An Internet of Things (IoT) company, which took part in UP Ventures Smart City Innovation Testbed at MediaCityUK, has launched a live data project to show how the air quality in our homes affects our health and wellbeing
John Griffiths and his team at Secure Sensor Innovative Design (SSID) has developed a suite of sensors (Safehouse Technology) which can detect a range of environmental variables including: temperature, humidity, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), CO2, light, noise, motion and air press
The project, Sensors for Health, starting on Monday (June14) will run for four weeks at SSID owner John's home in Cardiff which has been kitted out as a testhouse monitoring elements which have been proven to have an effect on people's physical health.
The factors that will be monitored by the team are VOCs, light and CO2 levels.
Safehouse have recently installed their technology as part of a smart city testbed at MediaCityUK in Salford, organised by UP Ventures, which saw sensors and alert systems installed in the apartment of an elderly resident. Results from this testbed will be released this year.
John said: "The MediaCityUK pilot was set up to show that people can live in their own homes for the rest of their lives feeling secure and not worry about being isolated."
Test participant John will give feedback on how he feels when readings go above acceptable levels and will work with SSID analysts to determine the cause of the spike and what could be changed in his own home to reduce levels in the future.
Health implications of this are: drowsiness, fatigue and serious complications like seizures or loss of consciousness.
Regular updates and analysis of the project will be posted on the Safehouse Twitter account (https://twitter.com/Safehouse_Tech) .
John said: "A very small alteration in temperature can make a great difference to the sleeping habits and general health and well-being of a person.
"If your body has to work hard during the night to keep warm then it releases chemicals such as methane, CO2 and other VOCs which affect how we feel.
"Achieving the right temperature and conditions in your home can make a huge difference to how you feel day-to-day.
"In practical terms, getting the conditions right in a home can be particularly effective in improving the mood and alertness of elderly people living on their own or in sheltered accommodation. We’re committed to using technology to help people enjoy five years longer in their own home."
John came up with the idea for Safehouse when working for the Welsh government after his mother was diagnosed with dementia and he requested a transfer to the country's assisted living programme.
He said: "I was a technology specialist for the Welsh Government and when my mother contracted dementia, I made a request to work on the assisted living programme.
"I realised pretty rapidly that not all of the assistance people were getting in their homes was helping.
"I looked at hardware to address the problems of keeping people safe in their homes and then developed a system that would allow my mother to stay in her own home.
"She became the longest surviving UK dementia sufferer at home in the UK when she died in 2018. I had been looking after her for 15 years and she had spent 66 years in the same property."