A zero-carbon smart house which will be the “embodiment of sustainability” has been opened at BT’S Adastral Park. The University of Suffolk Smart House project is a collaborative research facility that aims to demonstrate the regional capacity for the design, build and occupation of sustainable homes. The building will be easy to maintain and comfortable, offering a vision for a sustainable way of life that enhances lifestyles and acts as a template for future domestic homes.

The Smart House will be used as a ‘living laboratory’ and demonstrator by the University of Suffolk and a range of third-party innovation partners. Research being developed in the health innovation arena using the Smart House living lab include collaboration with BT, local services, and other universities, with a broad focus on assisted living and supporting independence in home.

The Smart House showcases and investigates Suffolk County Council’s new Cassius in-home technological monitoring solution to support happy, independent, connected lives. This includes bed, door and motion sensors, communication buttons and communication technology. Alongside this solution, researchers and students have access to separate hardware and data that they can interface with directly, in a collaboration with BT’s Applied Research Division.

Other current collaborations include working with University of Manchester enabling their research project on interactions between users and assistive technology, and facilitating Ipswich Borough Council’s project addressing the health impacts of domestic burning on air quality.

Dr Hannah Steventon, Research Fellow in University of Suffolk’s Suffolk Sustainability Institute, says: “The Smart House Living Lab provides a unique venue for innovative research and development. Multidisciplinary collaborations with innovators and academics will support a healthy and sustainable future.”

The Smart House offers short-range and long-range network solutions to connect hardware and devices, and a data curation solution enabling accumulation of data for future interrogation. As an innovative domestic living lab, our Smart House provides a unique living lab venue to research and trial technology and interactions supporting healthy living. Please do get in touch to explore how you can work with UoS.