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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsThe Lab of Things (LoT) was a Microsoft Research platform for running connected-device field studies in homes and other buildings. Built on HomeOS, it was designed to help researchers deploy applications across multiple study sites, monitor them remotely, update experiment software, and collect study data. It was a research platform, not a consumer smart-home product; Microsoft marks the related HomeOS project as concluded and archival.
What the Lab of Things was
Microsoft Research introduced LoT in July 2013 as infrastructure, software, and services for research using custom-built and off-the-shelf connected devices. Its intended users included researchers and educators studying technology in real homes or similar environments.
The platform addressed practical challenges of field research: combining different devices, deploying the same study in multiple locations, and managing installations after researchers had placed them in participants’ homes. Microsoft described LoT as a way to share data, code, infrastructure, and study participation among investigators.
How Lab of Things and HomeOS fit together
HomeOS provided the underlying local software layer for interacting with devices and running applications in a home. Lab of Things added research-oriented deployment and coordination features around that layer. In the study model described in a 2013 demo paper, each participating home had a Home Hub running HomeOS, communicating with sensors and hosting the study application.
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What researchers could use it for
Microsoft’s historical descriptions include studies of energy monitoring, occupancy sensing, and adaptive heating. A 2015 Microsoft Research retrospective also describes work involving sensor-based accessibility, monitoring older residents, smart-home application evaluation, and university teaching. These are examples of the platform’s research and educational uses, not evidence of current product support or adoption.
What its design offered
- Device integration: HomeOS supplied a local device abstraction, while LoT used an open-driver model intended to let researchers add support for devices beyond those already supported.
- Multi-site deployments: Researchers could design an application to run in several homes or other study sites rather than treating each installation as an unrelated setup.
- Remote oversight: Microsoft described a monitoring portal for near-real-time site status.
- Remote changes and data collection: An update service was intended to let researchers change experiment software and gather study data remotely.
These points describe the historical design of LoT. They do not establish that its portals, cloud services, or update endpoints still operate.
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Is Lab of Things still available?
Microsoft Research’s HomeOS project page says the project has concluded and that its pages are maintained for reference and archival purposes. That makes LoT best understood as a legacy research project. The available Microsoft descriptions do not establish that LoT’s hosted services remain operational, that its software is currently maintained, or that modern retail devices will work with it.
Anyone considering a present-day study should verify software availability, operating-system requirements, driver support, security, and data-governance arrangements before relying on the historic platform. An archived description of an intended capability is not confirmation that the capability can be used today.
Rank #3
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How to think about LoT today
For historical context, LoT is an example of an effort to make connected-home field studies easier to deploy and coordinate across households. For evaluating a contemporary research setup, the useful comparison points are device integration and driver extensibility, multi-location deployment, remote monitoring and updating, data collection, and the ability to share code or infrastructure. Do not assume that a modern device— including a Z-Wave device mentioned in HomeOS materials—will work with archived LoT software without verifying compatibility.
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