conditioning systems [47][48][49], as well as to visualise energy use. The home's automated energy control system can help seniors automate the management of electrical devices in their homes, greatly improving convenience, achieving energy savings, and reducing the cost of living.…”