Smart Homes 2.1 (add on to last nights request)

Delivered March 26th, 2018. Contributors: Alexandra Y., Kiersten M., Ashley N., Tarik T. and

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Smart Tech for Persons With Disabilities - Food Management

Five technologies that can help disabled persons with food management are artificial intelligence, smart grocery planning and shopping, alarms and sensors, smart fridges, and smart nutrition. These five technologies can provide disabled persons with independence, increased safety, and an overall better quality of life. Some examples of these technologies include smart fridges, smart kitchen scales, voice-activated assistants, and barcode scanners that order groceries for you.

Details regarding each technology have been entered into the food tab of this spreadsheet. For each technology, you will find an explanation of what the technology is, a few companies that currently make items that have that technology, and an overview of how that technology helps disabled persons be more independent.

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Smart Tech for Persons With Disabilities - Safety

There are a variety of technologies and apps available which provide safety-related assistance geared towards people with disabilities. Many of these technologies provide users with a level of independence they may not otherwise have available, while also ensuring their physical safety. Some examples of this are wearable alert devices, fire alarms for the hearing impaired, and smart locks, doorbells, and canes. 

On the attached spreadsheet, you will find details for five different technologies such as those referenced above. For each, I have identified companies which currently offer these technologies, the details of how the technology works, and information on how/why it offers the user independence. With the exception of one, I have provided between three and five companies currently offering each technology. For smart cane devices, there are currently only two companies offering this specific product, each of which has been identified in the attached spreadsheet. 

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Smart Tech for Persons With Disabilities - Money

Five technologies that can help disabled persons with money management are smart watches, budgeting apps, online and mobile banking, automatic bill pay, and document scanning. These technologies can assist disabled persons maintain financial independence by automating bill processes, sending reminders, making banking accessible to those who cannot go to a physical bank, and scanning financial documents for safekeeping. 

Details regarding each technology have been entered into the money tab of this spreadsheet. For each technology, you will find an explanation of what the technology is, a few companies that currently make items that have that technology, and an overview of how that technology helps disabled persons be more independent.

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Smart Tech for Persons With Disabilities - Personal Care

Five technologies that can help disabled persons with personal care are electronic toothbrushes, external thermometers, smart bidets, touchless hygiene products, and alarm clocks for hearing impairment. These technologies can help disabled persons maintain independence by using touchless technology to eliminate physical barriers in grooming processes, assisting people with hearing impairments to wake up on time and keep a schedule, and perform personal hygiene tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible for them to do on their own.

Details regarding each technology have been entered into the personal care tab of this spreadsheet. For each technology, you will find an explanation of what the technology is, a few companies that currently make items that have that technology, and an overview of how that technology helps disabled persons be more independent.

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Smart Tech for Persons With Disabilities - Household Maintenance

We have identified five smart technologies that assist persons with disabilities in the area of household maintenance (e.g. repairs, painting, cleaning, lawn care, requesting service etc). We have included our findings in rows 12-16 on the 'House' tab of your spreadsheet. In this section, we have covered the following technologies:
 
- On-demand home services apps. 
- Robotic exoskeletons. 
- Lawn care robotics. 
- Doorbell alert systems. 
- Standing wheelchair technology. 

You can access your spreadsheet here. Below, you will find a deep dive of our methodology. 

METHODOLOGY In order to fulfill your request, we first began by analyzing recently published articles from trusted media sources, press releases, and corporate websites to survey the overall smart technology landscape targeted at the disability demographic. 

We made sure to note any technologies which were being promoted specifically for use in household maintenance. However, the scope of existing assistive technologies which focus on household maintenance specifically was a bit limited, since most of the technologies we uncovered were being implemented in multi-functional ways. 

Therefore, in some cases we have made a couple of assumptions for how the technology could be used, and we assume is very likely being used, with regard to home maintenance. 

You can access your spreadsheet here. 

conclusion In closing, we have identified five smart technologies that are used to assist disabled people with their household maintenance. These technologies include: on-demand home services apps, robotic exoskeletons, lawn care robotics, doorbell alert systems, and standing wheelchair technology. 

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Smart Tech for Persons With Disabilities - Home Care

For people with a disability, performing everyday house chores can be complicated. These chores include cleaning the floor, washing clothes, mowing the lawn, setting the temperature inside the house, watering plants, folding clothes, switching lights off and so on. Thankfully, some smart technologies are available that can assist in all these tasks, either through the use of robots or via remote control through a phone with an application. Some devices can even be voice activated remotely. The names and information about 5 of these technologies have been included in the attached document, in the "home care tab". 
Technologies that assist people with disability at home1. Robot Lawn Mower 

The technology used in this case are cordless robotic lawn mowers that can be set using an app. They work with sensors that allow the mowers to move around obstacles in the yard. They also move around narrow areas using AI algorithms. The machines work within a perimeter that has to be set beforehand by the owner and the frequency of the mowing can also be set. Some companies that make this technology are Honda, Husqvarna, Worx, Robomow, Denna. These robots allow disabled people to have a tidy lawn without any efforts.

2. Connected Homeware 

This type of technology allows the user to control home appliances through an app on their smartphone. Devices such as fridges, ovens, washers and dishwashers can be connected to the app and the phone using internet. Through the app and by using the WiFi connection, it is possible to remotely activate the washer and the dishwasher or the vacuum cleaner and set their programs. Whilst LG's range of connected appliances is called Smart Thinq, Apple and Samsung also have their own products: Apple’s HomeKit and Samsung’s SmartThings. Apple's Home app allows the user to control a whole range of compatible accessories from a phone or a tablet, somewhat limited to lighting, temperature, windows, locks. Samsung's SmartThings technology allows the user to connect with some of the brand's washing machines and vacuums using an App. This technology works with the principle of IoT (Internet of Things), which uses sensors on the device, and communicate with a software in the Cloud through an Internet connection. The software then send the processed information to the user via an interface (an app). When the user sends a command to the device, it works in the other way, still using the interface, software, connectivity and sensors. These solutions allow people with disabilities to control their appliances remotely without the need to move, which can be difficult for some of them.

3. Self Watering Flower Pot 

This technology uses built-in sensors that monitor the plant and adjust the irrigation according to the light, temperature, soil moisture and fertilizer levels. It is equipped with Bluetooth connectivity, runs on batteries, and the data collected is sent to a smartphone or tablet. This technology helps people with disability to take care of their plants without tending to them every day. This system allows taking care of them for a month. Companies like Parrot, Xiaomi, or Nimbus.

4. Folding Robots 

A new technology has figured out how to have robots fold clothes, according to their ideal shape. Two of the brands are Laundroid and FoldiMate. The technology used by Laundroid consists of a visual analysis of the garment, which is then recognized and folded according to a computer program. The technology used by FoldiMate allows the user to adjust the folding method based on preferences, item type and sizes. These are the only two companies that have prototypes about to hit the US market.

5. Floor mopping robots 

Floor mopping robots can use water to scrub floors, with various cleaning options. The technology uses sensors to allow the robot to avoid stairs, obstacles, and clean hard-to reach places. Multiple cleaning modes can be used beforehand. The brand iRobot makes the Braava model. Other brands are iLife and eCovacs.
Other smart devices Window cleaning robots are amongst other devices that can be used to help people with disability in their house chores.
ConclusionThere are a variety of device and smart applications that can now be deployed to assist people with disability around the house. They all have the same objective which is to make them as independent as possible. A list of 5 technologies has been supplied in the attached document under the tab "house care".

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Smart Tech for Persons With Disabilities - Medical

There are a variety of technologies and apps available which provide medical assistance geared towards people with disabilities. Many of these technologies provide users with a level of independence they may not otherwise have available. Some examples of this are seizure-tracking watches and mattress pads, cell phone applications to track medications and medical history, and taxi-services specifically designed for transporting patients to and from doctor appointments. 

On the attached spreadsheet, you will find details for five different technologies such as those referenced above. For each, I have identified companies which currently offer these technologies, the details of how the technology works, and information on how/why it offers the user independence. With the exception of one, I have provided between three and five companies currently offering each technology; for the final example, UberHealth, Uber is currently the only company which offers this specific technology, and is therefore the only company name provided. 