Automation

Home automation system is a fantastic way to enhance independence and change the way people with disabilities interact with their home environment.

Lighting

Relay is installed behind normal light switch. Thus, normal light switch hardware and 2-way switching can be retained.

Air conditioner

Relay is installed next to the head unit. No additional control cabling is required for lighting and air conditioner as the technology uses mesh connection between relays

Door

Door relay is installed at door control module, in parallel with standard door open contact. Relay can run off DC supply voltage from door controller if required.

Melbourne Quarter

SDA apartments case study

The goal of this project is to equip the 10 SDA apartments with a home automation system which will provide the tenants, all of whom have varying disabilities, an easy way to control their environment and be able to live in a manner akin to a tenant in a regular apartment, as opposed to an institutional-feeling hospice or aged care facility. In addition to this, the system is packed full with security features:

  • Each SDA apartment is designed to operate independently, minimising a cascading failure event.

  • The dual redundancy nurse-call system ensures that tenants can always call the support staff for assistance.

  • Each apartment has their individual uninterruptible power supply (UPS) which provides a minimum of 2 hours battery backup run time.

Developed and built by Lendlease, Melbourne Quarter makes the most of its prime position in Docklands precinct, overlooking Melbourne CBD, Port Phillip Bay and Yarra River. 

In this project, Techsmax provides the home automation and assistive technology system for the 10 SDA tenant apartments and 1 support apartment at Melbourne Quarter.

SDA custom app

All the system features is centralised into Techsmax custom app, designed specifically for SDA and adhered to W3C/WAI Mobile Accessibility standards. The app is also fully customisable for individual tenant to suit their specific needs.

A commercial-grade 10" Android panel is utilised for the wall-mounted tablet in the kitchen/living area. The app can also be installed on tenant’s personal tablet, and there is also a mobile layout for their phone.

Voice control

Voice control of lighting and door is offered through Alexa via Amazon Echo Dot.

There are 3 Amazon Echo Dots in each SDA apartment, located in the living area, bedroom, and bathroom.

Nurse call can be activated by simple command: “Alexa, help”.

Smoke alarm

The smoke alarm system communicates wirelessly between the control panel, smoke detector and strobe. In the event of smoke detection, the control panel will activate the audible alarm and the strobe, providing visual alarm for tenants with hearing impairment.

The audio alarm can be snoozed from the control panel (pictured on the far left) and can report the alarm back to the support apartment. This feature aids tenants that are in chairs and cannot reach the smoke detectors on the ceiling.

Nurse call

The nurse-call system provides tenants with the means to press a wall-mounted button to call the support apartment and alert the support staff in case of an emergency.

Working independently from the automation technology, the nurse-call function runs on a separate communication network so that all critical events are received by the support staff. The nurse-call event is also duplicated within the automation system to provide additional reliability.

3 call buttons are installed in each SDA apartment, located in the main bedroom, bathroom and living area.

Nurse call can also be initiated via the tenant app on tablet/phone or via voice to Amazon Echo Dot.

In the event of a call, the support apartment desk phones will ring, two-way communication can start.

Visual alerts will be in the support app on the PC, floating tablet, and mobile phone.

In addition to the notifications and alerts in the support app, a separate annunciator panel displays the point of call origin (e.g. Apartment 111 - bathroom) to ensure all messages are received.

Support apartment

The tenants in the 10 SDA apartments have access to 24-hour support staff located in the support apartment within the same building.

The support apartment also houses all the network backbone infrastructure that links all the apartments together. All the equipment is encased within a communication panel.

The support app on PC gives the support staff the ability to monitor status of the SDA apartment’ general environment (e.g. light, air conditioner, door).

The support staff can quickly track if the fire alarm originates from the apartment or building alarm, and also where in their apartment that the tenant calls for help.

The phone app is designed to be taken with a support staff when they assist a tenant. It let the support staff open/close the SDA apartment door if the tenant cannot get to the door, so the support staff does not have to bring all the keys with them.

System has built-in logging database to record all events on the system and can be password protected for increased security.