Habinteg Housing in south London is leading the pan-European i-stay@home project in the UK with partners from France, Germany, Holland and Belgium.
Its disabled tenants are testing high-tech solutions aimed at making everyday tasks easier for older and disabled people. 180 tenants across Europe are trying out a range of gadgets and judging their usefulness, reliability and value for money in supporting independent living. Habinteg’s Nunhead tenants are among only 22 people in the UK taking part in the trial.
Robotic vacuum cleaners, motion sensors for detecting falls, wireless cameras for identifying visitors at the front door, wireless light switches, energy monitors and online apps for banking and shopping are all being tested by tenants.
One of Habinteg’s tenants said, “You can’t put a price on the energy it saves. To keep getting up and getting up, I’ve no energy left to enjoy myself. The sockets save me bending over. The lights also operate the light at the front door, so it saves me walking all the way down the passage.”
Trials have taken place over a 10-month period, with full analysis of the i-stay@home project provided by all European partners early in 2015.
