This paper advocates for a Human-Centered Interaction Design perspective in the design of gamified Digital Twins to support sustainability. We propose a conceptual framework for socio-technical system design grounded in three goals: supporting a sense of purpose, enhancing awareness, and fostering engagement. We discuss the applicability of the framework through two case studies (smart home management and elderly assistance) chosen to illustrate its relevance across distinct application domains.

This paper explores the development of a Digital Twin (DT) of a smart home, which allows end users to monitor the state of appliances and their energy consumption. The DT will also make it possible to simulate different ‘what-if’ scenarios related to the automations defined by the end users through End-User Development. Simulations will allow users to evaluate in advance the effects of appliance activation in terms of energy consumption and, after their analysis, to approve the deployment of automations in the domestic environment or modify them as suggested by the DT.

Automations can help support the achievement of various types of goals in a smart home. We present an architecture enabling the possibility of supporting user goals consistent with the principles of a circular economy (such as energy saving and waste recycling). It includes meta-design tools for creating automations that better fit user needs and controlling their execution through innovative modalities based on conversational agents and augmented reality, and a home Digital Twin useful for supporting relevant simulations and analytics to understand the potential impact of specific automations on aspects relevant for circular economy.