Data Collection and Analysis Tools: From the Home to the Cloud

In the previous chapter, we introduced a variety of sensors capable of generating a number of data types, however, their data only become useful once they are analyzed and interpreted. In the supportive smart home, this analysis and interpretation is what will initiate actions. For instance, if we assume a digital light camera is like an eye, it will ‘see’ whatever is within its range, but by itself, it is unable to accomplish much more than that. Yet, just like our eyes need to be connected to our brain for us to interpret and potentially act, the video camera also needs to be connected to a computer (or have a person literally watching what the camera is seeing) for any action to occur. To be really concrete, a human eyeball may ‘see’ a lion, but the eyeball would likely get eaten unless it were attached to a person’s—capable of analyzing and interpreting what the eyeball is seeing—and identifying it as a physical threat. The brain would then hopefully cue said person to take some fast, defensive action away from the lion.