Home automation technology at first glance appears to be targeted towards young people with disposable income and the need to have all things electronic controlled with a simple voice command. However, with any labour saving devices, their applications might be handy bits of frivolous tech for the young and able bodied, but they quickly become an invaluable part of life for those with mobility and cognitive impairments.
The appeal of the mass market means that the price of technology falls very rapidly, people become accustomed to the items and their usefulness is proven. Once this has happened the applications for people who can get much more out of them are revealed. (A good example of this is SMS. Originally only conceived as a means of testing signal delivery in the mobile telecoms industry, it was going to be scrapped when full coverage had been established. However, it became popular among phone users and is now universal and a vital service for the deaf community who need to stay in touch with family and friends.) Read more