Domotics - text and exercises

Safe and comfortable

Continuing to live independently. And feeling safe and at ease in your own home. That is what many older people want. But an ´ordinary´ home is then often not adequate. The thresholds are too high, you are afraid to open the door at night, the curtains are too heavy to close and it´s too dark to feel safe. We want to get away from that. A lot needs to be done to make a home truly suitable for each person´s specific needs. But it can be done! Thanks to Domotics.

What is Domotics?

Domotics is a contraction of the words domus (Latin for house) and robotics automation). Domotics is the combination of technology and services for improved living in the areas of safety, comfort and technical management. It is therefore a complete system, not just a remote control. Things happen automatically, because they are required or because you didn´t remember to do them yourself. But you don´t need to worry that you will no longer have control over things. Everything can also be operated by hand, or the settings can be changed. Tools to serve people.

What is a domotics home?

A domotics home is a ´smart home´ which also takes account of the advancing years of its occupier. The structural provisions meet the standards of the Senioren quality mark: so you don´t need to move as you get older! Safety and comfort are the key. The facilities have been made as user-friendly as possible. A domotics home means that you can carry on enjoying life, and that technology is great fun to use.

What can you see in a domotics home?

For example: as you enter the house, you switch off the burglar alarm. This automatically switches on the passive alarm. The house then checks that you remain active and have not fallen or become unwell. If that happens, help is summoned automatically, for example from the home care service. When you go to sleep, you can use a simple button above the bed to turn the passive alarm and the bedside light off, activate the burglar alarm, switch off any lights left on in other rooms, and lower the central heating thermostat by a couple of degrees.

Other examples of domotics

If someone calls at the door, that person´s image will appear on your TV. You talk to this person using the telephone, and open the door using one of the buttons on the phone. Or the lights in the hall and bathroom can switch on automatically when you enter those rooms. You can switch all the lights in the house on or off with a single remote control. Shutters and curtains can also be closed and opened using a remote control.

Revolutionary: voice control!

If most people consider remote controls to be new, voice-activated control is altogether revolutionary. In a domotics home lights can switch on or off and curtains can open or close, all on commands given in your own voice. But various things in the home can also be controlled from elsewhere without you needing to be present, by talking to your home by telephone: switch on the video recorder, increase the temperature, switch off the coffee machine, etc., etc. The options are limitless.

Domotics Centre

In the Netherlands the province of Noord-Brabant will shortly be setting up a Domotics Centre with a number of partners, including the Smart Homes Foundation. This centre will support local domotics projects and provide information and advice to housing corporations, architects and older people, amongst others.

Text used with permission from: Stichting Smart Homes +31 497 514 984 E-mail info@smarthomes.nl www.smart-homes.nl