Conversational Assistant for an Accessible Smart Home: Proof-of-Concept for Portuguese

There is a continued increase in the integration of intelligent devices in our homes. Making these new complex ecosystems accessible poses great challenges, stemming from the very nature of the Home (several spaces separated by walls), the diversity of inhabitants (e.g., children, adults, older adults, persons with temporary or permanent impairments), the tasks they perform (e.g., cooking) or their native languages. In this context, an assistant capable of spoken and written conversation with the inhabitants can be a valuable help in making a household more accessible for several groups of persons, if not for all. This paper presents information regarding the development and first results of such an assistant targeting an Accessible Smart Home for a Portuguese speaking family with some accessibility needs.