Toolkit Design for Building Camera Sensor-Driven DIY Smart Homes

In a do-it-yourself (DIY) smart home, users can implement desired features by combining sensors and actuators. Specifically, effective sensing of home situations is crucial for building these features, and several studies have explored the use of cameras as home sensors to capture more specific scenarios. Camera sensors offer the potential to use various elements based on visual information as sensing triggers, presenting possibilities distinct from commonly used IoT sensors. These unique characteristics may necessitate new support for the DIY smart home-building process. In light of this, our doctoral research aims to (1) understand the unique user experience of camera sensors in DIY smart home building, (2) explore the potential and challenges of using cameras as sensors, and (3) propose a design framework for a toolkit that supports the camera sensor-driven DIY smart home building experience. This doctoral colloquium paper discusses our research plans, which synthesize knowledge on toolkit design to support the effective use of camera sensors in building DIY smart home features.