Summary

AKW are the UK market leader of accessible showering, bathroom, kitchen and mobility aids. With over 28 years experience in designing and manufacturing disabled showers, wet rooms, accessible bathrooms and kitchens.

AKW wanted remote control functionality of showers, to allow carers of people with mobility issues to set the correct shower settings from a short distance – to make the experience of assisted showers more comfortable.

Challenge

There was a need to allow for individual shower settings to be pre-set from the comfort of an armchair rather than having to wait whilst in the shower itself (with increased chance of slippage and injury). This could also allow carers to take charge of the operation and ensure that there was reduced chance of the water being too hot or powerful.

How Calvium Helped

Working with the AKW team, Calvium produced the AKW SmartCare Plus app to give users more options than the existing remote control for the shower. Functionality included:

• The ability to create specific shower user settings for individual accounts so that people can have a pre-set shower setting which they can activate at the touch of the button on the App. 
• Third party control for carers – the ability to set what they think is the best temperature and water flow for the specific users. Carers don’t need to be in the bathroom to operate the controls so affording extra privacy if necessary.
• Monitoring of shower usage, offering peace of mind for carers or family members who can check how often their relative is using the shower to maintain a healthy hygiene regime.
• The App also gives you the ability to set shower alarms for when it is time to shower – the user can even be woken by their alarm while the app automatically turns the shower on and sets it to their preferred temperature and flow. You can also set reminders to ‘Take a Shower’ and set a timer to remind the user or carer that they’ve showered for long enough.

Above are just a few of the available features, some others include energy, water and flow monitoring, the ability to start the shower remotely and have it notify you via the app when it is up to temperature and fully control the shower up to 10 meters away.

Results

A truly useful demonstration of where the Internet of Things can add value in the home for some of the most vulnerable in society.

Get in touch today to learn more about the innovative solutions Calvium can bring to your organisation, with IoT and beyond: 0117 226 2000 / hello@calvium.com