The New Way of Monitoring Healthy Ways of Living alone

With the advent of an ageing population, the number of persons with disabilities is also increasing, and more and more disabled persons and elderly people are living alone. In order to keep abreast of the physical condition of these disabled persons and elderly people, British researchers are developing the ability to monitor occupants. Health smart home.

There is no exact definition of "intelligent house" in the industry. Britain's "Smart House" that has been introduced to the market, "Internet Housing" that is infused with modern Internet technologies, and the "Internet Kitchen" that Denmark has brought to the market should be regarded as the masterpieces of intelligent housing.

However, the so-called "intelligent house" is often concerned about how to help people to facilitate life, but this smart house that is under development testing can also be concerned with the physical health of occupants in addition to the above-mentioned functions. This is undoubtedly a boon for some elderly people living alone and people with disabilities. This smart house can prevent people from accidents at home.

This smart house was named "Interactive House," and researchers have introduced prototype designs. It is a new generation of smart home systems that will not only "learn" from safety and environmental protection but also be able to monitor the health conditions of occupants.

“The number of elderly people is increasing day by day, and statistics show that more and more elderly people will live alone.” said Joanne, senior lecturer in digital communication systems at the University of Hertfordshire, UK. Theo said that he is the head of the "Interactive House" project research team.

Originally designed, the system was designed to provide occupants with remote access to homes, so that homeowners can monitor the consumption of water and electricity in their homes at any time, save energy through remote control, and avoid waste.

Interactive House prototype built in a toy house, the home automation equipment controller into a touch screen, occupants can use it to control all connected devices, but also can use a web browser, smart phone or any mobile phone with SMS control.

According to Theo, the person in charge of real-time transmission of data from the wristband sensor, the researcher decided to add wristband equipment in consideration of the user’s lifestyle and the growing number of elderly people. Therefore, this Smart House developed by researchers at the University of Hertfordshire also comes with a wristband device, which has a sensor that can detect vital data such as body temperature and pulse. The wristband is wirelessly connected to the entire smart home system and can safely transmit data so that it can be read by family members, police officers or medical personnel.

"If someone falls at home, the wristband device can detect this fall and immediately activate the pulse monitor to see if the person is shocked." Theo said, "This is an early warning system if the elderly body Ill, or any unusual behavior in the house or even falling, it will immediately notify the elderly's family or nursing staff."

A multi-functional wristband model technology has been developed, but the problem is that this wristband is still bulky and not lightweight.

"We are trying hard to reduce the size of the wristband to a certain size, and then it may develop into a wrist-size product," said Theo.

In addition to monitoring the health of occupants, Interactive House can also “learn” the living habits of residents and execute instructions to help save energy and reduce emissions.

This technology allows the system to quickly learn when the owner needs to turn on the lights, whether they are at home, whether they are at work, and what kind of state the home should be at certain times during the day. If the owner forgets to lock the door or turn off the light, it will notify the owner by SMS, and the owner's "reply" will be able to reset the program.

Theo said that interactive houses are more adaptable than similar smart houses and can “learn” the daily life of occupants. “This opened up a platform for us to add some technological equipment that is easy to live.”

In addition, researchers are also working on the development of health service-related content, such as the geographic coordinate system. This system is suitable for occupants suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Once lost, the system can play a role.

“Interactive House” Does Not Invade Privacy The University of Hertfordshire’s research project has received funding from the British government and researchers are currently conducting industry testing of the prototype system. The team headed by Theo is working with the BRE. At the BRE Technology Innovation Park in Waterford, this new interactive home system was installed in two model homes in the campus to test the platform in a real home.

BRE Technology Innovation Park is located on the outskirts of London and is dedicated to the display of low-carbon buildings. It enjoys an international reputation. The park has built 11 of the world's most sustainable low-carbon and zero-carbon emission demonstration buildings, which are designed and built by well-known British manufacturers, architects, and engineers. It exhibits more than 400 architectural innovations and emerging technologies.

The "Interactive Housing" system involved at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom was Jim, the director of the "Smart Home" project at Duke University. Gaston's appreciation. He praised this as a "good idea." He further added that Duke students are also working on similar functions. They are designing a wearable radio frequency identification plate that will issue an alert if the person is missing or has not moved for a long time.

However, Gaston warned that such technologies face some challenges. "If these technologies are used on a large scale, they may involve privacy or security issues."

Regarding this, developers say that the interactive room has no intention of infringing privacy. “We are considering unaccompanied elderly people living alone. This system is expected to reduce some people’s worries and may save some lives.”

Perhaps in the near future, human houses can be intelligent, and in some daily lives there will be “second nannies”—smart houses. The era of intelligence is getting closer and closer to us. This is a more advanced and more humane smart home, and it will become a trend in the future of smart homes.