The Great Northern Haven in Dundalk is an experiment for older people. It is a development of 16 Ambient Assisted Living Smart Homes. Each apartment contains over 100 sensors, connected televisions, touch screen devices and communications devices so that its occupants can be constantly monitored. Some 15 older volunteers live in the homes.
They are linked to Dundalk Institute of Technology where the Netwell Centre, a research project, examines the impact of the housing on the older people, and Casala, an Enterprise Ireland programme, manages the technology.
According to Andrew MacFarlane, centre manager for Casala, they monitor nearly everything, including light levels, movement, temperature and water consumption. There is also a critical alarm system and a communications system to talk directly to occupants.
While it sounds a lot like Big Brother, Mr MacFarlane said its motives were much more benign. Older people generally have regular habits, he said, so if a change of habit is detected, such as less sleep, there is an opportunity to intervene to help with the problem earlier.
The aim is to identify the technology that will be most useful in helping older people stay in their own homes. Older people will choose what level of support will meet their own needs best. For example, a person with early dementia might choose to have a family member contacted if their back door is detected as open.
A new project will see some of the technology introduced into 300 homes in the near future.
There is a balance to be struck, Mr MacFarlane said. “The whole point is to change the emphasis away from nursing homes, so that people can lead independent lives for as long as possible.”
