Boulder's SmartHome: Technology's Promise for Those With Disabilities
By Sutter, Cindy; Daily Camera,Publication Date: October 10, 2009
Online article features the Charles SmartHome, a group house designed for people with cognitive and physical disabilities. Situated in Boulder, Colorado, the home provides its 8 residents with their own bedroom outfitted with a high definition television that doubles as a computer, an open communal kitchen with an adjustable sink and a cooktop that can be similarly raised and lowered to accommodate a wheelchair and uses induction burners that are cool to the touch, and live-in staff providing around-the-clock assistance. In development for the home is also a library of video prompting programs to help residents with tasks such as cooking and doing the laundry. Radio-frequency identification (RFID) badges worn by residents and staff enable residents to call for assistance when needed and allow staff to keep track of everyone. The badges also serve to make appropriate technology available to each resident, for example, by preventing the stove from being turned on by a resident who needs supervision with cooking. The home serves as a real-world setting in which to test technologies that can help individuals with developmental disabilities live more independently. The article includes a staff-guided video tour of the home.
Published by: MediaNews Group (Website:http://www.medianewsgroup.com/)
Link to text: http://www.dailycamera.com/features/ci_13516121#
Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNfRmythojs
