Home Occupancy Agent: Occupancy and Sleep Detection

Abstract

Smart homes of the future will have a number
of different types of sensors. What types of sensors and how
they will be used depends on the behaviour needed from the
smart home. Using the sensors to automatically determine if
a home is occupied can lead to a wide range of benefits. For
example, it could trigger a change in the thermostat setting to
save money, or even a change in security monitoring systems.
Our prototype Home Occupancy Agent (HOA), which we present
in this paper, uses a rule based system that monitors power
consumption from meters and ambient light sensor readings in
order to determine occupancy. The agent is also able to determine
when the occupants are asleep, and thus provide the potential
for further energy saving opportunities.