Page 249 - Handbook of Electronic Assistive Technology

238 HANDBOOK OF ELECTRONIC ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Selectivity

Automation is not an all or nothing choice and the ability to selectively enable or disable
automation, either centrally or on a room-by-room basis, has a number of benefits.
A disabled individual who wishes to maximise their own functional ability may still
require the support of automation if, for example, their performance levels diminish
throughout the day. Their performance levels may be unpredictable and fluctuate, or their
cognitive performance may vary, leading to alteration in cognitive load associated with
psychomotor skills (Rotstein et al., 2012; Wolkorte et al., 2015). Being able to selectively
enable automation within the living space will help maintain their sense of control and
empowerment in the face of unpredictable circumstances. Data on the patterns of how
such options are used also has the potential to provide useful information in relation to
the trends in the individual’s functional status.
Consider a living space that is shared by residents who have differing personal require-
ments, e.g., a mix of ambulant and wheelchair-bound residents. In this situation, more
relevant still is the shared use of a living space by a physically disabled individual and their
carer and/or family. Some aspects of automation such as lighting may have a common
benefit and preference, but performance of automated door openers is a clear area of pos-
sible conflict. It is not uncommon to find door openers in such environments turned off or
jammed open, with the loss of privacy and control that this can bring for the intended user.
Scene setting to establish a number of combinations of automated response is an effec-
tive approach to managing these types of issues, and an intelligent system provides the
necessary ease of programming and level of control of such options to meet the above
concerns. Scene setting should not be confused with macro functions in environmental
control systems, which lack the feedback mechanism to ensure that scenes are safely and
effectively managed.
‘Green’ issues have risen significantly up the political agenda in recent years and energy
management is becoming more of a central focus for the development and of smart house
technologies (Lobaccaro et al., 2016). At a very local level the technologies that are being
considered can be used to support this agenda, i.e., efficient use of lighting, heating and
electrical appliances and de-energising devices during nonoccupancy. These technolo-
gies also offer advantages in terms of connectivity with smart metering systems and wider
energy management strategies, providing the opportunity for a detailed understanding of
local energy usage and supporting programming to automatically adjust devices based
on use of the living space. These benefits have in the past opened up access to govern-
ment funding initiatives related to energy policy, as in the case of the Ayrshire Housing
Association project (Clarke et al., 2008). It also has the important additional local benefit
of reducing utility bills for individuals who are already generally financially disadvantaged
within society. There are an increasing number of devices available for the domestic mar-
ket that can monitor and control energy usage, such as smart plugs and heating controllers
such as Nest, but beyond the availability of control and monitoring via smartphones it is not
clear how integration into the holistic management of an environment would be achieved.
There is a national programme to install smart meters to allow occupants to monitor their