Martin Edge’s research while affiliated with Robert Gordon University and other places

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Publications (8)


The potential for ‘smart home’systems in meeting the care needs of older persons and people with disabilities
  • Article
  • Full-text available

August 2008

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51 Reads

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12 Citations

Martin Edge

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Bruce Taylor

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The Robert Gordon University Faculty of Design is primarily concerned with the production and maintenance of high quality built environments that can meet the needs of the widest possible range of people. Our involvement in smart or intelligent housing does not stem from a commitment to the technology per se, or a perception that high-tech solutions to problems in the built environment are necessarily desirable or preferable to low-tech solutions. Rather it has arisen through an interest in universal or barrier free design and a desire to push these concepts way beyond the mere removal of physical obstructions like steps and narrow doorways. The idea of the barrier free home can be a much more proactive one and smart home technology can play a part in the removal of barriers to independent living for a wide range of people currently restricted both by their own disability and the environment around them.

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DESIGNING TECHNOLOGY IN HOMES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF DISABLED PEOPLE

July 2004

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202 Reads

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6 Citations

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Karen Clarke

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Martin Edge

Abstract This paperco nsiderst hem ain aspects and questionst hat are requiredt obe ask ed by any designer of residences that include high-end technology for people with disabilities. It seeks to reframe the design process to extend the concepts of



Designing acceptable 'smart' home technology to support people in the home

December 2003

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831 Reads

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51 Citations

Technology and Disability

This paper considers the main aspects and questions that are required to be asked by any designer of residences that include technology designed to support the lives of disabled people. It seeks to reframe the design process to extend the concepts of 'inclusive' and 'universal' design within the social context of designing for people with a wide range of disabilities. Designing 'smart homes' or homes that contain elements of 'smart home' technology for disabled or older people is not different from designing the home for people without any form of impairment on the one hand. On the other hand, there is a perceptual shift that is required in order to ensure needs are met from all stakeholders. There is a need to determine the needs of the occupant(s) and reflect these needs within the overall design. This paper addresses the main questions that arise from the design process as well as discuss the role of cultural probes in enhancing the design.


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Designing Reliable Smart Home Technology for Disabled People

August 2003

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1,949 Reads

The design of smart home systems is littered with pitfalls for the unwary. Distinct problems arise from lack of knowledge of how to transfer needs of an individual to specified 'smart' devices in a reliable and valid manner and install them in a way that will achieve their intended purpose. ABSTRACT This paper was presented at the First IRC Workshop 'Dependability in Healthcare Informatics' March 23rd 2001. Designing assistive technological solutions for disabled people and older people is fraught with problems due to the number of agencies involved. These problems are compounded by the lack of understanding that can exist between the engineers and the health staff. This lack of understanding can develop into extreme delays in installing the technology and the needs of the person with disabilities being subsumed in preference to ease of design and installation. Clearly, these potential misunderstandings could be ameliorated by improved communication between the widely different disciplines each with their own culture, ethos, knowledge and jargon. The CUSTODIAN[2] smart house simulation software provides a focus for discussion on CUSTODIAN's development in relation to reliability and safety of systems design.



Figure 1. The efficacy of two types of smart home technologies
Figure 2: The opportunity to make changes in design vs. cost
Figure 3. The methodological iteration of the design process (adapted from Clarkson and Keates 2001) 
The Process of Designing Appropriate Smart Homes: Including the User in the Design

January 2002

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3,274 Reads

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27 Citations

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has recently been relocated from an external entity brought into the home, to an internal feature of the domestic environment extending the range of the home beyond the `bricks and mortar'. Whilst other European countries such as Germany and Sweden have embraced the technology for its environmental and functional properties, the UK has been slow to adopt smart home technology except as a toy for the rich and famous. A number of research projects have considered the use of smart home technology within a range of social spheres, demonstrating the technology for a wide range of people with differing levels of disabilities and older people whilst developing a software suite that enables people to design smart homes that reflect people's needs. Smart homes can be useful; enhancing the quality of life for people whose life is limited by their domestic environment. This paper seeks to consider how smart home technology can be incorporated appropriately within the design process, exploring the difficulties in determining the most appropriate type of technology to meet the needs of people. The paper concludes with a set of guidelines to inform future designs within this area.


Designing Safe Smart Home Systems for Vulnerable People

November 2001

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1,801 Reads

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42 Citations

Designing assistive technological solutions for people with disabilities and older people is fraught with problems due to the number of agencies involved. These problems are compounded by the lack of understanding that can exist between the engineers and the health staff. This lack of understanding can develop into extreme delays in installing the technology and the needs of the person with disabilities being subsumed in preference to ease of design and installation. Clearly, these potential misunderstandings could be ameliorated by improved communication between the widely different disciplines each with their own culture, ethos, knowledge and jargon. The CUSTODIAN smart house simulation software provides a focus for discussion on CUSTODIAN's development in relation to reliability and safety of systems design.

Citations (6)


... This evidence leads to the question of why the concept of intelligent building has not been adopted in a more general way in the present era. Some authors believe that the technology used in smart buildings is still only affordable to sectors of the population with large amounts of disposable income (Edge et al. 2000). However, there is little doubt that, in the near future, domotic technology will be more affordable to many income groups, with a possible increase in demand. ...

Reference:

Determination of the influence of specific building regulations in smart buildings
The potential for ‘smart home’systems in meeting the care needs of older persons and people with disabilities

... Also, to ensure the requirements of all parties are satisfied, a shift in perspective is necessary. For people with a wide variety of disabilities, including those who rely on technology, such as in a smart home, Dewsbury et al. [ 23 ] recast the concept of the UD process and inclusive design with social references. Insisting that people of all abilities should be able to live comfortably in their homes, regardless of age or physical condition. ...

Designing acceptable 'smart' home technology to support people in the home

Technology and Disability

... A range of studies explored the adoption and use of technologies within the domestic environment including technologies for cooking and cleaning [3], telephone [4], entertainment [5] and computers & Internet [6]. The adoption of computers is one area widely researched with a particular focus on its social implications including the use by older people [7], people with a disability [8], young people or people from rural or city location [9], and women [10] as well as the issues exploring the digital divide [11]. In some technology studies exploring the home environment, people are narrowly defined as users with active purchasing power while investigating social and cultural meanings of possessing technological goods [12], how one modifies their use of technologies to suit their likings or purposes [13,14] and changes that occurred in the life at home, derived from the use of new technologies [6]. ...

DESIGNING TECHNOLOGY IN HOMES TO MEET THE NEEDS OF DISABLED PEOPLE

... He has designed and implemented a number of smart house systems to support individuals with complex needs. This activity commenced over 10 years ago with participation in the CUSOTODIAN project [9], from which Dundee received a demonstration smart home and a smart home system for an individual with acquired brain injury. The latter was the first recorded real-life implementation of smart home technology to meet a specified, neurological need [10][11][12]. ...

Final Evaluation of Tools Developed
  • Citing Article
  • July 2003

... Ambient intelligence research is devoted to designing systems that, embedded in our everyday environments, can help in improving the quality of our lives [1]. Among the various facets of ambient intelligence, a particularly interesting one is the so-called "empathic technology": systems able to detect the affective state of a person, and react on it by providing the necessary care [2]. This type of systems is especially interesting for improving the life of vulnerable people, e.g., children, people with disabilities, or elderly. ...

Designing Safe Smart Home Systems for Vulnerable People

... With respect to the interaction with the occupants, the contact type refers to control panels and switches that users use through direct interaction, while non-contact refers to sensors and receivers that perform their functions in the living environment of occupants without direct contact [64]. From a spatial point of view, non-contact is divided into mounted (M) and embedded, both of which require additional installation and attachment in the space; of these, the embedded type includes both space embedded (SE), that is, built into the spatial structure, and equipment embedded (EE) for which service-specific functions are included in the smart devices or intelligent devices replace existing ones [65]. ...

The Process of Designing Appropriate Smart Homes: Including the User in the Design