No abstract

Connected thermostats (CTs) often save less energy than predicted because consumers may not know how to use them and may not be engaged in saving energy. Additionally, several models perform contrary to consumers' expectations and are thus not used the way they are intended to. As a result, CTs save less energy and are underused in households. This paper reviews aspects of gamification and serious games focused on engaging consumers. A gamification and serious games framework is proposed for saving energy that is tailored by a fuzzy logic system to motivate connected thermostat consumers. This intelligent gamification framework can be used to customize the gamification and serious game strategy to each consumer so that fuzzy logic systems can be adapted according to the requirements of each consumer. The framework is designed to teach, engage, and motivate consumers while helping them save electrical energy when using their thermostats. It is described the proposed framework as well as a mockup that can be run on a cellphone. Although this framework is designed to be implemented in CTs, it can be translated to their energy devices in smart homes.

No abstract

Preface At its core, information security deals with the secure and accurate transfer of information. While information security has long been important, it was, perhaps, brought more clearly into mainstream focus with the so-called "Y2K" issue. The Y2K scare was the fear that computer networks and the systems that are controlled or operated by software would fail with the turn of the millennium, since their clocks could lose synchronization by not recognizing a number (instruction) with three zeros. A positive outcome of this scare was the creation of several Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs) around the world that now work cooperatively to exchange expertise and information, and to coordinate in case major problems should arise in the modern IT environment. The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 raised security concerns to a new level. The international community responded on at least two fronts; one front being the transfer of reliable information via secure networks and the other being the collection of information about potential terrorists. As a sign of this new emphasis on security, since 2001, all major academic publishers have started technical journals focused on security, and every major communications conference (for example, Globecom and ICC) has organized workshops and sessions on security issues. In addition, the IEEE has created a technical committee on Communication and Information Security. The first editor was intimately involved with security for the Athens Olympic Games of 2004. These games provided a testing ground for much of the existing security technology. One lesson learned from these games was that security-related technology often cannot be used effectively without violating the legal framework. This problem is discussed-in the context of the Athens Olympics-in the final chapter of this handbook. In this handbook, we have attempted to emphasize the interplay between communications and the field of information security. Arguably, this is the first time in the security literature that this duality has been recognized in such an integral and explicit manner. It is important to realize that information security is a large topic-far too large to cover exhaustively within a single volume. Consequently, we cannot claim to provide a complete view of the subject. Instead, we have chosen to include several surveys of some of the most important, interesting, and timely topics, along with a significant number of research-oriented papers.

No abstract

The users' behavior in a house impacts the amount of electrical energy consumption in the electrical products of the household; therefore, energy consumption can be optimized by using sense, smart and sustainable products (S 3 ) as Social Products (SPs) for saving energy in the housing. The SPs communicate between devices and consumers through game design elements known as gamification that can yield behavioral changes in users. Furthermore, behavioral models can shape human behavior to motivate the individual to achieve a specific target, like saving energy. For the energy consumption reduction in households, it is proposed a structure with SPs that uses a gamification Human Machine Interface in each device to communicate between products and consumer in a Smart Home (SH). In this descriptive paper, it is proposed a three-steps structure that applies to every social product. First, it requires the classification of the type of end-user, the behavior, and usability problems when the product is deployed. Then, through the analysis of fuzzy logic, either type 1 or type 2, it is proposed which housing gamification elements best tailors the interface for each appliance. Finally, the application sends stimulus to individuals to test their performance and motivation to use each social product. After every social product has its proper gamification, it is possible to have interconnected SPs to get a Gamified SH. Besides, this Gamified SH could communicate with other Gamified Smart Homes to obtain a Gamified community.

No abstract

No abstract