How to Keep Balance between Interaction and Automation? Toward User Overall Positive Experience of IoT-Based Smart Home Design

Advances in Internet of Things (IoT) technologies have had a profound impact on the experiential tasks of the smart home, particularly automated tasks supported by sensors, embedded systems, and communication devices that are capable of autonomously performing a range of tasks previously performed by humans. However, the improvement in the level of smart home automation has not necessarily promoted more meaningful, relaxing, and positive experiences for users. This is largely due to the fact that it often overlooks the meaningful involvement of humans in the process. This paper proposes a conceptual design model for a smart home through two studies that aim to maintain the benefits of automation while ensuring positive experiences with user engagement tasks. Study 1 involved qualitative data using semi-structured interviews to understand what tasks lead to positive user experiences (P-UX) during the use of the smart home and what kind of factors influence these positive experiences. Study 2, using an online questionnaire, quantitatively investigated the varying impact of these factors on positive experiences in both automation and human–machine interactions. The results of both studies show that there are nine factors that influence positive user experience in the smart home, with instrumentality, convenience, and flexibility playing an important role in the positive experience of automation, aesthetics, immersion, association, and memory, having a greater effect on the positive experience of user engagement in interactions, and customization and emotion contributing to both paradigms. In future smart home design, this model will help designers rationally allocate tasks between automation and human–machine interaction as a way to enhance the overall positive user experience.