Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media
Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media
Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media
Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media
Priscilla Beaulieu, of New Fairfield, has Multiple Sclerosis and limited mobility, the Network Support Company, of Danbury, has outfitted her home with what is know as the Internet of Things (IoT) to allow her to operate her home’s lights, adjust it’s temperature and control her TV, through Amazon’s Echo. Saturday, March 11, 2017, in New Fairfield, Conn.
Priscilla Beaulieu, of New Fairfield, has Multiple Sclerosis and limited mobility, the Network Support Company, of Danbury, has outfitted her home with what is know as the Internet of Things (IoT) to allow her
Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media
Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media
Photo: H John Voorhees III / Hearst Connecticut Media
NEW FAIRFIELD — For most people, the voice-activated Amazon Echo computing device is a hands-free, convenient way to play music and access information.
But for Priscilla Beaulieu, a retired elementary school teacher, it is so much more. It is a powerful tool to maintain a richer, more independent lifestyle.
Beaulieu, a New Fairfield resident, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2008. Since then, she has lost the use of her hands and the ability to walk, making tasks such as turning on the lights and using a remote control nearly impossible.
Beaulieu came across the Amazon Echo when she was researching voice-controlled TV remotes on the internet.
But she never expected what happened next.
The friend of a friend who heard about Bealieu’s story turned out to be Jim Kennedy, the CEO of a Danbury technology company, The Network Support Company.
Kennedy enlisted the help of his director of technical services, Chris Morton, to make the devices in Beaulieu’s home voice-activated.
So what if Kennedy’s company had never attempted such an ambitious project? This was the perfect opportunity to push the technology envelope.
“We had just been playing around with some of this stuff,” Morton said, referring to voice-activated devices such as the Amazon Echo. “We thought, ‘We’re doing this work already, let’s see if we can help out Priscilla.’ ”
And that’s just what they did. For free.
The lights, the heating and air conditioning, the TV — all of that and more in Beaulieu’s house are now hooked up to the Amazon Echo so she can control them with voice commands through the Alexa personal assistant.
Alexa can also play music, read books aloud and look up information from the internet.
“Keeping things as normal as possible is challenging with (multiple sclerosis),” Beaulieu said. “They have enabled me to live a quality of life that I wouldn’t think I could.”
Multiple sclerosis, Beaulieu explained, affects everyone differently. In her case, it has attacked her ability to walk.
Although Beaulieu was hospitalized in 2015, it has only been over the last five months that her functionality has deteriorated to the point where voice-control technology is necessary.
“This disease is a beast,” Beaulieu said, “a total beast.”
Morton and a developer from The Network Support Company, Angelo Spaziani, set up the house in three phases from December to February. It was remarkable watching them problem-solve as they worked, Beaulieu said, because this was the first time they had installed voice-activated technology inside a house.
Beaulieu now has an Amazon Echo in her living room, a smaller-sized Echo in her bedroom, special lightbulbs to connect with Alexa, a voice-controlled thermostat and a Harmony Hub device to work her entertainment system through Echo.
Although the Echo has made things easier, Beaulieu said she still faces challenges such as getting rides to doctors’ appointments. But she hopes sharing her story of using Amazon Echo technology will help others who might need similar help.
“I would certainly encourage them to explore and investigate what it can do,” Beaulieu said. “In my case, it improved the quality of life beyond measure.”
The Network Support Company, Morton said, probably won’t start setting up homes like they did for Beaulieu as a regular service, but the company is looking into ways they can use the technology to help the community.
“This is not unlike us in any way,” Morton said. “We do a lot in terms of helping the community. I don’t think we as a company are ever going to get into automating people’s homes to that extent, but for someone who needs it in the community, we’re happy to do it.”
Morton said the company is also looking into using the technology to help disabled veterans.
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