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Increasinganindividual’squalityoflifeviatheirintelligenthomeThehypothesisofthisprojectis:cananindividual’squalityoflifebeincreasedbyintegrating“intelligenttechnology”intotheirhomeenvironment.Thishypothesisisverybroad,andhencetheresearcherswillinvestigateitwithregardtovarious,potentiallyover-lapping,sub-sectionsofthepopulation.Inparticular,theprojectwillfocusonsub-sectionswithhealth-careneeds,becauseitisbelievedthatthesesub-sectionswillreceivethegreatestbenefitfromthisenhancedapproachtohousing.Tworesearchquestionsflowfromthishypothesis:whatarethehealth-careissuesthatcouldbeimprovedvia“intelligenthousing”,andwhatarethetechnologicalissuesneedingtobesolvedtoallow“intelligenthousing”tobeconstructed?Whileasmallnumberofinitiativesexist,outsideCanada,whichclaimtoinvestigatethisarea,nonehastheglobalvisionofthisarea.Worktendstobeinsmallareaswithonlyalimitedideaofhowtheindividualpiecescontributetowardsagreatergoal.Thisprojecthasaverystrongsenseofwhatitistryingtoattempt,andbelievesthatwithoutthisglobaldirectiontheotherinitiativeswillfailtoaddressthelargeimportantissuesdescribedwithinvariouspartsofthisproposal,andthatwiththecorrectglobaldirectionthesumofthepartswillproducemuchgreaterrewardsthantheindividualcomponents.Thisnewfieldhasmanyparallelswiththefieldofbusinessprocessengineering,wheremanyproductsfailduetoonlyconsideringasub-setoftheissues,typicallythetechnologysubset.Successfulprojectsandimplementationsonlystartedflowwhenpeoplestartedtorealizethataholisticapproachwasessential.Thisholisticrequirementalsoappliestothefieldof“smarthousing”;ifwegenuinelywantittohavebenefittothecommunityratherthanjusttechnologicalinterest.Havingsaidthis,muchoftheworkoutlinedbelowisextremelyimportantandcontainsagreatdealofnoveltywithintheirindividualtopics.Health-CareandSupportivehousing：Todate,therehasbeenlittlecoordinatedresearchonhow“smarthouse”technologiescanassistfrailseniorsinremainingathome,and/orreducethecostsexperiencedbytheirinformalcaregivers.Thus,thepurposeoftheproposedresearchistodeterminetheusefulnessofavarietyofresidentialtechnologiesinhelpingseniorsmaintaintheirindependenceandinhelpingcaregiverssustaintheircaringactivities.Theoveralldesignoftheresearchistofocusontwogroupsofseniors.Thefirstisseniorswhoarebeingdischargedfromanacutecaresettingwiththepotentialforreducedabilitytoremainindependent.Anexampleisseniorswhohavehadhipreplacementsurgery.Thisgroupmaybenefitfromtechnologiesthatwouldhelpthembecomeadaptedtotheirreducedmobility.Thesecondisseniorswhohaveachronichealthproblemsuchasdementiaandwhoarereceivingassistancefromaninformalcaregiverlivingatadistance.Informalcaregiverslivingatadistancefromthecared-forseniorareathighriskofcaregiverburnout.Monitoringthecared-forseniorforhealthandsafetyisoneoftheimportanttasksdonebysuchcaregivers.Devicessuchasfloorsensors(todeterminewhethertheseniorhasfallen)andaccesscontrolstoensuresafetyfromintrudersortoindicateelopementbyaseniorwithdementiacouldreducecaregivertimespentcommutingtomonitorthesenior.Forbothsamples,trialswouldconsistofextendedperiodsofresidencewithinthe‘smarthouse’.Samplesofseniorsbeingdischargedfromacutecarewouldberecruitedfromacutecarehospitals.Samplesofseniorsbeingcaredforbyinformalcaregiversatadistancecouldberecruitedthroughdementiadiagnosisclinicsorthroughrequestfromcaregiversforrespite.Limitedamountsofclinicalandhealthserviceresearchhasbeenconducteduponseniors(withcomplexhealthproblems)incontrolledenvironmentssuchasthatrepresentedbythe“smarthouse”.Forexample,itisknownthatnightvisionoftheagedispoorbutthereisverylittleinformationregardingtheoptimumleveloflightingafterwakeningorfornightactivities.Fallingisamajorissueforolderpersons;anditresultsininjuries,disabilitiesandadditionalhealthcarecosts.Forthosewithdementingillnesses,safetyisthekeyissueduringperformanceoftheactivitiesofdailyliving(ADL).ItisvitalforustobeabletomonitorwherepatientswouldfallduringADL.Patientsandcaregiversactivitieswouldbemonitoredanddatawillbecollectedinthefollowingconditions.Projectswouldconcentrateonsub-populations,withaviewtocollectingscientificdataabouttheirconditionsandtheimpactoftechnologyupontheirlifestyles.Forexample:Personswithstablechronicdisabilityfollowingastrokeandtheircaregivers:toresearchoptimummodels,typesandlocationofvarioussensorsforsuchpatients(thesepatientsmayhaveneglect,hemiplegia,aphasiaandjudgmentproblems);toresearchpatternofmovementsduringtheambulation,useofwheelchairsorcanesonvarioustypeoffloormaterial;toresearchcaregiverssupportthroughe-healthtechnology;tomonitorfrequenciesandlocationofthefalls;toevaluatethevalueofsmartappliancesforstrokepatientsandcaregivers;toevaluateinformationandcommunicationtechnologysetupforTele-homecare;toevaluatetechnologyinterfaceforTele-homecarestaffandclients;toevaluatethemosteffectivewayoflightingthevariouspartofthehouse;tomodifyordevelopnewtechnologytoenhancecomfortandconvenienceofstrokepatientsandcaregivers;toevaluatethevalueofsurveillancesystemsinassistingcaregivers.PersonswithAlzheimer’sdiseaseandtheircaregivers:toevaluatetheeffectofsmarthou