Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Technological challenges
•
Smart wheelchairs with autonomous navigation and indoor route planning.
Adaptive environment control and interoperability.
•
Seamless connectivity.
•
Application migration.
•
4.4. Assuring environmental working conditions
Besides the rules that regulate the architecture of the working environment, many
international standards and laws define parameters related to other environmental
factors such as temperature, light and change of air, the position of work-tools like
monitors, chairs and desks. These elements have a strong impact on the work
performance of employees and on the preservation of their health and welfare.
Unfortunately, these parameters are often not monitored and optimized and this has
negative consequences on workers.
These remarks are even more valid when older and disabled workers are
considered. AAL technological solutions can support employees in guaranteeing a
constant correspondence of these elements to the levels fixed by international standards
and rules. Smart working environments (SWEs) should have sensors that measure
ambient parameters, such as temperature and humidity, and, according to the measured
data, vary the air-conditioning in order to respect optimal parameters.
SWEs are also able to recognize how many people are present in the environment
and which instruments are switched on. The control core of the SWE should apply this
information to set the change of air in the surroundings.
Furthermore, AAL solutions can be adopted to regulate the light at the workstation
of each employee. To keep workers from developing problems to their sight and
tiredness in their eyes, regulating the light of each workstation is essential. SWEs can
support this task, based on data of the natural light in the environment, the work
activities that need to be carried out and the worker's visual ability. The control core
can then modify the brightness of lamps and the covering of windows and skylights, for
example by varying the opening and closing of curtains.
Thanks to AAL technology, the workstation can also be smart and capable of
changing the characteristics and positions of its components to improve the quality of
working environments and therefore of workers´ performances. An example of smart
AAL workstation is given in Scenario 12.
Scenario 12.
Smart Workstation
Mario is 70 years old and is a skilled worker who works in wood and inlays objects. He is skilled at restoring
old small wooden objects. He is restoring a wooden jewel box for a museum. He follows directions given to
him by the director of the museum to complete his task.
Mario has a smart workstation at which he carries out his activities. This workstation is made up of a
desk with two sections: one with a PC (monitor, case, mouse, keyboard and webcam) and the other with tools
to work in wood. Mario's workstation is able to recognize if he is working with the computer or in the other
section:
•
if Mario is at the PC, the lighting of the workstation is changed automatically to facilitate Mario's
working; he is presbyopic. There is also a set of sensors that recognize the distance between
Mario's and the desk (during the day Mario often changes the height of his chair) and the height
of the monitor is automatically varied in order to give Mario the best visibility;
