Research project develops intuitive user interfaces and open standards for smart home applications

Oldenburg/Hanover. Controlling all household appliances and building management systems optionally via remote control, speech or gesture control, smartphone or even by means of smart textiles – that is the scenario which is currently being developed in the UHCI (Universal Home Control Interface) research project. In addition, the goal is to also make it possible to personalize audio reproduction by media systems. As a project
partner, the Project Group for Hearing, Speech and Audio Technology of the Fraunhofer IDMT will demonstrate at this year’s CeBIT trade fair in Hanover, Germany, how the audio signal of a TV set can be adjusted to the personal hearing preferences of users using a set-top box. Individual hearing loss can also be compensated in this way.

The German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy initiated the UHCI project with the goal of developing universal user interfaces for all devices, technologies, manufacturers and applications. Open standards also open up the market for smart home technologies to small and medium-sized companies and therefore create new opportunities for German companies in particular. In addition to technical realization, the UHCI project is also investigating the practical suitability and acceptance by future users of these technologies.

The project has been running since April 2013 under the leadership of Facit Research, a subsidiary of the Serviceplan Group, and will be funded for a period of two years. Other partners are ART+COM AG, Connected Living e.V., DiscVision GmbH, LOEWE AG, Uman GmbH, the Technical University of Berlin as well as the Berlin University of the Arts. Initial research results will be presented at the CeBIT trade fair in Hanover, Germany, as part of the exhibition stand of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy in Hall 9 (Stand E24).