Smart home environment aimed for people with physical disabilities

Abstract

In this paper we analyze the possibilities and methods for using assistive technologies with focus on the people that cannot regularly control different aspects of their home environments. This paper presents a smart home environment platform for assisting people with physical disabilities. Four modules are included in the platform that enable end users of the system to complete everyday activities without additional assistance. 3D cameras are used to capture facial landmarks and expressions in order to map the user intent into a specific action in the smart home environment. Actuators are triggered to complete actions based on the detected and mapped facial expressions. The system is targeted at users that suffer from motor disabilities and are unable to use their hands and feet to control the surrounding environment.