Low-Cost Home Automation System for Physical Disability and Limited Mobility People

Abstract

The general Latin American population with a physical disability or limited mobility has faced the daily basis challenge of having autonomy in home activities, with low-income or almost no-income. Needy Brazilian communities are examples of poor populations suffering from the lack of autonomy at home, aggravated by scarce financial resources. The authors developed a low-cost home automation system, aiming to assist people who live in Palmeira dos Indios city and Arapiraca city, needy communities located in the Northeast of Brazil. The system is composed of hardware and software components. The hardware comprises of microcontrollers used to actuate over electrical devices at home, while an Android application provides a simple graphical user interface (GUI) to control the devices using touch and voice commands by Bluetooth communication. They evaluated the system by implementing a home model and providing the home for four physical disability persons and one limited mobility person. They considered the system`s effectiveness, the system`s usability, and users` perceptions during the evaluation.