Azhar has received a warning about getting retrenched because he cannot produce work at home. He constantly feels distracted and tired. During the discovery inspection, he realised his light flickers badly, and outdoor sounds cause reverberation in the enclosed room. Azhar mentions when he works, he feels like resting. When he rests, he thinks about completing work.

Jason is in primary school. After school, he always sits in the living room and plays TV games (his favourite Plants vs Zombies). Recently he got into an argument with his mum for lying about his game addiction. His mum wants Jason to first shower, complete an hour of homework, then be allowed game time.

A water sensor was installed in the shower. A customised focus study mode was programmed for Jason. It optimises his light, aircon, music with an inbuilt timer. Only after showering and 1 hour of sitting at the study chair (tracked by presence sensor), Jason can activate his game with the automated tablet.

Jason came home and showered immediately instead of delaying for hours. He was able to study for 1 hour consistently.

Grandma forgot her handphone. She went out in the middle of the night and got lost as she cannot remember her address. The family was worried, stayed up all night searching for her, and reported to the police.

A smart door lock was installed at her home. It can track whenever grandma entered or exited the house. If grandma opens her gate without a handphone, a voice reminder will play by the speaker “Take your phone, it is still charging”.

Grandma always forgets to bring her handphone, these reminders saved Grandma from the distress of getting lost.

Constance is in her 50s. Every night she constantly wakes up feeling thirsty and unbearably warm. She would switch on her bright light, aircon, and drink a big cup of water. Her large water intake causes multiple visits to the toilet. She feels terrible when she wakes up.

To track her sleep cycles, a sleep tracker was installed with sensors that measure temperature, toilet time, and duration. Whenever she experiences a hot flush episode, she can press a button that automatically closes her windows and doors with aircon switched on a timer for her duration of her hot flush. A dim night light will be turned on, bright enough to drink water and visit the toilet.

She can fall back asleep faster and feels more refreshed during the day. Her husband is also less disrupted by the bright lights.

Susu the helper is not monitored during the day when the owner is out. The owner complains that Susu does not clean the rooms, and opens door cabinets drawers that are not allowed to be touched. The owner requested no usage of CCTV but still wants to track activity in the house.

Multiple sensors were installed around the house. Light switch activity was monitored as an estimation of if someone was in the room. The power consumption of cleaning devices was tracked. For example, if a vacuum cleaner was used, the owner will know the time spent cleaning in which room by its socket plugs.

With the knowledge of being monitored, Susu’s performance improved.

Martin has been visiting doctors and taking medication for a year because of his runny nose. His nose always feels itchy which has affected his concentration.

3 Hypotheses were made: Cat in the house, food sensitivity or fumes from the coffee shop under the block. Air quality sensors were installed in each of his rooms. A smart log was implemented for Martin to track his runny nose.

Martin’s runny nose coincided with bad air quality (PM10 and VOC) usually before his meal times. Martin concluded that it was the fumes from the coffee shop. He shifted his room and bought better air purifiers. He was thankful to still be able to enjoy good food and his pet cat.

Fiona always blamed herself for having poor self-control of her food addiction and laziness to exercise. She wanted to lose weight badly. During the discovery session, we noticed pastries and sweet drinks on the living room table. When asked, Fiona mentioned it always reminded her of her lack of discipline.

An automation dashboard will show her weight loss journey in a graph. She started replacing her cookies and sweet drinks with plain water and a yoga mat. She schedules 2 workout routines daily, each session lasting for 10mins. At the appointed time, her workout music will play with her lights and curtains opening automatically. Her friend subsequently agreed to the same routine, joining in by video chat.

Fiona felt proud of herself that she had healthier habits. Instead of blaming herself, she recognised that environment and having habits were huge factors that helped her weight loss journey.

John rented out rooms with electrical bills included for extra income. He discovered his electrical bills almost increased by 50%.

Smart sockets and presence detectors were installed to monitor activity and electrical consumption.

John discovered high consumption in 1 room. Upon investigation, bitcoin mining machines were running 24/7. John managed to renegotiate with his tenant and increase the rental price.