A research team led by the University of Bradford in the UK is finding ways to overcome security, reliability and safety problems that can ruin the smart-home experience.

Hardware, software and communication failures can occur randomly, posing serious risks to users. For example, smart homes could experience fire caused by overheating if thermostats, controlled via smart devices, malfunction.

Such devices found in the home are vulnerable to cyber attacks due to their limited processing capabilities, making them low hanging fruits and easy targets for hackers. 

In the healthcare industry, cyber-attacks can directly affect patient safety, while failed power supplies can potentially endanger people’s lives. Other problems with smart technology include power outage, conflicts between co-located applications from different vendors, servers going down or network connectivity issues.

The University of Bradford (www.bradford.ac.uk) has teamed up with the Universities of Sheffield and North Texas and the National University of Singapore on its research into IoT and AI.

PhD students in Bradford’s School of Computer Science, AI & Electronics are leveraging computational intelligence to ensure the safety and security of IoT-based systems. Sohag Kabir, associate professor at the school and his team are researching how to make people’s digital world more safe and secure.

IoT technology, including smart speakers, smart plugs, smart kitchen appliances and video doorbells, can be vulnerable to cyber attacks and cause damage, such as fire, in people’s homes.

“You can control everything in your smart home from your mobile phone through different apps,” Kabir said. “This is the emerging world of the internet of things. We are trying to make these things safer. Companies of smart technology focus on the function and not what could go wrong. Safety and security take a backseat.”

Kabir said continued research and development efforts were needed to make resilient and energy-efficient IoT devices with extended battery life.

“Consumers need to be educated about the benefits, risks and responsible use of IoT technologies,” Kabir said. “The benefits and value of smart technology far outweigh the risks, but everyone needs to approach them with caution.”

He has called for regulatory bodies, researchers and industries to work together to overcome the limitations and meet the challenges of such technology.