This project focuses on lowering the barrier to the adoption and use of home networking by designing human-centered technologies that support end-users in their networking tasks. Specifically, this project will combine Networking and Human-Computer Interaction research to develop and evaluate a new networking architecture for the home, as well as tools built upon this architecture. The overall goals of the work are to (i) understand the sources of complexity and user frustration in home networks, (ii) extract core architectural principles that promote simple, usable, robust, and secure networks in environments that share the unique characteristics of the home, and (iii) develop and evaluate architectures and tools that embody those principles. The design and development of a network architecture that addresses the deep usability problems of home networking will make it possible for end-users to provision, configure, and manage their networks, and facilitate the adoption of applications that require sophisticated network infrastructures.
Broader Impact: The results of this work will be integrated into coursework, research projects, and degree programs at the two collaborating universities, and will influence the training of both Networking and HCI researchers and professionals.
