Smart home technology has helped 26-year-old Isabelle, who is deaf, to live more independently.
The full-time photographer began using smart home devices last September, and has an app that links her home’s smart doorbell and smart lighting system.
“This is especially useful when a deliveryman comes by with my online purchases and food delivery,” said Isabelle, who has Nager syndrome, a rare genetic disorder characterised by facial and limb deformities.
The light has also been programmed to turn blue when it rains, so that Isabelle is alerted to close the windows when her mother is not home.
She lives with her parents, grandmother and brother in a Housing Board flat in the eastern part of Singapore.
Isabelle was one of those involved in the development of a new online guide on smart home technology that was launched this month for people with disabilities.
The Smart Home Guide, developed by SG Enable in partnership with Google, explains the benefits of smart home technology and guides people with disabilities and their caregivers in setting up a simple smart home ecosystem.
Examples of smart home tech include virtual assistants that can listen to verbal or app commands to follow instructions or reply to questions.
Development of the guide started last year. SG Enable partnered Google to install smart home devices in the homes of three people with different disabilities – visual impairment, physical disability and deafness – to understand the benefits and potential challenges of using smart home technology.
The three people chosen were clients of SG Enable and did not have to pay for the devices.
People with disabilities as well as their caregivers can customise their homes with smart devices to suit their unique needs and make their homes more accessible.
For people with disabilities from low-income households, the Assistive Technology Fund administered by SG Enable provides subsidies.
Read more here.
Source: The Straits Times, 12 August 2020