Testing for smart homes that are secure, private and sustainable.
ASSISTANTS (Assessing Software Security, prIvacy, and SusTAiNability through Testing techniqueS) measured the software that runs smart-home devices, let people state privacy preferences in plain language, turned them into policies the devices actually obey, and tested the whole chain on a real home-automation platform.
Concluded on 28 February 2026
- Duration
- 27 monthsDec 2023 – Feb 2026
- Work packages
- 4 of 4 closed
- Deliverables
- 9 of 9 delivered
- Milestones
- 3 of 3 reached
From code to a device that says no
The project is one chain. Each link was built in a work package, and the pilot proved the links hold together.
- Sustainability and security metrics
- Code analysis tools
- Labels and certification manifest
- User preference in plain language
- Translation to XACML policy
- Decision and enforcement
- Integration in the home platform
- End-to-end tests
27 months, plan against outcome
Dashed bars are the original 24-month plan; solid bars are what happened. WP1 and WP2 ran exactly on schedule. A three-month delay in contracting the home-automation integrator moved the pilot, and an approved extension to M27 absorbed it.
- Planned
- Actual
- Deliverable
- Milestone
- Originally planned date
- Extension M25–M27
WP1Security and sustainability labelsT1.1Sustainability metricsT1.2Policy-based security evaluationT1.3Security and sustainability evaluationWP2Smart Home DashboardT2.1Smart Home Dashboard designT2.2Dynamic data usage controlT2.3Data Privacy DashboardWP3PilotT3.1Pilot requirementsT3.2Pilot design and integrationT3.3End-to-end evaluationWP4Management, dissemination and exploitationT4.1Website and social mediaT4.2Scientific disseminationT4.3Open-source and industry outreachOn time
T1.1 to T2.3 closed in the month planned. MS1 came at M12, and MS2, the Data Privacy Dashboard, at M16 together with D2.3.
Shifted
T3.1 took two extra months, T3.2 started at M18, T3.3 moved to M20–M27. D3.2 was still ready at M22, ahead of its M24 date.
Unchanged
No change to objectives, scientific scope or budget, and no deliverable or milestone dropped.
What each work package delivered
Measure and certify
WP1, M1–M12
Environmental, economic and social metrics; a formal link between Security-by-Contract and XACML; an analysis toolchain validated on the Rust firmware of an indoor camera.
WP1 in detailConfigure and enforce
WP2, M5–M16
The Smart Home Dashboard design, usage control with revocable data envelopes, and the Data Privacy Dashboard that turns plain-language rules into XACML.
WP2 in detailIntegrate and test
WP3, M13–M27
Integration in the Smartotum platform, a Rust smart light, a privacy manager on the gateway, and acceptance tests on camera, light and policies.
WP3 in detailShare and reuse
WP4, M1–M27
Papers at ARES, SAC and FGCS, the BASS 2024 keynote, workshops, open repositories and this website.
PublicationsLatest news
-
M27
Project closed
ASSISTANTS concludes
ASSISTANTS concluded on February 28, 2026, at the end of a three-month extension. All four work packages are closed, the nine deliverables from D1.1 to D3.3 have been delivered and the three milestones have been reached.
-
M27
Task completed
Successful Completion of T4.2
Task T4.2, Dissemination Toward the Scientific Community, was completed on February 28, 2026, together with the project.
-
M27
Task completed
Successful Completion of T4.1
Task T4.1, Website and Social Media Profiles Management, was completed on February 28, 2026.
-
M27
Task completed
Successful Completion of T3.3
Task T3.3 was completed on February 28, 2026, with the delivery of D3.3, Pilot Evaluation, and the achievement of Milestone 3. The acceptance tests were run on the pilot integrated in the Smartotum home-automation platform, checking sustainability, policy compliance and security.