Smart Houses Project Using Currently Available Technology Part 3: Problems and Solutions

Sources of Problems Person Computer X-10 products House

Problems - A Person Problem 1. Too many downloaded programs – nonfunctioning computer. 2. Not updating/did not download patches – nonfunctioning computer. Solution Clean any unused programs or add additional memory to accommodate Active Home program. Update virus protection/ Microsoft updates regularly.

Problems - A Person Problem 3. Opened too many files. Solution Reduce number of programs running in background.

Problems- A Computer Problem 1. Hidden applications were running leading to less resource. 2. Virus affected the PC. 3. Bad hardware component. Solution Reduce program running at startup. Run anti-virus software. Replace the component.

Problems- A Computer Problem 4. PC had trouble connecting to the Internet. 5. PC cannot open applications such as Outlook. 6. Computer locked up when using ActiveHome. Solution Change user account status. Update the software and restart the PC. Restart the computer, upgrade the OS if necessary.

Problems: X-10 Products Problem 1. ActiveHome software needed downloading. 2. Timer for lighting off. Solution Active home updates from X-10 website. Reset light timers.

Problems: X-10 Products Problem 3. Time/date were incorrect. 4. Motion detector was too sensitive and did not work with fluorescent lights. Solution Interface active home and computer clock. Put wide tape on side of motion detector or move to another wall. Use different light.

Problems: X-10 Products Problem 5. Remote control was not working. 6. Chime did not work. Solution Change batteries and reset. Instead of a 5-in-1 remote, a key chain remote was used. Same as above. If still doesn’t work, replace chime.

Problems: X-10 Products Problem 7. A door jam was offset. 8. Door sensor was affected by temperature and moisture change. Solution Use a lightweight shim to fit properly. (For apartment, permanent fixture was not used) Permanently install sensors.

Problems: X-10 Products Problem 9. Wiring and tape coming loose affected by the environment. 10. Radio interference was found when the light timer is on. 11. Door chime went off in case of power outage. Solution Use indoor/outdoor tape or permanently install Sensors. Change the house code – may be getting signal from other X-10 sources or in/outside house interference. Reset chimes.

Problems: X-10 Products Problem 12. Light was turned off manually and needs to be reset. 13. Light came on at time not set – interference. Solution Manually turn on light and then turn off by the X-10 program in order to turn on again at the scheduled time. Change the house code - may be getting signal from other X-10 sources or in/out side of house interference.

Problems – A House Problem 1. Old houses or apartments have old phone lines and old electricity lines that interfere with the use of a computer. Solution “Noise” on the power line. Plug the appliance into a noise filter such as Filtering. A simple plug-in phase called SignaLink was a solution.

4. Impact of a smart house among frail elders: Results of one- year intervention Computer and Smart House systems were provided. Computer use is monitored by Boss Everyware. Computer use includes Internet, , ActiveHome, word processing, games, modem access, computer browsing and miscellaneous programs.

Boss Everyware Collects information such as application file name, active window and duration and saves them to a dbase III+ log file. Has the ability to filter data and export them to other programs such as Microsoft Excel and text editors.

Boss Everyware and Privacy Boss Everyware has a key logger but this option is always turned off. This is in accordance to HIPAA and to maintain security.

Boss Everyware Procedure The software is installed in every consumer’s computer. Every 6 months, their log files are copied and transferred to the investigator’s computer. Some of the data is filtered in dbase and then converted to XLS to sort. Time spent in a particular category of application is reported for each consumer.

Example of a Report

Results of one- year intervention Initial Data Treatment : 46 Control: 67 One-year Follow-up Treatment : 39 (-15%) Control: 50 (-25%) Reasons of attrition: 8 died ( 2T, 6C) 5 moved out of town ( 3T, 2 C) 5 nursing home placement (1T, 4C) 3 disconnected phones (1T. 2C) 3 quit (1T, 2C)

Satisfaction toward life with a computer among smart house users Very Satisfied 52.8% Somewhat Satisfied 33.3% Neither 5.6% Somewhat Dissatisfied 8.3% Very Dissatisfied 0% One-Sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test Z = 3.167, p =.001

Usefulness of Smart House Usefulness Very Useful82.9% Somewhat Useful28.6% Not So Useful 8.6% Not Useful At All 8.6%

Operation of Smart House Ease or Difficulty Very Easy37.8% Somewhat Easy29.8% Somewhat Difficult10.8% Very Difficult 5.4% Doesn’t Apply16.2% (don’t operate SH via computer)

Subjective Outcome of Smart House “Do you recommend Smart House for any age group?” Yes (n=28)77.8%No (n=8) 22.2% for Elderly 32.1% for Young ones 0 for Any one 52.8%

Reasons for Recommendation (N=30) Safety and Security (53.6%) Utilitarian Value (32.1%) Lights turning on/off by itself is useful for persons who use assistive devices Overall Satisfaction ( 14.3%)

Reasons for Not Recommending (N=8) System is erratic (62.5%) – The system sometimes works but sometimes doesn't work. Bad experience (25.0%) Difficulty in operation (12.5%)

Subjective Outcome of Smart House “Has using a computer including Smart House changed the following?” Mental health 70.6% Socializing64.0% Security56.0% Health 40.5% Wellness 40.5%

Difference in Attitude Attitude toward life with computer use A computer is for older adults. Computer use would be fun. F=6.317 p=.003 C (Non users) 50.8 (13.6) least positive T (Light users)* 57.8 (4.9) very positive (Heavy users) 59.7 (4.5) most positive Non users are different from two levels of users. * Less than 10 hours/week

Difference in Attitude Perceived physical /psychosocial health I would manage my health easier via computer use. Computer use would increase my independence as a person. F=7.244 p=.002 C (Non users) 51.1 (14.2) Least positive T (Light users) 54.8 (7.5) In the middle (Heavy users) 63.1 (6.8) Most positive Non users are different from high users.

Difference in Attitude Attitude toward future computer-based technology Computer-based technologies would increase my independence so that I do not always need help from someone. In the future, computer-based technology will not threaten older adult’s privacy. F=5.793 p=.005 C (Non users) 42.9 (10.1) T (Light users) 44.4 (4.2) (Heavy users) 50.1 (6.1) Non users are different from two levels of users.

“I like Smart House and only wish this place was large so that I could take more advantage of it.”