Innovate Trust are using mainstream technology to promote independence and wellbeing for people with disabilities throughout Wales.
Innovate Trust is the first supported living provider in the UK. Celebrating the charities 50th year anniversary. They are now exploring the use of mainstream technology to promote independence and wellbeing for individuals with a disability.
Video Credits: Innovate Trust
About the 'Intelligent Personal Assistants' project
The Intelligent Personal Assistants project started in 2017 through funding provided by ‘Innovate to Save’ Welsh Government, Y Lab – the Public Services Innovation Lab for Wales which is a partnership between Cardiff University and Nesta, the UK’s innovation foundation.
Intelligent Personal Assistant devices have been setup into the homes of people with disabilities supported by the charity. Intelligent Personal Assistants are usually known by their brand names such as the Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri.
These devices commonly appear as Smart Speakers. The devices are built up of speakers, microphones and artificial intelligence to provide responses and automation based on user commands.
They can be used to control appliances and IoT devices within the everyday home i.e. lighting, music, kettles, smart TV and other environmental controls. These can then be controlled via verbal commands, gesture and interactions with other programmed devices.
After the initial research project the charity expanded this technology to all 197 individuals it supports in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan.
