•Monographs

The Independent Living Centre (CVI), formed by Mutuam and Mutual Mèdica, is a new facility created to provide comprehensive assistance to people with disabilities and the elderly. To achieve this, the centre reproduces a fully accessible and domotic apartment where users can access the latest technical and technological aids while a multidisciplinary team, with the aid of researchers from UPC, carries out a personalized diagnosis of the most suitable elements for minimizing the person's dependence.

For this purpose, the University will have a research laboratory at the centre in which, through the UPC Chair of Accessibility, researchers from the university will be able to adapt the elements to the particular needs of the users, validate prototypes and new technologies developed at the University to facilitate day-to-day activities, and use the detected needs to initiate new research projects.

UPC has also made a study of the latest technologies for conditioning this space in an accessible digital apartment; i.e., for increasing the independence of people with disabilities and the elderly. This laboratory will make the Independent Life Centre a reference in research, development and innovation, and in the validation of support products and technology applied to dependent persons.

There are currently 322,000 dependent people in Catalonia, of whom 210,000 are over 65 years of age. In addition, the number of disabled persons is approximately 357,000. The centre, managed by the Association for Independent Living responds to the need to provide this growing group with greater autonomy and independence. The use of advanced-assistance technologies by healthcare professionals in combination with technology experts produces excellent results for this group of people, who see an improvement in their personal autonomy and quality of life, allowing them to remain in their own homes for longer, with the necessary adaptations.

The centre is made up of three areas: the apartment area, the personalized assistance area and the technical and services area.

The apartment area was designed with the cooperation of UPC, which drew up a descriptive report of the technologies that should be present and of the technical installation of the equipment. This area reproduces the environment of a real dwelling and consists of an entrance, a dining room, a kitchen, living room, bedroom, a patio, a fully equipped bathroom and a toilet and shower. This space allows a professional team to reproduce with the users all the activities and actions they usually perform in the home, such as sleeping, personal hygiene, cooking and cleaning, communication, leisure and study. With the information obtained, the multidisciplinary team can more accurately prescribe the technical aids that will allow the person to maximize their personal autonomy.

The apartment was designed with a view to accessibility and incorporates everything that might facilitate the life of people with dependencies or disabilities. The rooms, the doors and the height of the furniture were designed in response to the needs of the users. For example, users can move through the apartment in a wheelchair without encountering any obstacles. Lights, windows and doors can be remotely controlled by different means. The front door can even be opened from the dining room using the TV remote control.

The kitchen is equipped with domestic appliances (dishwasher, fridge, induction hob, extractor, etc.) that incorporate the latest in domotics. Users can control the appliances with voice commands using a device that can be worn like a watch or by telephone. The extractor fan turns on automatically when it senses fumes from cooking and increases power as the heat in the kitchen increases. An alarm is activated in the event of a gas leak in the kitchen and automatically opens the windows to air the room.

Users can adjust the height of the kitchen surfaces both electronically and by using a hand crank. The cupboards have a motor incorporated that allows users to lower them so that they are more accessible. In the kitchen, users can also try all the implements and devices designed to facilitate autonomous food handling and eating.

The living room is divided into two areas. A workspace with a computer, adapted to the users’ needs, and an entertainment area where users can watch television. All the domotics in this space have been integrated in a single control module. Hence, the TV remote control can be used to turn the lights on and off, raise and lower the blinds and open the front door while viewing the visitors on the television.

This area is also fitted with ergonomic furniture which helps users to sit up and achieve an optimum posture for working or watching television.

The sleeping area is equipped with a bed that can be raised and lowered to allow disabled people to get in and out. As in the living room, this area allows users to execute different orders using a single control module or even by voice command. The area is directly connected to the bathroom. The bathroom area reproduces the two possible situations in the user's own home: a fully equipped bathroom with a bathtub and a smaller bathroom with shower and hand basin.

Joining the two spaces allows the professional team to decide, based on the needs of each user, which are the best systems on the market for facilitating the personal hygiene of the user and the work of the carer. For cases of users with less mobility, an automatic winch has been installed on the ceiling that lifts up the user and transports him or her to the bathtub.

When this centre’s team collected all the information from the tests and observations, a decision is taken on the support products required by the user. These products may be available on the market (Zimmer frames, winches, wheelchairs, etc.), they may be made to measure by the centre’s professional team (platforms or splints) or they may be designed and made to measure by the cooperating organizations.

Several companies that share the objective of the Association for Independent Living of researching and developing new products and services that contribute to improving the autonomy and quality of life on dependent persons cooperate with the centre.

For persons of reduced autonomy, the company has developed a videoconferencing system for the home that allows communication and interaction with family members and people who provide them with assistance. This system is being tried out at the Independent Life Centre with dependent persons.

• Fagor Electrodomésticos. The company is a leading manufacturer of domestic appliances for cooking, washing, air conditioning and comfort, as well as miniature domestic appliances, kitchen furniture and advanced systems for the home.

It has fitted the centre’s kitchen with its range of domestic appliances and miniature domestic appliances. This is the first range of products that can be controlled by telephone and, soon, by voice.

• Logitech. As a global peripherals company, Logitech provides added value by providing easy access to and better use of the devices around us. Logitech has opted for universal controls that integrate and facilitate the control of domestic devices.

Logitech has provided CVI with products that allow access to the computer from any point in the home and peripherals that are guaranteed to be ergonomic. It has also provided tools for improving social relations via high-quality videoconferencing and wireless audio systems that adapt to any environment.

• Roca. Roca is a world leader and design reference in bathroom fittings.

It has cooperated by providing its sanitary fittings, bathroom accessories, taps and flooring to facilitate access for different groups of people by means of universal design.

• Schneider Electric. This is the first company to use middle and low voltage in the control of automated systems.

The company has provided the CVI with all the material required for the electrical installation, telecommunications distribution and standard-based environment control.

• Vodafone. Vodafone provides cell phones, services and price plans to suit everyone.

This company has fitted the Independent Living Centre with cell phones and services that facilitate access for the elderly and persons with disabilities.

• I2Cat Foundation This is a nonprofit organization whose objective is to foster the creation of technological and economic wealth in Catalonia. I2Cat promotes the development of infrastructure, public administration and public and private research and innovation communities.

It cooperates in the development of research projects applied to people with reduced autonomy.

The Association for Independent Liiving (AVI) was set up by the mutual insurance companies, Mutuam and Mutual Mèdica, to promote the creation of the Independent Liiving Centre. The project receives the support of the Technical University of Catalonia, which drafted the report determining the technologies that the centre would require in order to be an intelligent dwelling. It also receives the support of the companies Vodafone, Alcatel and Roca, who have shown particular sensitivity by creating products adapted to the elderly and/or disabled persons.

Mutuam and Mutual Mèdica are two nonprofit mutual insurance institutions with extensive experience in the world of social projections and they have been working together for more than 10 years to provide support for the elderly. Mutuam is a mutual society providing social coverage that is a reference among the elderly. With more than 60 years of experience and a solid footing in Catalonia, it provides home help, distance help, management of assisted residences and managed apartments, and assessment on research into public assistance for the elderly.

Mutual Mèdica is a nonprofit mutual society providing social coverage for doctors and their families since 1920. It has wide experience in the world of insurance and its range of products includes dependence insurance that provides coverage to doctors who can no longer independently carry out basic daily activities.

The Chair of Accessibility, under the slogan “Architecture, technology and design” for all, focuses its activities on promoting equal opportunities for those at UPC with disabilities or dependencies in the areas of architecture and technology. The chair coordinates research groups and other bodies at the University and transmits the knowledge and experience developed so that the disabled persons can independently access any environment, whether architectural, technological or knowledge-based.