Affiliations: Computer Science Research Institute and School of Computing and Mathematics, Faculty of Computing and Engineering, University of Ulster, Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland, UK
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Michael Poland, Computer Science Research Institute, University of Ulster, Shore Road, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, BT37 0QB, Tel.: +4428 9036 8918; E-mail: Poland-m@ulster.ac.uk.
Abstract: Smart Homes offer potential solutions for various forms of independent living for the elderly. The assistive and protective environment afforded by smart homes offer a safe, relatively inexpensive, dependable and viable alternative to vulnerable inhabitants. Nevertheless, the success of a smart home rests upon the quality of information its decision support system receives and this in turn places great importance on the issue of correct sensor deployment. In this article we present a software tool that has been developed to address the elusive issue of sensor distribution within smart homes. Details of the tool will be presented and it will be shown how it can be used to emulate any real world environment whereby virtual sensor distributions can be rapidly implemented and assessed without the requirement for physical deployment for evaluation. As such, this approach offers the potential of tailoring sensor distributions to the specific needs of a patient in a non-evasive manner. The heuristics based tool presented here has been developed as the first part of a three stage project.
