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Smart Homes Introduction The Internet of Thing is the future of digital revolution expected to grow rapidly. It is the network of digital devices equipped with a sensors and computer chips, transmitter that allow devices to communicate with each other. One of the internet of thing that dramatically advance in the recent years is smart homes. In smart homes, lighting, heat and electronic devices, lighting, heating, security and home appliances such as refrigerator can be controlled remotely and monitored by phone, computer. It is one of the new development in information technology that has potential benefits, however; there are some security and ethical issues of the use of smart home. Background: Smart home began to develop in 1970s and 1989. Apparently, smart home devices are suitable technologies for users like older people who desires for an independent living. By using smart home devices that have connection with internal home network, homeowners can remotely control home appliances and other digital devices by using their tablet or smartphone. Smart home also enables the automation of heat, light, ventilation, security, heat or air conditionings for houses and home appliances. To provide these automatic and remote-control functions, the network of sensors, monitors, appliances, devices are built to connect with each other. Appliances and devices of smart home technologies that can be controlled remotely by computing devices such as tablets, smartphones, laptops consist of washing machines, TV, microwaves, fridges, windows, lighting, curtain, garage door, air-conditioning. Sensors and monitors are another smart home technologies that enables smart home to detect environment factors such as light, motion, temperatures. These sensors and monitors of smart home contribute in the reduction of energy. For instance, if the sensor of smart light switch detects no presence of people in the house, it would automatically turn off or reduce the brightness of the light. With the automation and remote control of smart home, homeowner can save their home energy. Current Use Smart homes are used for “control of system, emergency help, temperature monitoring, water and energy use monitoring, automatic lighting, door surveillance, water temperature control, window blind and curtain control, property securing, online links” (Malcolm J. Fist, 2003). As the current use of smart home, Family Hub is the controllable appliance that allow users to use their smartphones to check the status of refrigerators. Another smart home product that has the function of temperature monitoring is smart thermostat. It has sensors to detect the presence of people in the house to adjust the heat or the air conditioning. When the house is empty, smart thermostat is automatically turned down the heat or the air conditioning. The setting of smart thermostat can be controlled remotely by using smartphone because its connection of internet. For lighting in smart home, smart lighting that was designed with the purpose of saving energy. By using smart lighting, users can adjust the lighting color, brightness and schedules with their internet devices like smartphone, tablets. In addition, smart home is designed for older people with the functions of “memory joggers and diary facility, lifestyle monitoring, medical monitoring and dementia care” (Malcolm J. Fist, 2003). Health monitoring devices has the function of lifestyle monitoring that keeps track of user’s activity and health condition like blood pressure, heart rate. With health monitoring devices, users especially older people can evaluate their lifestyle to improve their health.

Security Even though smart home offers many advantages that make life easier and more convenient, there are some concerns of security and private risks that associate with smart home technologies. In smart home, all devices are interconnected by internal house network that enables a device to transfer, receive, store and collecting data. Therefore, inadequate software protection, lack of transport encryption, insecure web interface and insufficient authorization of smart home cause it to be susceptible to cyber-attack. For instance, with poor passwords that users selecting, attacker can guess the password to get in the account of users. Another target of cyber-attack is the home automation hub, which is the central hardware that connects to all wire or wireless devices through network that allow command devices to remotely control other devices and home appliances. Because of the lack of the security, without authorization, attackers can access to the hub and other devices of smart home that connects to the hub. Moreover, another concern of smart home is the digital traces that is left behind by users, which contain a large personal information like daily routine and activity of residents. By learning the resident’s daily activity pattern from digital traces, criminal like burglar would be able to predict when the resident is not home to perform the act of stealing. Furthermore, the personal profile of smart home devices stored can be collected by service providers. Service providers can use it with business intentions such as sending advertising or marketing products that users of smart home are interested based on the collected data from smart home devices. The personal data that service providers gain from the smart home device can possible be sold to another party. Since smart home associated with high risk of security, the acceptance of smart home has been carefully considered by many people especially older people.

Ethical and Social Implications Some concerns of ethical and social implications of smart home are social isolation, privacy, obtrusiveness, automation. Smart home affect personal communication that consists of social and economic activities. The social and economic activities include the way people contact to each other, shop, travel and work. This essential impact of smart home on personal communication enables the independent living for people. However, the use of smart home technology creates social isolation because of the replacement of receiving more care and support through people interaction. One of the smart home technologies that contributes to the reduction of social contact is personal health monitoring. Personal health monitoring serves as an emergency and caregiver to users. This smart device has led human caregivers to feel less obligate toward users. As a result, there will be less interaction between patients and medical personnel. Another contribution to the ethical and social implication of smart home is the obtrusiveness of smart devices. The visibility of the smart devices such as a tracking device that dementia patients carries when they wonder outside can put patients in danger for theft. With the convenience that smart home devices provide to users, there is the lost control over users’ privacy when using the devices. As people using personal health monitoring, the device collects personal data that record their body function, activities. Personal health monitoring can be controlled by third parties like nurses, whose role is to interpret the data generating from the device to users. The access of third parties lead to increase the probability of exploitation of personal data and undesired access to the devices. The additional problem of users’ privacy for

using smart home technologies is the increase of opportunities for government surveillance, which results the loss of privacy. Since many devices in smart home collect personal data, government and law enforcement can access and use the personal profile from devices for tracking, identification, monitoring, etc. This cause people of using smart home technologies to feel that they can be spied and tracked by the government any time. Finally, relying on automated decision of devices is another ethical issue of smart home. The decision that smart home devices executes are corresponded to its operational framework and parameter that is decided by service provider. As the result, the automation of device limit and influence users’ moral decision-making. For example, lifestyle monitoring pressures users to change their normal behavior and daily routine. Future Use Some further researches of smart homes consist of the developments of integrated and risk analysis tools for smart home technologies. Instead of having multiple remote controls or apps for different devices and home appliances in smart homes, the development of integrated tools would let users to have only one remote control that connects to all individual devices in the house. With the integrated tool for smart home, it is more convenient and easier to adjust devices, home appliances. However, the development of integrated tool is challenging, because a large storage, high computation capabilities and network bandwidth are required for a large amount of data that sent to the central server from all devices through network. In addition, to analyze the risk and harm of smart home devices, the risk analysis tools are developed for the future smart home devices. This tool would increase the understanding of the threat of software, hardware, users and information systems, which helps the decision-making process like choosing the right protective measure for devices. Conclusion: Many current uses of smart homes such as the remote control and automation of light, security, heat or air conditioning provide convenient and sustainable life to people. One of smart home devices that is designed for energy efficiency is smart light switch that can automatically turn off when there is no presence of people. Besides these functions, smart homes have health-monitoring applications that older people could tremendously benefit from. Lifestyle monitor, medical monitoring and dementia care functions of smart homes promote independent living for older people. Although smart homes providing people with many benefits, there are several security risks associated with the devices. These security concerns are the susceptibility of cyber-attack, digital traces, the access of service providers and government. The use of smart homes has also raised some ethical and social issues that include social isolation, privacy, obtrusiveness, automation. To enhance the security and function of smart homes, the developments of integrated and risk analysis tools have further studied.