Voice-controlled home automation reduces reliance on support

Situation

When Marco experienced a stroke in his late 40s, it caused weakness on his left side and impacted his ability to complete daily tasks independently. Marco, who is now in his 50s, lives in a rented property with support and uses a wheelchair for mobility.

Marco's primary goal was to increase his independence and reduce his reliance on support staff for everyday activities. A key part of this goal included having control over elements of his home, which he felt would be a significant step toward self-sufficiency.

Marco visited the Stretchy Tech demo space, where he explored various assistive technologies and trialled voice-controlled lights and door locks.

Solution

Based on observations by a Stretchy Tech occupational therapist (OT), the recommended solution was to automate Marco's blinds and lights, enabling him to control these features using voice commands or a backup remote control. This would allow Marco to independently manage his home environment, particularly when he was lying in bed and unable to manually turn on lights or open blinds. Previously, he had to wait for support staff to assist him with these tasks.

Two weeks after his demo visit, Marco demonstrated his ability to recall the specific commands, indicating that voice-activated home automation would be a suitable solution for him. Marco also expressed his confidence that this solution would help him to achieve his goal.

Outcome

Marco has since reported that he is pleased with the increased independence he has in his home and with his ability to control his environment with simple button presses. Marco feels much more in control than he previously was and is happy with his solution.

Was there anything that didn’t go to plan? How was this overcome?

There were issues with acquisition of the wireless network login details as this is network site-managed by the support provider who do not share these credentials with their on-site support staff.

The wireless network login credentials are required to enable set up of the smart devices as they need to connect with the wireless network in order to operate.

Although considerable time was lost due to this issue, it was eventually overcome by the on-site staff contacting their IT department by phone who then spoke directly with the Stretchy Tech technician to provide the required login credentials.

Summary pointers for OTs, technicians, and the intended user (person with disability)

1. The technology described above has worked well for Marco, so we think it’s worth consideration by OTs, technicians, and persons with disability, in similar situations.
2. We recommend that tech installers work with the person with disability to confirm who has control of the wireless network, so that the credentials are acquired before the technician attends the person’s home to do the install.