A System for Controlling Assisted Living Environments Using Mobile Devices
Paulo A. Condado, Fernando G. Lobo · 2015 · ASSETS '15: Proceedings of the 17th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers & Accessibility · doi:10.1145/2700648.2809839
Summary
This paper presents EasyHouse, a smartphone-based home automation system designed to be accessible for people with motor disabilities while remaining usable by all family members. The system addresses a gap in the smart home market: most domotic (home automation) products target affluent consumers and neglect accessibility for people with disabilities. What distinguishes this research is the first author's direct lived experience—Paulo Condado has cerebral palsy with mild motor coordination and speech disabilities. The system was designed based on his own needs and tested in his actual home over an extended period. This real-world deployment, rather than laboratory simulation, provided authentic usage data and revealed practical considerations that controlled studies might miss. The technical architecture uses X10 protocol devices (affordable power-line communication modules) controlled via a Raspberry Pi server. The Android mobile app connects to this server to control lights, TVs, heaters, and other appliances. The interface uses a room-based navigation metaphor: users drill down through listviews to select a room, then see devices in that room with their current status. Critically, users can adjust the size of all interface elements to accommodate their motor coordination needs—those with fine motor difficulties can enlarge touch targets while users without disabilities can use default compact layouts.
Key findings
Users with motor disabilities completed home control tasks faster using EasyHouse than with a standard X10 remote control. For a complex multi-step task, users with mild motor disabilities took 13-14 seconds with EasyHouse versus 18-20 seconds with the remote. The performance gap was most pronounced for users with motor impairments—the non-disabled user showed minimal difference between methods. A month-long real-world deployment tracked Paulo and his wife Tânia's daily usage. Paulo used the system 88 times with 10 errors; Tânia used it 84 times with 14 errors. Both quickly learned the system. Notably, Paulo exclusively used EasyHouse (replacing remote controls entirely) because the smartphone was always with him, while Tânia treated it as a complement to existing controls. Qualitative feedback showed users with motor disabilities rated EasyHouse as "very easy" and "easier" than traditional methods, while the non-disabled user rated it merely "easy" and "equally difficult" as alternatives. Both users with motor disabilities voluntarily enlarged the interface elements during the familiarization period, validating the importance of this customization feature.
Relevance
This paper demonstrates the value of researcher-as-user methodology in accessibility research. Having a researcher with the target disability lead the design process produced a system that addressed real rather than assumed needs. The willingness to deploy in a real home—accepting the messiness of actual daily use—yielded insights unavailable from controlled studies. For practitioners, the core design insight is broadly applicable: adaptive interface sizing through a single preference rather than multiple accessibility toggles. The room-based navigation metaphor, borrowed from accessible text-entry systems, shows how interaction patterns from one accessibility domain can transfer to another. The finding that accessibility features benefited users with disabilities without hindering others supports the case for universal design in home automation. As smart home technology becomes more prevalent, ensuring these systems work for people with motor impairments becomes increasingly important for independent living.
Tags: home automation · smart home · motor disabilities · cerebral palsy · mobile accessibility · assistive technology · independent living · user-centered design · Android · X10 protocol