smart home project team 5 - jamk · smart home project –team 5 villa for 5 older persons joke...
TRANSCRIPT
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VJ
International intensive program 2014 Finland
Smart Home Project –Team 5
Villa for 5 older Persons
Joke Feijen - Belgium
Visa Tolvanen - Finland
Maria Latva - Finland
Dave Veneman - Netherlands
Sandra Klietz - Germany
Frederica Zanotto - Italy
Denis Buda - Romania
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Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Objective ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4
3. Working methods ............................................................................................................................................................. 4
4. Personas ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5
4.1. Mia .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
4.2. Hedwig .................................................................................................................................................................... 5
4.3. Laura ....................................................................................................................................................................... 5
4.4. George .................................................................................................................................................................... 5
4.5. Yrjö .......................................................................................................................................................................... 5
5. Floor plans ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6
5.1. Floor plans before remodeling ................................................................................................................................ 6
5.2. Floor plans after remodeling ................................................................................................................................... 8
6. Technical solutions ......................................................................................................................................................... 12
7. Safety concepts ............................................................................................................................................................... 12
7.1. Fire and smoke alarm ............................................................................................................................................ 12
7.2. Burglar alarm ........................................................................................................................................................ 12
7.3. Water leak sensors ................................................................................................................................................ 13
7.4. Barrier free environment ...................................................................................................................................... 13
7.5. Contrasts ............................................................................................................................................................... 13
7.6. Induction stove with stove guard.......................................................................................................................... 14
7.7. Smart floor ............................................................................................................................................................ 14
7.8. Non-slip floor ........................................................................................................................................................ 14
7.9. Stairs ..................................................................................................................................................................... 15
7.10. Anti-scald device .............................................................................................................................................. 15
7.11. Hot water control in the shower ...................................................................................................................... 15
7.12. Sound detector alarm ...................................................................................................................................... 16
7.13. Airbag-vest ....................................................................................................................................................... 16
7.14. Heated stairs and paths ................................................................................................................................... 16
8. Health concepts .............................................................................................................................................................. 17
8.1. Toilet ..................................................................................................................................................................... 17
8.2. Shower .................................................................................................................................................................. 17
8.3. Sliding wall and sliding door .................................................................................................................................. 18
8.4. Infrared lights in bathroom ................................................................................................................................... 18
8.5. Adjustable mirrors ................................................................................................................................................ 18
8.6. Height-adjustable kitchen ..................................................................................................................................... 19
8.7. Sauna .................................................................................................................................................................... 19
8.8. Fitness room ......................................................................................................................................................... 19
8.9. Chairs in the living room ....................................................................................................................................... 20
9. Technical concepts ......................................................................................................................................................... 21
9.1. Turn on and off system ......................................................................................................................................... 21
9.2. Lock in the bedroom door ..................................................................................................................................... 21
9.3. Monitoring panel .................................................................................................................................................. 21
9.4. Switch-Box for basement ...................................................................................................................................... 22
9.5. Heating and air conditioning ................................................................................................................................. 22
9.6. IntraSonic Intercom .............................................................................................................................................. 23
9.7. Dayplanner ............................................................................................................................................................ 23
9.8. Samsung Smart TV ................................................................................................................................................ 23
9.9. Robomow .............................................................................................................................................................. 24
9.10. Elevator ............................................................................................................................................................ 24
10. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................. 25
11. Sources ...................................................................................................................................................................... 26
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List of Images
Picture 1. Fire alarm .............................................................................................................................. 12
Picture 2. Water leak sensor ................................................................................................................. 13
Picture 3. Stove guard ........................................................................................................................... 14
Picture 4. Induction stove ..................................................................................................................... 14
Picture 5. Non-slip floor ........................................................................................................................ 14
Picture 6. Winding stairs ....................................................................................................................... 15
Picture 7. Anti-scald device ................................................................................................................... 15
Picture 8. Shower .................................................................................................................................. 15
Picture 9. Airbag-vest ............................................................................................................................ 16
Picture 10. Toilet ................................................................................................................................... 17
Picture 11. Removable handle .............................................................................................................. 17
Picture 12. Stone seat in the shower .................................................................................................... 17
Picture 13. Infrared light ....................................................................................................................... 18
Picture 14. Adjustable mirror ................................................................................................................ 18
Picture 15. Sauna ................................................................................................................................... 19
Picture 16. Gym equipment .................................................................................................................. 20
Picture 17. Massaging chair ................................................................................................................... 20
Picture 18. Armi chair ............................................................................................................................ 20
Picture 19. Turn on and off system ....................................................................................................... 21
Picture 20. Monitoring panel ................................................................................................................ 21
Picture 21. Switch-Box for basement .................................................................................................... 22
Picture 22. Hot water radiator .............................................................................................................. 22
Picture 23. Intercom .............................................................................................................................. 23
Picture 24. Dayplanner .......................................................................................................................... 23
Picture 25. Smart TV .............................................................................................................................. 23
Picture 26. Robomow ............................................................................................................................ 24
Picture 27. Elevator ............................................................................................................................... 24
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1. Introduction
There’s an increasing number of aging people and people with special needs. This means that there’s
an increasing need for these Smart Home technologies. The main goal of Smart Home is to have an
independent life as long as possible in peoples’ own homes. Smart Homes include everything from
barrier free environment to safe equipment and technologies for monitoring people.
In Smart Home intensive program course 2014 we learned a lot about user centered design, smart
homes and about senior people and people with limitations in general together with the illnesses
they might have. We have to use this information in our project to design a house for such people.
2. Objective
Our task was to design a house for 5 senior people which do not have any disabilities at the moment,
but may have in the future. Things we have to keep in mind are that their muscle strength is fading
and their hearing and vision are decreasing. Dementia is also something that we need to be aware of.
It is not necessary to have all of the features now, but we should be able to add more in the future.
The house is an old villa which has a basement, ground floor, second floor and roof floor. The owner
of the villa wants to invite four of her friends to live there together. We need to rebuild the villa so
that each one of them has an own en-suit room including a bathroom. Her friends had a few wishes
concerning their future home. For example the ground floor should have winter garden and a dining
room for all residents and guests connected with a kitchen. The second floor should have a living
room which is big enough for playing games and watching TV for example. There also should be a
fitness room in the basement, an elevator going from basement to second floor and a roof floor
apartment. The residents also want to feel safe in their new home and they would like an easy to use
connection to the doctor if needed. The villa is located in Finland so we also need to take the Finnish
weather into consideration.
3. Working methods
We started working by discussing our objective together and talking about what really needed to be
done. At this point we already came up with some ideas, but we decided to wait a little bit longer
with the technical solutions. First we made a basic floor plan by putting post-it stickers on the big
paper and changing their order to see which would fit best for five older people. After this we
invented the personas and started working on the technical solutions together with finishing the
floor plans. For technical solutions we used the MoSCoW-method to see what we really need and
made them our priority. We compared different solutions by discussing about them together and
tried to come up with the best solutions for these five.
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4. Personas
The five people living in the villa don’t have any disabilities yet so we decided to make five characters
with all kinds of problems which may lead to disabilities in the future. We wanted to be safe so the
personas we made might have a little bit more problems than an average senior. With these
personas it was easier for us to think what we need to take into consideration when designing a
house for older people.
4.1. Mia Mia, a 67-year-old woman, is the owner of the house and used to be a family doctor so she is able to
take care of others at least for a time being. As a doctor, Mia is used to technology and is able to use
modern devices decently. She has some heart problems and her hearing is decreasing so she needs
headphones for TV so the sound in the TV doesn’t need to be unnecessary loud and she also might
need a hearing device in the future. If she goes totally deaf it is important to have light indicators to
tell her if an alarm goes off. Because of her hearing problem she likes to read a lot.
4.2. Hedwig Hedwig is a 68-year-old woman who used to be a chef at the restaurant and likes to cook. She is
overweight and her muscle strength doesn’t really compare to her weight. She has diabetes and
might have some problems in the future because of it. Her vision is also decreasing so she wears
glasses for reading. Because of her we need to be aware of sharp things and it would be good to be
able to adjust the toilet’s height.
4.3. Laura Laura is 67 years old and was a music teacher at high-school. She smokes a lot and has some
problems with her heart. Her vision is also decreasing which is why she wears glasses all the time,
needs to have devices with big enough numbers and good color contrasts in general.
4.4. George George is a 76-year-old man who used to be an electrical engineer. Being an electrical engineer he is
rather good with technology. He has Alzheimer dementia and he likes to walk around with his cane.
He can’t walk the stairs and will be in the wheelchair in couple of years. If the dementia advances
further it’s needed to have a curtain to cover the front door and a fence to prevent him from falling
to the stairs.
4.5. Yrjö Yrjö is 73 years old and he hasn’t worked during his life. He’s an alcoholic and he has Korsakov. He
smokes and likes to use a computer a lot so he’s good with technology. Because of using the
computer for so long his vision has decreased and now he wears glasses. He likes gardening but no
one knows why. He might require some alcohol control and his smoking is one of the reasons the
smoke detectors are required.
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5. Floor plans
5.1. Floor plans before remodeling Ground floor
Second floor
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Basement
Roof floor
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5.2. Floor plans after remodeling
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Ground floor:
6.2 Burglar alarm 7.2 Shower
6.4 Barrier free environment 7.3 Sliding wall and sliding door
6.6 Induction stove with stove guard 7.4 Infrared lights
6.7 Smart floor 7.5 Adjustable mirrors
6.9 Stairs 8.3 Monitoring panel
6.10 Anti-scald device 8.4 Switch-Box for basement
6.11 Hot water control 8.6 IntraSonic Interom
6.12. Sound detector alarm 8.7 Dayplanner
6.13 Airbag-vest 8.9 Robomow
6.14 Heated stairs and paths 8.10 Elevator
7.1 Toilet
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Second floor
6.1 Fire and smoke alarm 7.9 Chairs in the living room
6.3 Water leak sensors 8.1 Turn on and off system
6.5 Contrasts 8.2 Lock in the bedroom door
6.8 Non slip floor 8.5 Heating and air conditioning
6.11 Hot water control 8.8 Samsumg Smart TV
7.6 Height-adjustable kitchen 8.10 Elevator
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Basement
7.7 Sauna 7.8 Fitness room
Roof floor
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6. Technical solutions
When we were deciding all of the following solutions we kept in mind that the people with special
needs want to look normal and independent even though they need assistive devices in their daily
activities. This is why some of the smart home technology is good to have out of the way or
camouflaged as something normal when not needed.
7. Safety concepts
7.1. Fire and smoke alarm Fire and smoke alarms are really important in every house, not just in the houses that are meant for
older people or people with some limitations. Senior people don’t smell as well as they used to so it’s
an absolute must for them to have an alarm to tell them if something is wrong. Especially people
with dementia are susceptible to accidents, because they might forget to turn off the stove, oven or
ironing device for example. Having good amount of fire and smoke alarms in the house is also
important if the residents want to feel that they are safe.
In addition to having these alarms in the default spots like kitchen and living room, we decided to
include alarms in everyone’s own room, because there are couple of smokers and fire can spread fast
from a cigarette.
We included a flashing red light on the living rooms so people with hearing problems will know that
something is wrong when an alarm starts ringing. We also wanted to make sure that an error in the
system doesn’t prevent the alarm from going off so we have a backup system. [Fire alarm]
Picture 1. Fire alarm
7.2. Burglar alarm Burglar alarm is an absolute must in every villa, because they tend to attract all kinds of thieves. The
alarm does an emergency call when needed and it’s important that the alarm covers all doors and
windows. The alarm is also possible to put on for the night to notice if someone tries to break in
during the night. This feature can also be used to prevent people with dementia from wandering off
on their own without being noticed. [Burglar alarm]
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7.3. Water leak sensors We also wanted to add water leaking systems. The system is composed by water sensors, electro
valve and a central unit. This system is perfect for the early warning of leaky pipes, faulty water
heaters, washing machines & hoses, dishwashers, icemakers or any other cause of water
incursion. The water sensors can be placed near appliances, bathtubs, toilets, beneath sinks, or can
be used as a basement water alarm for early notification of flooding, leaky pipes or seepage. So when
a leak occurs the water sensors transmit an electrical signal to the central unit which commands the
electro valve to close the water circuit. Also the damage is indicated with a visual and audible signal
at the control panel. [Water leak sensors]
7.4. Barrier free environment To have barrier free environment means that is easy to get everywhere even in a wheelchair. This
means that we had to make corridors at least 1220mm wide. There also has to be enough room to
turn around before and after the doors. We removed all the doorsteps in the entire villa to prevent
the residents from falling and to make the villa more accessible for wheelchairs. [Barrier free
environment]
7.5. Contrasts In the house we will use contrasting colours to make sure that people with visual problems are able
to distinguish some devices from the background. In the kitchen we use dark sockets in front of a
lighter painting or tiles. In the bathrooms there will be dark toilet seats on white toilets.
Picture 2. Water leak sensor
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7.6. Induction stove with stove guard We compared different kind of stoves for the kitchen and we ended up with induction stove. The
reason for choosing this kind of stove is that an induction stove is more faster that an electric one
and also is a lower risk of burning because only the ferromagnetic vessels get heated and the surface
remains cold. For security we also thought that a Stove Guard mounted in the front of stove will
reduce burning accidents. [Induction stove]
7.7. Smart floor We compared a several ways to know if a person has fallen in his or her private room, because there
it can happen without anyone really noticing. We ruled out cameras for example because we felt like
they would disturb everyone’s privacy. We chose smart floor because it is a convenient way to know
if person is lying on the floor. Smart floor also sends a message to the set mobile phone so the nurse
will know right away if something is wrong.
Smart floor is a floor that can sense people standing on it. Sensors are right below the floor and they
work similar way as touchpads. Sensor foil that is installed beneath the floor is fully protected and it
has a long life time. [Smart floor]
7.8. Non-slip floor Non slip floor is necessary in the bathrooms where floor can get really slippery when wet and if a
senior loses his/her balance on the hard floor it could be really dangerous if not even fatal. Non slip
floor is a coating that is added on top of the floor and visually it’s almost impossible notice. [Non slip
floor]
Picture 5. Non-slip floor
Picture 4. Induction stove Picture 3. Stove guard
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7.9. Stairs Stairs have non slip stickers near the edges to prevent people from slipping. These stickers are also
necessary for people with decreased vision, because it gives the staircase more contrast and this way
they are much safer especially for senior people.
Picture 6. Winding stairs
7.10. Anti-scald device Anti-scald device prevents people from burning themselves with water. It’s an extra valve that is
attached directly to the faucet to control heated water. When the water temperature exceeds 47.2º
an internal metal alloy expands and prevents the flow of the water.
We thought that this would be good method to prevent residents from burning themselves with water,
because especially people with dementia might start using really hot water. [Anti-scald device]
Picture 7. Anti-scald device
7.11. Hot water control in the shower We have mixed batteries like in common use, but with a special feature to change the temperature
up to a certain level. The maximum temperature for the normal use is 40 °C, so there are no risks of
burning. If you like to have more hot water you could push the button on the fitting and rotate them
in an easy way.
Picture 8. Shower
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7.12. Sound detector alarm In the common spaces there will be a sound detector alarm. It’s a device, connected to a computer,
that recognizes different sounds. It’s able to recognize the sound of screaming or the sound of a
person who falls on the ground. When there is a sound like that, an alarm will be send to other
rooms. If there is no reaction from the other residents, the alarm will be send to a caregiver after 3
minutes.
The alternative option was to install cameras in the villa. We had some questions about the privacy
of the residents if we would install cameras. At first we thought the sound detector alarm would not
be able to recognize a fall on the floor because it used to work with decibel levels. Nowadays the
system is enabled to recognize the sound of a person who falls on the floor.
7.13. Airbag-vest We also decided to have an airbag-vest for people who wanted to wander around in the yard. When
the residents are going outside they will have an option to put on a vest with an airbag function for
safety. In the jacket will be an accelerometer that notice if someone will fall in the garden. When a
person is falling the airbag function will be automatically activated. While the airbag is activated also
an alarm will start to sound in the villa. This vest will prevent the inhabitants from getting hurt while
they are outside.
Picture 9. Airbag-vest
7.14. Heated stairs and paths Especially in the winter it can get really cold and slippery outside and with the heated ground system
we ensured that people won’t have any trouble walking outside of the building. With this we also
made sure that the residents don’t have to do unnecessary work when shovelling the snow.
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8. Health concepts
8.1. Toilet The bathrooms with the shower and the bathtub will be shared by the five residents in the house.
Therefore we will use a toilet that is adjustable in height for ergonomic reasons. In the private
bathrooms, the toilets will be adjusted to the resident of that room. We use this kind of toilet instead
of a normal toilet because of its ergonomic benefits. A person can sit down and stand up more easily
when he has a good positioning to start with.
Toilets we have in the villa won’t have bars yet unlike in the picture, but the structures around the
toilets are strong so the bars can be added later if necessary. Toilets will also be coverless to ensure
that someone with dementia won’t have an embarrassing accident. [Toilet]
Picture 10. Toilet
8.2. Shower There will be a big shower without any thresholds so wheelchairs can go easily in. There will also be a
stone seat for sitting if necessary. The seat is durable and is less stigmatizing than a plastic seat.
When the residents don’t use it for sitting on, they can use it to put on their products as shampoo
and soap. We also wanted to include a removable handle for showering that the residents are able to
use if they want. [Shower]
Picture 11. Removable handle
Picture 12. Stone seat in the shower
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8.3. Sliding wall and sliding door In every private bathroom there will be a sliding wall. The main idea is that the wall looks like a
normal wall when it’s closed but it can be slid to the side if needed. When it’s open there will be
more space for a nurse or for a patient lift. When the wall is closed, there is a sliding door in it that
can be used as the normal door to the bathroom. We used a sliding door because it is easy to open
for people in a wheelchair. The toilet is visible for the resident when he/she is in the room. When
there are problems in the future like dementia, the toilet can be a trigger to remind the resident of
going to the toilet.
Another possibility was to enlarge the private bathrooms but then we probably wouldn’t have
enough space left for the other rooms. By using the sliding wall, it’s possible to enlarge the bathroom
when the situation requires it.
8.4. Infrared lights in bathroom An infrared heat lamp is a lamp that uses a special form of incandescent light bulb primarily for the purposes of heat production rather than to generate light. These lamps do produce some light, but most of the energy that they consume is directed towards heating the room. We chose this lamp, because it gives a high degree of comfort when the inhabitants are using the
bathroom for a certain amount of time. This system is also present in the big bathrooms on each
floor. The heat lamps use the same method for turning on and off as the normal lamps. [Infrared
lights]
8.5. Adjustable mirrors We will install mirrors that can be turned a little bit to the ground. This allows everyone to get good
view from the mirror regardless of their height or position
Picture 13. Infrared light
Picture 14. Adjustable mirror
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8.6. Height-adjustable kitchen Because the inhabitants are all seniors and some of them don’t have so much muscle strength left,
we thought to design both kitchens with height-adjustable drawers and tables for possible
wheelchair use. The kitchen closets are moveable in vertical and horizontal direction. This kind of
movement is ensured by electrical actuators and mechanical transmission that are installed in the
back of the kitchen closets.
8.7. Sauna In a Finnish villa a sauna is good thing to have so people can get some warmth after a long cold day
and in the same time it keeps people clean and hygienic. There are also other health benefits
concerning sauna than just cleaning the skin. Sauna improves cardiovascular performance, burns
calories, can help fight faint illnesses, can induce a deeper sleep, flushes toxins from the body and
also soothes pains in both muscles and joints by releasing the tension in them. Going to the sauna is
also most of the time a social and entertaining event where people can relax with friends.
When having older people going to the sauna it’s important that the sauna is safe. That means non-
slip floor is required in the sauna as well as in the shower room. The heater needs to be behind a
fence and hard to reach. It is also good to have a system that turns off the sauna after it has been out
of use for a while.
We felt like the sauna should be big enough for guests and we added an elevator chair so even
people with some limitations could enjoy the sauna to its full potential. We were also comparing if
we should put an automatic switch or a timer to turn off sauna when it’s not use. In the end we felt
that an automatic switch would be a little bit too complicated, because sauna needs to warm up
after it is turned on and even after it has heated, it probably won’t be used for another ten or twenty
minutes. We chose a timer that starts automatically when sauna is turned on and the timer is 2 hours
by default, but can be adjusted. [Sauna]
Picture 15. Sauna
8.8. Fitness room It is important to keep care of physical condition especially when you get older. It will make daily life
an easier and independent life at home possible. In Finland it is good to have indoor place where can
do some sport in the winter time. Equipment of the fitness room is working by pneumatic
resistance. Pneumatic resistance is safe and comfortable to use and have stepless resistance
adjustment and the minimum resistance is zero. This makes them suitable for everyone. There is an
opportunity to use equipment of fitness room also for wheelchair. Pneumatic resistance machines
are silent and controlled with touch screen.
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We wanted to add a possibility to measure your weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol
to the fitness room. So there’s a place where you can take care of your health and control it by
yourself or with the help from a nurse. [Fitness room]
Picture 16. Gym equipment
8.9. Chairs in the living room It can be difficult to get up from the chair when muscle strength is decreasing. Chairs have to be
sturdy and high enough. In the villa there are Armi activating chairs. Armi chairs are Finnish
innovations and they are designed for senior people. Those chairs help the person, who is sitting, to
get up without any effort. The armrests and the chair`s back can lean forward so it is easier to get up.
There are also chairs which the user can control by remote control. The user can lie on the chair or
sleep without having neck pains. There are also a few special massage chairs for luxury and relaxing.
The user can set the height of the chair and choose what massage he or she wants. Remote control is
easier and simple to use. [Chairs]
Picture 18. Armi chair Picture 17. Massaging chair
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9. Technical concepts
9.1. Turn on and off system For turning on and off the electricity in the bathroom we designed a system composed by two
resistive sensors. The sensors are put on the floor as in the image below. They are more like a carpet
that could be fitted also under a laminar floor. We chose this design because if they break, they
would be easy to change. The turning on and off electricity depends on the right order of activation
of the sensors. As in the picture sensor 1 is placed in the bedroom and sensor 2 is placed in the
bathroom. If the person goes from the bedroom to the bathroom first sensor 1 will be activated then
sensor 2, that makes the electricity and the other utilities go on. When the person leaves the
bathroom, first is sensor 2 activated then sensor 1, and within a small period of time (2 minutes) all
the utilities from bathroom goes off.
9.2. Lock in the bedroom door The locks on the doors of the private bedrooms can always be opened from the outside with a key.
The residents will be able to lock their own door if they want to, but in case of emergency someone
can open it from the outside. We wanted to add the locks to give residents a little privacy and to
prevent people with dementia from wandering into wrong rooms.
9.3. Monitoring panel The control panel represents a smart solution to monitor the utilities from the house. This panel is
situated at the main entrance because as that when an inhabitant leaves the house he could check if
any utilities are in use. The utilities cannot be operated from this panel, to switch them off the
inhabitant should go and switch them by a manual way. We decide for this system because it is
easier for the inhabitants to see all the active utilities on one monitor instead of complex control
system.
Picture 19. Turn on and off system
Picture 20. Monitoring panel
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9.4. Switch-Box for basement For the basement we thought that a main switch-box would be useful to turn off and on all the
electricity and utilities like sauna or ventilation or laundry room. The switch, situated in the living
room, could be also programed to start the utilities at a certain time, for example the sauna could
start one hour before the inhabitants want to use it. Also the switch box has a display with a timer
that indicates for how much time a utility is working. From this switch the air conditioner from the
living room could even be controlled. [Switch-box]
9.5. Heating and air conditioning We were comparing different methods for heating and because Finland is a cold country without
much sunlight our only options were radiant heating, electric resistance heating and hot water
radiators. We ruled out electric resistance system because we thought that it would be unnecessarily
expensive. In the end we chose hot water radiators because we have smart floor in the bedrooms
and it is impossible to have smart floor together with the radiant floor heating.
In hot water radiators the water circulates through pipes by gravity feed or a pressure pump. Then
the heat is just transferred from the hot water to the room. In larger homes and villas it is possible to
save energy by installing zone control for multiple areas. Automatic valves can also be installed on
the hot water radiators, controlled by thermostats in each zone of the house. After that it is possible
to automatically heat and cool off different areas of the house.
We also chose to include an air conditioner in both living rooms just for the fresh air, because in
Finland it rarely gets so hot that cooler air is needed. [Heating]
Picture 22. Hot water radiator
Picture 21. Switch-Box for basement
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9.6. IntraSonic Intercom For more comfort we decided to install an intercom in every bedroom, living rooms, dining rooms
and the basement. Through this device each inhabitant can independently respond to calls from the
door and make calls to other people. Also this intercom is connected to the emergency system so
with a push of a button it will send a signal to the emergency unit that can intervene in the shortest
time. The central unit of this intercom is at the main entrance and in each bedroom has an interface
with buttons, a screen and an LED light which is handy for people with hearing problems. Also the
main entrance video camera is connected to this intercom. So when someone rings the doorbell the
intercom will flash and it will display a view of the main entrance. [Intercom]
9.7. Dayplanner In each room there is one dayplanner which is beneficial to senior inhabitants to organize the day
and eventually at what time they should take the medicines. This system is in a tablet with internet
connection, comes in help also for caregivers to send reminders to the senior user. This Dayplanner
system is available for monthly subscription for a little sum of money. [Dayplanner]
9.8. Samsung Smart TV Because residents are seniors and as we all know they often have problems with both hearing and
sight, we thought it would be much easier to install in the living room a smart TV with voice
recognition and motion control. This TV operates via well-known application Siri, so it can be
controlled by voice command, which makes the use of remote control not necessarily required. Also
this TV has internet access but it can easily attach other devices such as speaker system or wireless
headphones that come in help for the persons with hearing problems. [Smart TV]
Picture 23. Intercom
Picture 24. Dayplanner
Picture 25. Smart TV
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9.9. Robomow Grass cutting robot would come in use in the care of the garden of the villa. Because some of the
senior inhabitants love gardening, but most of them like to spend as much time outdoors, the garden
must be as neat as possible. This robot works independently covering an area of approximately 2000
square meters. [Robomow]
9.10. Elevator The elevator is the most important improvement in a villa for senior inhabitants. Because all
inhabitants have muscle problems, we’ve decided that this lift should move from the basement to
the 2nd floor, it can also be accessed from outside with an access card. The elevator is big enough for
5 people but also for a wheelchair. [Elevator]
Picture 27. Elevator
Picture 26. Robomow
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10. Conclusion To summarize this project we had to rebuild an old villa for five seniors with their special needs
including the ones they might have in the future. We discussed about every person’s problems and
requirements. Because of the individual needs and limitations not every technical solution fits every
person. We tried to find the best solution for each individual need so that every resident has a
chance of living his life in the way he or she wants and in some cases we had to compromise and use
the best solution that was best for everyone in general.
The main goal of the smart home solutions is an independence life as long as possible. The effect of
the devices we have installed is that the residents are able to live longer in the villa and to feel safe
there. It’s important to search for solutions which can be accepted by the residents and which can
increase their quality of life while looking as normal as possible.
Although we have tried to consider all the possible needs for now and for the future, it’s hard to
provide a solution for every possible problem.
26
11. Sources Fire alarm - http://www.homerepairtips.com.au/2013/fire-protection-devices-in-your-home/
Burglar alarm - http://www.verisure.fi/?gclid=CNL8xon8jr0CFeEGcwod2i4A4w
Water leak sensor - http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/2013-WATER-BUG-ALARM-horizon-
mechanical_630358928.html
Barrier free environment - http://suntran.com/pop_access_measurements.htm
Induction stove - http://theinductionsite.com/proandcon.shtml
Smart floor - http://www.elsitechnologies.com/index.php/en/how-it-works/how-elsi-technology-
works
Non slip floor - http://www.ndclean.com/no-slip-floor.html
Anti-scald device - http://www.thiscaringhome.org/products/anti-scald-device-screw-on.php
Toilet - http://www.viega.nl/xchg/nl-
nl/hs.xsl/Viega_In_hoogte_verstelbaar_wc_element_Viega_Eco_Plus_genomineerd_voor_VSK_Awar
d_2014_7820.html
Shower - http://www.jaapraat.nl/badkamers.php &
http://shop.oz.be/nl/producten/bad%20en%20douche/handgrepen%20-%20beugels/19
Infrared lights - http://www.bathroomheater.org/bathroom-heat-lamps.html Sauna - http://www.finnleo.com/pages/health-and-wellness.aspx
Fitness room - http://www.hur.fi/tuote/ea9125-dipshrug-easy-access & http://www.hur.fi/
Chairs - http://www.beurer.com/web/en/products/massage/shiatsu-
massagesessel.php?pid=3833&pvid=3833
Switch-box - http://gajitz.com/map-your-lights-out-say-yellow-to-the-geekiest-light-switch/
Heating - http://energy.gov/energysaver/articles/heat-distribution-systems
Intercom - http://www.exzelsmarthome.com/products/intercom-surveillance/
Dayplanner - http://www.memotouch.com/About-Us
Smart TV - http://bitshare.cm/post/15622686620/the-samsung-smart-tv-with-voice-motion-control-
and
Robomow - http://www.robomow.com/en-USA/
Elevator - http://www.alibaba.com/showroom/home-elevator.html