How Smart Home Technology Can help People with Disabilities?

Reduced physical mobility in any of its forms can cause a problem when it comes to everyday tasks around the home. People with disabilities confront many challenges, even in today’s modern world. Disability might make performing regular tasks around the home difficult or impossible, leading to a frustrating loss of independence.

For people living with disabilities, being able to perform everyday actions by themselves is a way to reduce dependency on friends, family members, and caregivers; thus, it can be greatly valuable.

Technological advances have made it easier for this group of people, who constitute 15% of the world’s population, to gain independence through improved accessibility to home components. Nevertheless, not all of the technological facilities are budget-friendly or easy-to-use for people with chronic disabilities.

Exclusive smart solutions that require special navigation knowledge or mobility do not help people with disabilities. They might even provoke them to question their identity or value when employed in an incredibly personal and important place like home.

According to The World Health Organization, “any device or system that allows individuals to perform tasks they would otherwise be unable to do or increases the ease and safety with which tasks can be performed defines Assistive Technology”.

TIS Control, as a provider of assistive devices, helps to minimize the challenges for people with disabilities by offering a wide range of smart home solutions that cover all demands, from lights and climate control to door openers and mood presets.

Recently, We had the honor of equipping NDIS house of the famous Paralympian, Esther Overton. TIS was thrilled to hear her satisfactory comments on our products. What follows is a report of her experience as a TIS user living with disabilities.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtyD74XTc3g

TIS device functions can be controlled via our app. Therefore, she can turn the lights on/off, draw/raise the curtains, raise/lower the temperature, and turn on/off the electrical oven in seconds, with just a few taps on her phone.

In addition, with the TIS Remote Control, she can control the IR devices without the need to move a muscle. Now, all she needs to do to hear about last night’s Champions League matches is to stay where she is and turn on her TV set.

Using TIS’s Door Phone Unit, answering visitors is easier than ever. With minimum effort, she can see and answer the door using just her phone. She can also use this SIP technology to monitor the entrance gate even when she is away from home. Internet accessibility is the only prerequisite for letting a guest in when they arrive before her.

More significantly, all TIS solutions can be controlled with spoken commands. Smart speakers, such as Amazon Echo and Google Assistant, have built-in microphones and allow her to use voice commands. This often makes everything even more convenient for people with disabilities. These speakers are activated when they hear their ‘name’ or prompt (‘Alexa’ and ‘Hey Siri’ respectively, for those mentioned above) and then listen for commands. As well as asking these devices to play some music, she can ask them to turn the bedroom lights on, lock the balcony door, and perform any number of other tasks.

Moreover, TIS’s app is free. Once connected to smartphones via the WiFi network, she can control her residence from anywhere in the world. These apps are usually available for both iPhones and Android devices.

That is not all. TIS also offers systems to alert caregivers, relatives, or first responders in case of duress. TIS technology proves life-preserving in situations where users may not be able to move and their phone is out of reach; with our integrated Nurse Call system and virtual speakers, she can call out and tell the speaker to contact emergency services or a loved one who can help.

With TIS, it is even possible to make smart devices automatically act in a specific way in certain situations. In other words, our network of smart wall panels, thermostats, sensors, and security solutions can trigger the action of a smart device when a certain condition is met. For instance, once she enters the bathroom, her motion is detected and lights are automatically on. Alternatively, if someone trespasses her property, she is notified at once and an automatic call is sent to the nearest police station.

TIS Smoke and Water Leakage Sensors are also enormously practical. The user does not have to move if there is smoke in the kitchen; they can just use their phone to open the windows and turn off the boiler.

At the end of the day, TIS’s smart technology supports and enhances the lives of people who live with disabilities by providing a variety of solutions that are both budget- and user-friendly. We believe smart solutions are not “nice to have”; they are a necessity and benefit to society as a whole. We are here to make your options endless.

Samir Hadzic

Founder of   LHB PTY LTD

Founder of TIS Control PTY LTD