The “Seniorenzentrum Breipohls Hof” has a sustainable building infrastructure and, as a modern facility for elderly care, offers senior citizens various technical assistance and security functions.
The building has been equipped with an EIB/KNX network for the implementation of basic assistance functions relevant to care. For example, it is possible in all rooms to control the LED night light in the wall area in the evening and at night via a motion detector located under or next to the bed. In the bathrooms, the lighting is also switched by presence detectors.

In the immediate living environment, this automatic lighting system makes an important contribution to the residents’ orientation, in particular to preventing falls. In addition, BUS technology makes it possible to evaluate the movement or presence detected by the sensors in individual cases and to inform the staff in the event of danger.
The following signalling functions are available on request:
Getting up from bed (e.g. in case of acute danger of falling)
Resident does not come out of the bathroom after a defined period of time (e.g. in the event of a fall or unconsciousness)
Nocturnal toilet visit without returning to bed (e.g. in the event of a fall or a tendency to run away or run away)
ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY OF JAPAN
HAL: A Cybernoid as a Bearer of Hope
The Japanese researcher Toshiyuki Sankai, Professor at the Center for Cybernics Research (CCR) at Tsukuba University and CEO of Cyberdyne, began in the 1990s in the field of Human Assistive Technology with the development of a nerve-controlled exoskeleton, which he called HAL – Hybrid Assistive Limb.
This Human-Machine-Interface-Robot-Suit (MMIRS) reacts to neural stimuli or initiates them and thus stands worldwide as a bearer of hope for people with walking disabilities and paralysis.
This cyborg suite could also open up new perspectives for mobility for people who have to perform heavy lifting activities due to their work and in catastrophic situations. Dr. Cosima Wagner, Japanologist and expert for cultural robotics research (FU Berlin), writes in her work on the acceptance of robots in Japan that HAL is a prime example of user-oriented development: “The suit was developed in close cooperation with a paraplegic test person.

By the way, developer Sankai kept an eye on the consequences of his invention and decided not to sell the HAL-Suit patent to the military for moral and ethical reasons. Founded in Bochum in 2012, the Center for Neurorobotational Movement Training (ZNB) is the first center in Europe to use the Japanese robot orthosis. In August 2013, Cyberdyne Japan, supported by the Japanese government, set up its own subsidiary in Germany in order to be able to market its innovation more intensively in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. After the catastrophe at Fukushima in March 2011, the robotic suit came into the public eye because its potential was recognised in accident assistance in catastrophe situations.
Habits of a person
Radio button for switching the light or the sun protection read in subsequently in the living environment and place at selected places. This technology is particularly important for people with limited mobility. In addition, the radio-based system can be expanded to include other components such as window and door contacts or temperature and humidity sensors.
As an important component of the forward-looking concept, each room is equipped with a Smart TV (screen diagonal 101 cm/40 inch). This enables residents to watch television, surf the Internet, view video and image files and receive information as well as cultural and spiritual events via the house channel with just one device. Smart TV is particularly important in terms of maintaining existing social contacts, i.e. as a modern communication medium. This makes it possible for older and perhaps not so technology-enthusiastic people to quickly and easily make video calls to relatives and friends outside the facility via Skype. Smart TV can be controlled conventionally via remote control, smart phone and tablet or with the help of integrated voice and gesture control.
Electrically depth- adjustable nursing beds
The nursing beds in the “Seniorenzentrum Breipohls Hof” are electrically depth-adjustable and correspond to the latest nursing and ergonomic findings. By the area-wide use of a bed with particularly low lying surface lowering a crucial contribution is made to the fall prophylaxis and thus also to the avoidance of body-near fixings in the elderly care. (Note: The bed Elvido-Vervo of the manufacturer Stiegelmeyer can not only be lowered to a fall prophylactic depth of 25 cm, but can also be raised to an ergonomic working height of 80 cm for carers). In addition, the lying surface layout corresponds to the latest anthropometric findings.
MobiCare system beds
The beds are equipped with the MobiCare system, a side-adjustable central support, which makes it easier for patients to get out of bed and thus promotes mobility. The beds are equipped with the Open-Bus system as standard, which makes it possible to extend the functionalities of this low bed at a later date, e.g. by using additional sensor technology.
All beds have LED reading lights. In contrast to conventional halogen lamps, some of which can become very hot, these have no heat generation. They are therefore safer. Further advantages are low energy consumption and freedom from maintenance.
Each resident room is equipped with a system telephone, which can be used to intercom employees to the room in question after the light call has been triggered. The occupant does not have to lift the handset.
Advantage: Employees travelling in the house can answer calls and residents’ answers at any time using the hands-free function.
All bathrooms are equipped with an additional electricity and water connection so that residents have the opportunity to use a shower/WC attachment for personal hygiene. With a shower toilet attachment, the intimate area is cleaned with warm water at the touch of a button by moving the shower arm forwards and backwards and then dried using an integrated hairdryer. The basic equipment of the house includes 10 shower toilet attachments, which can be rented on request.
W-LAN is pre-equipped in the “Breipohls Hof Senior Citizens’ Centre”
The EDP-based care documentation system DoSys is currently being tested on a tablet PC for the first time. The use of mobile workstation systems has already proven itself in outpatient care. In the inpatient sector, too, Altenhilfe Bethel hopes to benefit from the documentation carried out in the resident’s room in real time during the nursing process.
In addition to the generally high lighting level in the communal and corridor areas of the building, the lounge area in the residential group for 8 senior citizens has been equipped with a daylight simulating luminous ceiling. This allows different lighting concepts with variable colour temperatures to be realised and has a positive effect on the well-being of the residents and on the quality of their living and recreation in general.
Access to the building is organised with the aid of electronic access management.
This meets the special needs of residents for protection and security.
This electronic system for access control is passive transponder technology in which people living and working in the building authenticate themselves by means of an identification medium – in the form of a key fob – on the reading unit of the respective outer door.
Once the electronic module has checked the authorization, no further encapsulation – as with a conventional profile cylinder – is required.