Top 3 Smart Home Technologies for Those Living With a Disability

We’ve evolved from the 'smart watch' and 'smart car' to the 'smart home'. But what is a 'smart home' and how can we make the best of it?

© Danielle Robertson Consulting Pty Ltd t/as DR Care Solutions

A smart home integrates technologies and services in the home with the purpose of automating tasks with increasing comfort, safety and security, and energy optimisations^[1].

That’s just one of the academic definitions.

In layman’s terms it is an ecosystem of technology devices in the home that respond to the needs of the resident through touching a smart screen (say iPad) or speaking with a voice activated virtual assistant through a smart speaker.

A diagram of that smart home ecosystem is shown below:

Source: "Impacts of new and emerging assistive technologies for ageing and disabled housing", Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, 2021

Australia's top three smart speaker virtual assistants

The most popular and common smart home device is the smart speaker with a virtual assistant. Launched in the United States in 2014, the smart speaker arrived in Australia 12 months later.

Currently, the top three smart speaker virtual assistance in Australia are:

1. Siri (produced by Apple);

2. Alexa (by Amazon); and

3. Google Assistant (by Google).

If you have a Bose or Sonos smart speaker system, Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod can integrate their virtual assistant functionality (Alexa or Siri) with those systems.

What does a smart speaker virtual assistant do?

Through a voice prompt, you can ask the virtual assistant to:

• Retrieve information, say to questions such as “What is today’s forecast?” or “When does my local supermarket open?”

• Make phone calls, for example, to make a hair appointment, call a taxi or speak to family member or friend.

• Perform tasks like turn on a TV, turn on the lights, shut the windows, open the blinds, lock the doors and switch off all lights when leaving home. For example, when you say “Siri, leaving home” and the system, through your pre-programming, will perform the functions you have programmed such as turning off all the house lights and locking all the doors and windows.

Examples of the current scope of smart home technologies

Source: "Impacts of new and emerging assistive technologies for ageing and disabled housing", Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, 2021

How can this technology change the life a person living with a disability?

In the words of Todd Stabelfeldt, a husband, step father and business owner living with quadriplegia: “I live a life that is completely dependent so anywhere where I can get independence I will go and get it.”

Siri, Apple Homekit and Switchboard have been the source of more independence for Todd.

Please watch this short, heartwarming video to see how his smart home has given Todd “value and the opportunity to demonstrate he is a quality man and a man of integrity”:

How can you assess this technology?

A recent study^[2] released by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute shows that most Australians living with a disability self-fund the installation of smart technology in their homes. It is currently unclear whether National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) funding extends to what is called smart home assistive technologies. The study calls for a clear policy framework and coordination to promote the deployment of this technology in the homes of NDIS participants.

If you wish to maintain the independence of your loved one who lives with a disability, please don’t hesitate to call me, Danielle Robertson, for an initial discussion on how to set up the right care, support and assistance at the right time and in the right place.

Resources

^[1] Research Gate: A Holistic Understanding of HCI Perspectives on Smart Home
^[2] Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute Study