In 2023, a group of four Computer Information Systems (CIS) students, Zane Wilkison, Blake Arnold, James McGovern and Braeden Etienne, decided their senior project would include USI’s Minka house.
“The issue that our team plans to solve would be that the smart devices in the Minka House are not connected under one management system. Because of this issue, not all devices are able to communicate with each other,” said Wilkison. “As of right now there are multiple management systems in the Minka, which are Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and Josh.AI. Some of the devices are not compatible with these management systems.”
Wilkison said because these management systems rely heavily on Internet access and the Cloud, the smart-home system will deactivate if the Internet within the Minka goes out. He and his team are creating a multi-white paper research report of the different management systems that are available on the market and to see what is best for the Minka house.
He said their interest in the Minka arose from the fact that the lab relies on the Cloud. “A problem that emerges with this arrangement could emerge when Evansville’s network is inconsistent with market changeovers,” said Wilkison. “A situation like this could compromise the Minka and its potential residents. We wanted to make sure the smart home can function within the local network without needing Internet access.”
The students also chose the Minka for their senior project because it provides the most flexibility and creativity. “The MINKA will be able to test our abilities of computer sciences and CIS knowledge and apply it to help our community,” said Wilkison. “Our team believes that our project will improve the Minka as a learning lab and potentially a framework for future projects.”
In summary, Wilkison said they believe that this research project will provide the Minka Advisory Board options that will overall improve the lab and its smart home capabilities. “Our research will allow all or most of the smart devices in the Minka to communicate with each other,” he said. “A resident of the Minka will be able to issue commands to a selected voice assistant and have the possibility to control any aspect of the Minka.”
