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Introduction
'Smart
home' technology can allow disabled
and older people to retain a level of independence within
their home which previously would have been impossible. Simple
everyday tasks such as opening windows, drawing curtains or
even opening doors, might appear to commonplace but for many
individuals these functions are almost impossible due to their
impairments. But the technology is not the full answer. We have become very technology oriented to the extent that technology is being used to solve all sorts of problems that it cannot have a hope in doing. Just because technology exists and can be of use, does not mean it definitely will be of use. If statistics are to be believed, and for that a number of convincing studies, then people abandon technology more often than they use it.
This site outlines some of the features of 'smart' technological
housing as well as telecare, assistive technology and considers the
role of dependable technology in assisting older and disabled
people in their daily lives. It looks at what dependability
means within a home context and how technology can be considered
as integrally a dependability feature. A number of papers
are available on line that extend and explore these themes.
The site also is here to promote projects that are undertaking
useful work in the area of assistive technology and or home
technologies and or inclusive design, for more info see here.
The
site acts as a dissemination vehicle and a paper repository for Guy Dewsbury to
ensure the ideas contained in the work he and others
undertook at Lancaster
University on the DIRC
and EQUATOR projects
and currently in Barnet Social Services reach a wider audience. These papers
are predominantly concerned with telecare, older and disabled people,
good (universal, inclusive etc) design, dependable
design, dependable technology, appropriate and acceptable
technology, ubiquitous computing, remote sensing, as well
as general issues that are of importance for those designing
and installing "smart homes" for disabled and older
people.
Guy
Dewsbury (the website originator/author) works as a telecare coordinator for Barnet Council in London and previously worked as a post-doctoral Research
Associate for Lancaster University as well as a consultant
on Assistive Technology designs for disabled or older people.
He has undertaken a considerable number of assisted dwelling designs
to support residential living (over 100). Currently he is
working with Xerox, but he has also worked with Microsoft Research, Age Concern Carnforth, Barrow In Furness Age Concern and Dundee Social
Work Department on the DIRC Project; MHA Care Group (Penrith)
on designs for older people in residential accommodation and
Aberdeen Social Work Department on the design of residential
accommodation for adults with severe learning disabilities
(Severe autistic spectrum) (see What's new Jan- August 2004 for more
details). In all the designs a motto rings true, "Small
is Beautiful". The best designs, and the ones that work
in a proactive manner, are those that use minimal technology
interventions. This increases the dependability of the system
as well as ensuring that support roles of care staff are not
compromised by the system. Guy also works closely with Goldshield
Electronic Security, SAS
(Secure Alarm Services), Tynetec,
Scantronics,
EIB, ABB,
Possum,
SRS Technology, Tunstall,
as well as a number of other key producers of technology,
housing providers, architects, care providers and USERS!!!
Although not all of this work is documented on the site, you
will find most details are available in the Articles
page and through some of the links in the Projects
pages.
"Smart" or automated home technology cannot and should not replace the requirement for carers to be present but can allow individuals
to actively interact with their environment so that they are
able to control some features that were previously impossible
to control. It is critical that we do not allow human services to be replaced by using technology to do these tasks as this will lead to a number of problems. Human contact is the best way of determining a person's health, the visual contact can determine if a person is ill, depressed etc, technology should not try to do this. "Smart home" technology can also be
used to monitor the health
of the occupant and report abnormalities or emergencies
to the relevant authorities. The occupant of a "smart
house" can also receive alerts or warnings when a problem
within the home is detected.In
the future 'smart' homes will possibly become more discrete,
detecting activities and actions
of an individual preguessing their actions and providing the
appropriate responses. The future is Smart homes and so it
the present. There is little doubt that 'smart homes are a
potentially excellent idea and potentially very useful. A
crucial thing with the reliance on technology is the necessity
to be realised that sometimes small is beautiful and sometimes
old is better than new. 'Just because it exists' is not a
good excuse for general implementation. We need to ensure technology
is dependable from a software, hardware and social perspective
before we begin using it en masse! Although much of the site is concerned with Guy's current work and academic pursuits, the
site also contains archive files that describes the software
tool that was devised by Robert Gordon University, Scotland, in conjunction with:
The University of Porto (Portugal): The University of Reading
(UK); Edinvar Housing (Scotland); The Tayside Consortium (Scotland);
European Installation Bus Association [EIBA] (Brussels) and
ABB UK. The software was
devised to design smart houses, so that the needs of the potential
occupant are considered throughout the whole design.
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