iThem: Programming Internet of Things Beyond Trigger-Action Pattern

With emerging technologies bringing Internet of Things (IoT) devices into domestic environments, trigger-action programming such as IFTTT with its simple if-this-then-that pattern provides an efective way for end-users to connect fragmented intelligent services and program their own smart home/work space automation. While the simplicity of trigger-action programming can be efective for non-programmers with its straightforward concepts and graphical user interface, it does not allow the algorithmic expressivity that a programming language has. For instance, the simple if-this-thenthat structure cannot cover complex algorithms that arise from real world scenarios involving multiple conditions or keeping track of a sequence of conditions (e.g., incrementing counters, triggering one action if two conditions are both true). In this exploratory work, we take an alternative approach by creating a programmable channel between application programming interfaces (APIs), which allows programmers to preserve states and to use them to write complex algorithms. We propose iThem, which stands for intelligence of them—internet of things, that allow programmers to author any complex algorithms that can connect diferent IoT services and fully unleash the freedom of a general programming language. In this poster, we share the design, development, and ongoing validation progress of iThem, which piggybacks on existing programmable IoT system IFTTT, and which allows for a programmable channel that connects triggers and actions in IFTTT with versatility.