In this paper, we integrate a mobile service robot into a smart home environment in order to improve the search of objects by a robot. We propose a hierarchical search system consisting of three layers: (1) local search, (2) global search and (3) exploration. This approach extends the sensory variety of the mobile service robot by employing additional smart home sensors for the object search. Therefore, the robot is no more limited to its on-board sensors. Furthermore, we provide a visual feedback system integrated into the smart home to effectively inform the user about the current state of the search process. We evaluated our system in a fetch-and-delivery task, and the experimental results revealed a more efficient and faster search compared to a search without support of a smart home. Such a system can assist elderly people, especially people with cognitive impairments, in their home environments and support them to live self-determined in old age.
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