Page 246 - Handbook of Electronic Assistive Technology

Chapter 8 • Assisted Living 235

A demonstrator/evaluation cottage was developed at Brunel University and this was
followed by the Caring Home Project that consisted of 12 ‘silent homes’ in Greenwich,
which were further described as ‘caring not smart’.
The Millennium Homes technology was implemented in the Elmington Supported
Living Scheme, Southwark, London. Following a presentation by Heinz Wolf on the
Millennium Homes Project, technology was installed at build to ensure that it was inte-
grated in an unobtrusive manner. The project, which was opened in 2004, consisted of two,
three-bedroomed, semidetached houses, one of which was designed for wheelchair acces-
sibility and the other built to the Lifetime Homes Standard. Eight staff provided 24-hour
care to five residents, three males in one house and two females in the other, one of whom
was a wheelchair user. The system incorporated a large array of sensors, including PIRs,
heat, smoke, light level, door, window, chair, bed and call. Output devices included some
lighting control and voice prompting for feedback. The peripherals were integrated within
the computer-based system, which was an integrated environment that monitored activi-
ties of daily living and interacted with the user, as appropriate. The system consisted of
several modules that could be activated as required, including bathroom safety, night-time
occupancy and visitor and night exits. All voice messages were tailored to suite the individ-
ual. The scheme was reviewed in 2005 and was received positively by tenants, carers and
families. Revenue funding was obtained for the scheme at this time. Huntleigh installed a
total of 15 systems, three of which were ‘live’, before the project ended. Although nothing
more was derived directly from this work, some of the expertise that had been gained in
developing and marketing the systems has contributed indirectly to the development of
the iCue system.

iCue
The iCue system was built on the approach that was applied in the Millennium Homes
Project, using a proprietary central controller to manage the data. The central controller
had 128 inputs and 128 outputs, some of which could be analogue; current monitoring;
could interface and communicate with many external systems; could flexibly route exter-
nal communications; and included a great deal of programming capacity.
The system was refined with funding from the Technology Strategy Board’s Assistive
Living Innovation Platform (ALIP) programme as part of Intelligent Design Engine for
Assisted Living Technology, which was led by Medilink WM and was showcased within the
i-House. A second demonstrator was installed in a flat in Newcastle under Lyme, also oper-
ated by Medilink, and further systems were implemented.
One installation of particular note was the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT)
Assistive Technology House. The house was owned and managed by BIRT. The technology
was installed specifically to investigate how technology could support the rehabilitation
process in preparing individuals with ABI for return to living independently. This work was
implemented, evaluated and documented with the support of BIME and represents one
on the few meaningful attempts to quantify directly the benefits of advance technologies
on individuals with complex needs (Oddy et al., 2013).