The Belgian Centre for Domotics and Immotics wishes to promote home and building automation by participating in national and international projects. BCDI successfully participated in these projects:
- “Integrated home and living automation” design guide, period 2010 – 2012, with the support of IWT
Partners: BCDI, In-HAM, NAV, VEI
This guide was published in order to answer all the important questions on home automation.
The builder is introduced to home and living automation. The architect gets instructions for a responsible choice and clear communication. The contractor familiarises himself with this technology and is informed on the introduction of home automation at the right moment in the construction process. The installer receives a basis for his advice and explanation of his ideas.
The guide seeks to give support for the integration of home automation and wants to help the care industry with the right choice of assistive technology taking the care needs of the end user into account.
- The TIS project “Technological innovation in the care industry: needs of the care industry, offer and mutual cooperation in the electronics and automation industry”, period 2005 – 2009. Project with the support of IWT
Partners: BCDI, In-HAM, IMEC
This project seeks to inform the end user as well as the industry in order to stimulate a better integration and implementation of assistive technologies geared to the needs of the end user. The care industry and other industries will thus benefit from the advantages of this technology. The implementation of such technologies has to go hand in hand with an adapted support and innovative service that promotes this technology as an opportunity. To realise these objectives, we organised workshops and brainstorm sessions where the care and technology industries could get together.
- Participation in the MATS project (IST programme of EU, key action “Disabled and the Elderly”), period 2001-2004.
The “MATS” project within the framework of the European IST (Information Society Technologies) programme
The acronym MATS means “Flexible Mechatronic Assistive Technology System to support persons with special needs in all their living and working environments.”
The main purpose of this project is to think, develop and produce a prototype version of a house robot that improves the working and living conditions of disabled persons in their home.
This will allow us to achieve one of the main goals of the European Commission, namely a society accessible for everyone and non-discriminatory.
The research project will also contribute to the further development of decentralised intelligence in houses “Ambient Intelligence”.
The revolutionary concept of the MATS system proposes a flexible mechatronic (robotics) to help disabled people in their daily tasks, but also in their work and leisure time.
The central element of MATS will be a central robotised arm that will move itself from one station (docking station) to another, and this arm will allow the user to use the arm for different purposes in the house.
The project, subsidised by the European Commission, began on September 1st 2001 and lasted for 3 years.
The different partners of BCDI in this project were:
- Staffordshire University (UK)
- Centre Docteur Bouffard – Vercellie (F)
- Lunds University (S)
- Rehab Robotics Ltd (UK)
- Scuola Superiore di Pisa (ITA)
- Helsinki University (FIN)
- Universidad Madrid (E)
- In-Ham vzw (B)
- City of Birmingham (UK)