This update about the first activity from this project includes expert interviews and site visits.
From November 2018 to March 2019, we ran the first stage of this research, which consisted of conducting 31 expert interviews from six different types of institutions: government, academia, industry, civil societies and independent research institutes, private sector and intergovernmental organisations.
From our data collection, we were able to critically examine the sustainability risks of smart home technologies alongside their benefits. In addition to identifying top barriers for their adoption, we uncovered policy recommendations to accelerate their uptake and the most promising market applications.
Furthermore, and complementary to the research interviews, we visited 37 retailer stores across eight boroughs in the Greater London Area, as well as stores located in Brighton and Hove, Bristol and Manchester. The site visits allowed us to identify what smart home technologies are commercially available on the market and which have the most presence in stores.
Banner photo credit: Fancycrave on Unsplash