Liverpool house gets smart

A Smarthouse showcasing gadgets that can drain an overflowing bath or warn people that a relative has had a fall will be on show at the iLinks Innovation event in Liverpool this week.

The Mi (More independent) Smarthouse brings together some of the tools, technology and gadgets that can help support people living in the community.

It is both a physical and virtual house and includes a helpline with trained staff to advise people about the products and ways to fund them.

The technologies include gadgets to open the curtains and a phone where the person presses a photo of the person they want to call.

Also, devices to prompt people to take their medicines or remind them of their dietary requirements when they open the fridge door.

Sensors can alert someone if a person is away from their bed for too long or has had a fall, wet the bed or had an epileptic fit.

Devices can also be attached to the bath that automatically unplug when too full and warn people if the temperature is too hot.

The house was launched at Liverpool Football Club in March and will be on its second outing at the iLinks Innovations conference held at Aintree Racecourse this Wednesday.

Mi is Liverpool’s Delivering Assisted Living Lifestyles At Scale project that has received more than £7m in funding and was previously called the Feel Good Factory.

Jon Davenport, Dallas programme manager, said the purpose of the Mi project was to engage with the Liverpool community and the Smarthouse played a key role in doing that.

He believed that seeing the technology in a home setting allowed people to see it as an enabler, rather than as something restrictive or to be feared.

Informatics Merseyside deputy director of commissioning and research and development Kate Warriner said the house was designed to bring assistive technologies to life.

She expected about 500 delegates to attend the iLinks event where it would be on show.

The five themes of the conference are; innovation; agile working; Mi assistive technologies; interoperability; and work around the local health economy informatics strategy.