We have a person with quadriplegia who, after his accident, wanted to get back and continue to manage his farm in country Victoria. So we installed a complete Environmental Control Solution that allowed him to control many features of the house. He can control lights, doors, all his television and audio equipment both in the house and also in his main shed out the back. He has a Surface Pro tablet computer mounted to suit him and he uses voice commands and also head movement using a Zono Gyroscopic mouse with dwell click to engage with a custom interface we designed with him.
He uses his Smart Phone completely hands free with a powerful headset that connects both to the Smart Phone and to the Computer for voice recognition. He not only has voice commands for his environment but utilises the software for a lot of his computer control all on the one device. He runs spreadsheets that monitor his chemicals and paddock arrangements, keeps in constant communication with his manager and farm hands and the wider community.
After this he said he wanted to control a water pump in his field and also the back up generator. These were added to his control interface. Then a little later he got a Freedom Bed that allowed him to be rotated through the night. Only problem was he needed carers to come in and operate the remote. So we developed voice controls so he can simply say Rotate Left and it goes to the 18 degree setting we put in place. Then Rotate Centre or Rotate Right gives him the control he needs.
Finally he indicated there were issues with needing the peace of mind to call carers, especially in the night, if he has an emergency. So an alarm system was added which enabled him to activate it and it started a very loud alert in the carer’s quarters and could only be turned off in his bedroom beside his bed. He could activate the alarm by voice command or by activating carefully positioned proximity switches that set it off in case he couldn’t use his voice.
When we put an Environmental Control Solution in place it can be added to as needs arise. You can’t know it all at the start but we work closely with the client to ensure a way they can achieve what they want to do and also gain peace of mind.
