| 1.1 Portfolio
28 Internet of Things | |
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| Internet of Things. | | This little home automation industry will grow and grow as more and more people need home carers in the form of robotics. As the population of developed nations become older, more people will need day to day carers to look after them. But developed nations do not have enough people to act as carers and personal dignity will look towards very high levels of home automation to care for people. | | Rather than see an influx of humanoid robots acting as carers, gentle home automation will creep in as home automation temperature control, fire suppression, personal security alarms, health monitoring and furry toys that can hold a conversation. Cameras will continually monitor behavior and send out an alarm if any unusual behaviour is identified. When a person falls and cannot get up, rather than dying 4 days later, people will be attended to within a few hours. |
| Applications. | | We are in the home automation business in a big way with energy monitoring, security monitoring and health monitoring. People die when they get too cold or too hot - these are easy things to monitor and to set alarms when things as not normal. People need to be reminded of medicine and food intake - these are easy things to monitor and set alarms when something is missed. |
| Carers. | | Caring for people is a low paid career for a few dedicated people, but open to abusive people who need to be continually monitored. Home cameras provide a kind of caring service with remote human monitors or automated monitoring. Internal and exterior cameras with continual recording is the base framework for home automation. People feel safer when they can view their external perimeter on their TV screen - security begins by making sure that criminals fully understand that video and audio are being continually recorded. |
| Robots. | | While si-fi imagines that your robot will get you a cup of tea while you watch TV, in reality, people must get up and do some excercise like making a cup of tea. Your robot may physically carry your cup of tea to your table. The number of people who have alzheimers symtoms is growing and home automation can extend their capabilities with regular advice and guidance. A robot that can talk you though the act of making a meal, reminding you of every step can be highly valuable to a large number of people. |
| Mobility. | | Physical mobility is critical to people who are injured or older, but homes were never designed to be lived in by people who could not walk. Home automation must make homes livable by people who are no longer able to walk - wheels demand a very different style of living. Carpets, doors, stairs, worktop height are all designed for people who are of average height and not in a wheal chair. Home automation may begin with a total redesign of the purpose of rooms and access to furnature when all access must be made from a chair. | | Walking machines as an alternative to wheel chairs will be a mssive improvement to the quality of life - walking applications services will become a massive business. |
| Aged over 65. | | In 2001 the UK had 10 million people over the age of 65. By 2021, the UK will have 15 million people over the age of 65. This does not mean that all those people are retired, it just means that those people have a lower cost of living than younger people and have more control of their finances. The number of people needing care at home will increase by 50% by 2020 - this is a massive and growing marketplace. The rest of Europe will see similar requirements and market conditions - home automation services must be aimed at the whole of Europe. |
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