Accessible House: Physical

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Learn more about Switch Control:
   • Switch Control Overview  
https://itunes.apple.com/au/book/hand...
http://www.apple.com/accessibility/

Learn more about HomeKit:
http://www.apple.com/au/ios/home/

https://iwesttech.com.au

Dialogue Transcript:
Christopher: Hello world! A while back, I was lucky enough to have a tour of the house that is behind me. It just looks like any other house. But it’s not. Come inside, and Alex and I will show you.

Alex: This home is part of the “Ausmar Assist” series, and is designed to be as accessible as possible. Some features include: The doorways and hallway have been widened. The kitchen has lowered bench tops, for wheelchair users. There is a dedicated bedroom for carers - with an on-suite. The bathroom off the master bedroom has lots of room with a specially designed sloping floor that means water doesn’t hang around. And a room dedicated for storing equipment.

This, is a Tesla Powerwall. Apart from looking like it has been stolen straight out of the USS Enterprise, this is a battery that stores energy from the electricity grid, or solar panels. As Christopher relies so much on electricity for most things, this can be a life-saver when the power goes off.

Christopher: Thanks, Alex. The AUSMAR Assist guys have also reinforced the internal walls to help avoid things like this. So, now I’m going to test out how strong the wall is.

Alex: Christopher, this is not your house.

Christopher: I love this house. Great design includes everyone and this home proves that. Until next time, this is Christopher and Alex from Down Under!

You didn’t really think I would leave it at that did you? Let’s see what happens when we combine this AUSMAR accessible house with some home automation technology.

Alex: In this video, you will see how this iPhone will be the control centre for the house. This phone is running iOS 10, which features the Home app through which you can control all your HomeKit-enabled devices. More on this later.

Home automation needs wi-fi. This is an Apple airport extreme. It is a wireless router for a home network. Most wireless routers do the same thing, but the advantage of this one is that it is configurable via an iPhone or Mac, meaning that it is fully accessible.

Phillips Hue lights are wi-fi enabled and the bulbs screw into any existing light fitting. They are dimmable and colour-changeable and can be controlled via the Home app. Here’s Christopher changing the colour of his lights. With HomeKit, the lights can be pre-planned based on location and time of day.

This Eve weather station is a temperature and humidity sensor. Multiple Eves can be placed around the house, inside and out, and they will report directly to the Home app.

With WeMo switches, you can turn on and off, any home appliance that can be plugged in, via the WeMo app.

With the Schlage door lock, Christopher can lock and unlock the door from the Home app. Here you see him letting a support worker in through the front door.
Here you see Christopher approaching his iMac. His switch is currently set up to control his iPhone. If he wants to control any other device, he has to ask for help, to change devices. With a new feature in iOS 10, called Platform Switching, he is now able to connect directly to any switch control enabled device from his iPhone. As he is mobile in his wheelchair, he can move around his house, connecting to his MacBook in the office, iPad in a bedroom, and Apple TV in the living room. This means he can pick up and put down devices as he wants, and control them all from one switch set-up. Platform Switching, opens the way for a whole new level of independence for the switch-user.

Thanks to Ausmar homes and the Apple Authorised Reseller, iWest Tech, for their assistance in making this video.