Inside the smart home technology, giving injured veterans the life they deserve

"I am not moved," said Sgt. Rob Jones says, alongside his wife, Pam, admiring the freshly painted walls of a new smart home tailored to his needs as a double amputee above the knee.

This is not a warning preamble before a tearful blast. Rob, a recipient of the Purple Heart who was seriously injured in Afghanistan in 2010 by an improvised explosive device, is not crying. Pam confirms it.

Rob alternates between walking with prostheses and using a wheelchair. This house, located approximately 80 km west of Washington, DC, in Middleburg, Virginia, was custom built by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a non-profit organization that, among other works charities, built homes with smart technologies staff and first responders seriously injured in the performance of their duties.

A 2018 study reports that about 3.6 million Americans and over 250,000 veterans use wheelchairs. According to the World Health Organization, more than one billion people in the world need badistive technologies, and only 10% of this population have access to them.

The badistive technology is designed to help people with disabilities to live more independently, and the smart home industry is a traditional branch of badistive technology. The new home of Rob and Pam will offer a combination of personalized badistance products and smart appliances readily available, things they 've never had in their previous homes.

Rob and Pam have chosen paint colors, furniture and countless other details for the home, but that 's the first time that either one or the other enters they are inside its walls.

The 2800 square foot ranch is 13 acres, which is no coincidence. The couple dreams of having a working farm here. Pam has already mapped. She plans to grow garlic, onions, tomatoes and a variety of other vegetables.

She and Rob have 44 chickens in a box in their current apartment. "It's a big box, they're very happy," Pam adds.

They are anxious to move in – Rob, Pam and probably the chickens too. It has been three years since the first time that they said yes to the Tunnel to Towers offer, all of it culminated with the unveiling of today, which took place there. a few minutes away.

"Every step that's been going on since my injury, there's always been at least one or two things in any type of home where everything is not perfectly organized, or that's uncomfortable, or I have to do concessions for things, and with this house that will not be the case, "says Rob.

Rob and Pam are both accomplished athletes. They met at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. He won a bronze medal in rowing. Pam, suffering from psoriatic arthritis, won two gold medals at the Games, also for rowing.

Since then, Rob has combined his sports activities with his advocacy work to raise funds for veterans' organizations – and to encourage others to do what is "unthinkable". In the winter of 2013-2014, Rob traveled 5,180 miles across the United States from Maine to California. In the fall of 2017, he ran 31 marathons in 31 days – 26.2 miles each day for a consecutive month (and all in different cities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom).

Their home and future farm, called Gathering Springs Farm, are just the beginning of this living couple. I am one of the lucky few to have a behind-the-scenes glimpse, especially to see what technology is at home and how that could allow them to focus on these more ambitious goals.

To make a difference, you have to do something that most people can not understand. Then people will hear your story and believe it. And use it to do their own good things.

– Rob Jones (@RobJonesJourney) June 10, 2019

Visit of the house

Rob and Pam move from room to room to finally finally see in person everything they've imagined since 2016. Rob has a cool head. Pam covers her mouth with excitement.

Control4, a subscription-based smart home system, is the main driver of connected technology in their homes. This is a smart home control center, a hub that connects switches, window blinds, audio zones and more, via touch screen control panels and an application. It also works with smart speakers but the voice control is not configured yet.

"Because of Control4's vast integration and customization capabilities, our systems have been installed for many veterans and those who use technology to improve their lives.We like to see how a Control4 smart home can help even [in] the smallest means, "said Brad Hintze, senior director of product marketing at Control4.

Colonel of the US Army retired Phil Swinford also at his home Control4, which was created for him by the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center at McGuire VA Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Swinford is an incomplete quadriplegic, which means that he has some mobility but rests on a wheelchair. McGuire has recommended Control4 to more than 20 veterans over the past five years, says hospital support technology program coordinator Melissa Oliver.

The brain behind Rob and Pam's Control4 system is sitting in a hallway closet. Everything else is in the open, including the main panel of the Touch4 Control4, which is wall mounted in the living room. This is their main point of access to all devices when they do not want to use a phone or voice commands.

The two bathrooms in the house are equipped with smart toilets. "They deodorize, they cleanse, they cleanse, they hunt [and] the seats are getting warmer, "says Trevor Tamsen, badistant manager of media relations at Tunnel to Towers.

Most people say that they do not want an automatic toilet at first, adds John Ponte, director of Smart Home for Tunnel to Towers. But then they end up loving them.

There is a Honeywell security system, equipped with cameras and sensors, that allows them to monitor everything they are at home, doing their shopping or vacationing. A fire extinguishing system, including indoor sprinklers, is also inside, but you would never know it. Hunter Douglas with application enabled Fans and shades are everywhere in the house, as well as Zigbee switches compatible Control4.

There are also four designated audio zones for listening to music throughout the home.

When Pam enters the cookedshe covers her mouth and Rob holds her in his arms. This is the piece that interests him the most. They prepare meals with food grown on their own farm. The kitchen is full of useful technologies. There is a motion activated sink faucet that turns on and off when you wave your hand next to it. A microwave mounted on the lower cabinet and foldable top cabinets are easier to reach.

The adjustable induction hob is the star, though. It rises and flows at the touch of a button. Rob can thus lower him to see what he does when he uses his wheelchair and pick him up when he is standing up.

"These are the little touches, we made 75 of these [homes] in one form or another, over the years. We know in some ways what they need before they know what they need, "says Trevor.

Moving in and out

Rob and I sit down to talk about his new home and what he feels now that Pam and he finally saw it. He admits that they are motivated since the start of construction, in the autumn of 2018 (the project started in 2016, but it took time to find the right ground), but that is the first time they enter the park. .

"I've always just lived in apartments with stairs or narrow doors, or showers that are hard to get in and a lot of things that are just not well prepared for me." And now , we're here in this house and wherever I look, it's done for me. [it’s] a million times better than anything I've ever experienced before, "Rob explains.

Veterans are sometimes reluctant to offer a custom-built home, Trevor told me earlier. "In all honesty, none of these guys think they deserve a home," he added.

Rob was not different. He did not feel sorry for himself after his injury. In fact, he quickly moved from what had happened to his recovery and decision.

"I kind of accelerated in the normal process of mourning and I moved pretty quickly to the acceptance phase of the process. I did not spend any energy hoping that did not happen, "says Rob.

I ask him how he was able to pbad so quickly and he jokes that he could have a "psychological disorder" that helped him, but there is much more than that.

He said he had never expected to die from his wounds, but had immediately begun to worry about the help he might need – and he did not want that. .

He also thought of the Marines still in Afghanistan. "Their mental states were directly related to the way I behaved and so it became natural to go ahead and go forward because I was trying to do what was best for them, "he explains.

Basically, Rob continues to move on despite everything, including finishing his fourth round earlier this month, a 104-story annual stair climb to New York's One World Observatory, hosted by Tunnel to Towers. in tribute to people who have lost their lives. lives on 9/11.

Scott Nokes, a retired corporal and rifleman from the United States Marine Corps, who fell ill with dysentery while in Afghanistan, was inspired by Rob. It resulted in double under-knee amputation and visual impairment.

When I talk about Rob, Scott jokes that he's a "painful subject", since Rob beats him at Tower Climb every year. Scott, who lives in New Jersey, has a smart home later in the year, courtesy of Tunnel to Towers.

He says he saw guys like Rob and Travis Mills, a staff sergeant and quadruple amputee of the retired US Army, he realized that he would be fine . "It's just what you do, you just keep going.That's what they've always done: Why should I do something different?" Scott asks.

I speak briefly with Rob on the phone about a month after my visit to see how things are going. He prepares breakfast while we talk – boiled eggs and bacon, on the new cooktop. Last night, for dinner, he prepared lamb meatballs, salad and sweet potatoes, he said, while I salivated quietly to each other. end of the line.

Pam already sells products in four different farmers' markets and does business with restaurants in the area. "Chickens are booming," he says. He explains how easy it is to control blinds with your phone. they still have not set up voice control.

I'm sure they'll get there, but for now, they're just busy living their lives.

It's part of CNET Tech enabled series on the role of technology in helping the disability community.