In the research project uTRUSTit, we look at users’ trust to different “things” that will communicate over the Internet of Things. This includes activities like opening a medicine cabinet and ordering new medicine via the Internet. Recently the project ran several user evaluations at Alma’s House at the Aker University Hospital.

Alma’s House is a model of a future smarthome and is an excellent place to try out the prototypes from the uTRUSTit project. Since we are also concerned that the Internet of Things can be used by everyone, part of the group of people that we recruited included people who have vision impairment and also people with dyslexia.

The user evaluations consisted of several scenarios where a user would do some task with the help of the Internet of Things. The prototypes should give users a better overview and control over where information goes over the Internet.  Read more about the project—including a video of the prototypes in action—on the Aftenposten’s website. 

The evaluations are complete in Norway, but they continue in Vienna, Austria and will also begin in Chemnitz, Germany. After all the evaluations are done, they will be analyzed to look for possible improvements and to make guidelines for others that will make their own things for the Internet of Things.