Gone are the days when aging, automatically meant loss of independence. New technology and thoughtful home adaptations can help seniors maintain their independence for many more years than expected. Seniors constitute one of the fastest growing groups in Canadian society today. In addition, the senior population will grow even faster in the next century. Today we are facing the age of the 'Baby Boomers' (individuals born between 1946 and 1964) who are currently 43 to 61 years of age, and the majority are preparing to stay in their own homes. As these seniors age there will be a growing concern by family and friends for their safety and security, especially if they are alone. This concern can be overcome through the implementation of assistive living enhancements within the home. Assistive living is a concept whereby current technology and advents in new technology can be used to enhance the living conditions and safety within the home by providing automated assistance or monitoring for everyday activities. This assistance can be scaled to allow for changes in mobility and health as that person ages within their home, these systems can grow and change easily as requirements change. Provisions may be made to provide monitoring capabilities to family and friends who are located further away from the seniors. Initially, this system is implemented to provide living enhancements and comfort for everyday living and will grow and change with time as the condition of the senior or senior's changes to add environmental control, safety and security features. Implementation of such a system is done through the use of control devices for such things as doors, lights, appliances, home audio/ video equipment and sensors to monitor for motion or dangers such as fire, smoke, appliances left on, or "I've fallen and can't get up" situations. The key element providing this capability is an Environment Control Unit serving as the heart of the system to which all the other control and sense functions are connected. Through the use of a connection to the Internet, this system can also be used by family or friends to monitor the state of the home and it's inhabitants. Assistive living is primarily aimed at seniors who wish to remain living in their current homes for a longer period of time. Although assistive living is also ideal for those with disabilities, the implementation would be more specialized, dependant upon the needs of the individual. In the case of seniors, by adding ongoing enhancements and functionality, this system will provide for coverage of essentially two stages of transition within the seniors' home. The first being enhanced living and comfort features, and the second being the need for enhanced safety and security. Enhanced Living and Comfort Features
Enhanced Safety and Security Features
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