INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — They're popping up in a lot of households: smart home devices. They have a lot of different names, too, like Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Ring Doorbell. The list goes on and on.
Many people use the devices to play music or turn off and on the lights. But have you ever thought about how useful this evolving technology might be to those with disabilities?
A program at Easterseals Crossroads is teaching how smart devices can help.
"It really opens their eyes, they're shocked at what it can do," Brian Norton, the director of assistive technology, said.
Everything from auto-locking the front door to starting the microwave. There's even new technology for those who have trouble speaking clearly and can't be understood by smart speakers.
"This is called the echo dot," Norton said. "They can just push a button and it'll perform a command for them."
That command might be, "Alexa, time for bed."
"You could have the smart speaker turn your TV off, turn your lights off, maybe set an alarm for you, maybe even play some background noise for you if you like that while you sleep," Norton said.
The program is called the Indiana Assistive Technology Act Project, or the INDATA Project. They'll travel to any doorstep in Indiana to teach people how this new technology might be useful to them.
In the past two decades, the cost of this type of in-home technology has decreased dramatically. They can even install a smart device that will make your grocery shopping easier. It's called the Echo Wand.
"Put it right next to your refrigerator, and if you run out of milk you can scan it, scan the barcode on your milk, and it's going to go ahead and add it to your Amazon account. And if you want it to, it can automatically purchase it," Norton said.
He said people are often surprised at just how much can be done with smart devices.
"Sometimes it's a little bit of shock and awe, 'Oh I didn't realize it could do that type of thing!'" he said. "[It] really just kind of opens peoples eyes to what it can do for them."