Automatic trigger generation for rule-based smart homes

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“Automatic trigger generation for rule-based smart homes” by Chandrakana Nandi and Michael D. Ernst. In PLAS 2016: ACM SIGPLAN Workshop on Programming Languages and Analysis for Security, (Vienna, Austria), Oct. 2016, pp. 97-102.

Abstract

To customize the behavior of a smart home, an end user writes rules. When an external event satisfies the rule's trigger, the rule's action executes; for example, when the temperature is above a certain threshold, then window awnings might be extended. End users often write incorrect rules. This paper presents a technique that prevents errors due to too few triggers in the rules. The technique statically analyzes a rule's actions to determine what triggers are necessary.

We implemented the technique in a tool called TrigGen and tested it on 96 end user written rules for openHAB, an open-source home automation platform. It identified that 80% of the rules had fewer triggers than required for correct behavior. The missing triggers could lead to unexpected behavior and security vulnerabilities in a smart home.

Download: PDF, slides (PDF), slides (Google Slides).

BibTeX entry:

@inproceedings{NandiE2016,
   author = {Chandrakana Nandi and Michael D. Ernst},
   title = {Automatic trigger generation for rule-based smart homes},
   booktitle = {PLAS 2016: ACM SIGPLAN Workshop on Programming Languages
	and Analysis for Security},
   pages = {97-102},
   address = {Vienna, Austria},
   month = oct,
   year = {2016}
}

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