Major projects

Over the last few years OpenHub has undertaken a number of significant pieces of consultancy work in the area of broadband services to the home. 
Building on the practical understanding that this has helped us develop, OpenHub is now helping to deliver two major projects.

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OpenHub on the BRE Innovation Park

Working in partnership with Buildings Research Establishment, OpenHub has coordinated the provision of smart home technology from a number of suppliers into one of the homes - the Hanson EcoHouse - on the BRE Innovation Park in Watford.

The Hanson EcoHouse

Within the Hanson EcoHouse OpenHub has installed a network that will support equipment built using open standards as well as equipment using proprietary protocols.  On display is a range of smart technology from different manufacturers but managed easily together and merged seamlessly with the wider community services.

The Community Digital Management Centre

Each home on the Innovation Park has been supplied with an ultra high bandwidth fibre connection to a Community Digital Management Centre based in the original Hanson House. This not only provides a link to the Internet, but also allows the delivery of virtually unlimited broadband services within the connected estate, demonstrating the OpenHub model for digitally enabled exciting new communities.  Services will include video on demand, telephony, home school links, and many other local services to catalyse the creation and ongoing support for building communities.

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Project downloads (requires Adobe Reader)

» BRE Innovation Park (pdf)

» Hanson EcoHouse (pdf)

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MonAMI

MonAMI is the largest European project to date in the area of information technologies for older people and people with disabilities. It is a four year programme with partners in seven countries.

The aim of the MonAMI (Mainstreaming on Ambient Intelligence) project is to demonstrate how accessible and useful services can be delivered over mainstream systems and platforms.  Services will be provided over digital televisions, mobile telephones and the Internet to support daily tasks and increase the quality of life for older people and people with disabilities in their home environment.

Applications will be tested with user tests in lab-like conditions in six usability centres.  Those that have been found to be feasible, usable and appropriate to user needs, will then undergo large-scale validation in validation centres in four countries.  Hundreds of users will try out the services in their homes and the impact and consequences will be analysed.  The economic viability and long term sustainability of the services will be addressed in order to facilitate real mainstream implementation.

OpenHub is running the usability and validation centres in the UK as well as pulling together an overview of the services already being delivered to older and disabled people in Europe.