During the Beurs Domotica & Slim Wonen event, the Smart Homes Award for best automation project was given to DWA for a KNX-based online platform for client and professional care at the Wartburg care home in Utrecht.
The care home is open to people who need to rehabilitate and recover from surgery, illness or accident, and the client, Axion Continuous, wanted DWA to devise a system that gave patients a sense of well-being and allowed them to act independently.
“The installation is not very difficult on the whole,” says project leader Henk Heijkoop. “Many parts of the system are controlled via KNX, a widely used standard for building automation which only needs two wires.”
Control is via a tablet providing access to a range of services, and the company CareScreen made it into a bedside terminal. Users can control opening the front door, lighting and blinds, and heating. Other features include video calls, being able to surf the internet and watch TV. The main screen displays all the options presented in the form of platelets that help the user get started.
The system is built around the Gira Home Server, a standard commercial product, as are the other parts, which are all combined under the open KNX protocol. The result is an online platform, that can be repeated in modified, or unmodified form, for other installations.
The jury consisting of Geja Langer Field (EW), Willem van der Veere (Uneto – VNI) and Dick Glaser (DEC) gave the credit to DWA because its development is applicable not only in hospitals but also in home care and in a highly personalized way. It was an innovative solution for integrating many features, including energy, healthcare, entertainment and comfort. Moreover, the system ensures that the care is cheaper as the patients can do more for themselves.
The other nominees were:
VSmart – Automation Legionella Huize Beatrix
This project involved an innovative way of monitoring for Legionella. Prevention is through automated email reports of the observed temperatures sent to the client. Clear explanation was one of the nicest aspects of this solution with almost no organizational changes for the end user. A combination of different systems, based on KNX, were used with functionality that has been developed specifically for this customer.
Control4/M-Pro – Pretty smart office environment leads to better tangible results
This project is an office fully facilitated through smart technology and excelling in ease of use and practicality. Smarter, more sophisticated, better, easier. A modern flexible office environment with all the comforts for the office worker based on smart technology, and resulting in structural savings in operational costs, increase staff satisfaction and productivity.
