I wanted to share my experience in setting up a smart home automation system for my elderly mother. The goal was to enhance her safety and comfort while ensuring ease of use. I stumbled upon the Withings Sleep Mat and decided to integrate it into her routine. Initially, the automation was quite erratic, often failing to respond when she got into or out of bed. This was concerning, especially since she relies on the system to turn on lights in the bathroom and hallway for better visibility.
After some research and trial and error, I discovered that the Withings Sleep Mat disconnects its Wi-Fi when detecting movement, reconnecting only when motion stops. This intermittent connectivity was causing delays in the automation response. To address this, I adjusted the rule to trigger not only on motion detection but also on the device re-establishing its Wi-Fi connection. This tweak significantly improved the system’s responsiveness.
Here’s a glimpse of the rule I implemented:
plaintext
rule “Bedroom Motion Detected”
when
Item SleepMat_Status changed from IDLE to PRESENCE
then
if (now.hour >= 19 || now.hour <= 7) {
Bathroom_Lights.sendCommand(ON)
Hallway_Lamp.sendCommand(ON)
}
end
This adjustment ensures that lights are activated promptly, providing a safer environment for her nighttime movements. The system now reliably responds within seconds, which has been a huge relief for both of us.
I’d love to hear if others have similar setups or encountered different challenges in creating elderly-friendly smart home solutions. Sharing experiences can help us all refine our systems for better safety and comfort.