Don, the first user of Ralph, and Greg, Ralph's creator |
Ralph the Home Assistant |
Don had polio when he was 5 years old. Since that time he
has had to use crutches to move around.
Don has lived a relatively normal and happy life, he has three grown children
and a dozen grandchildren.
His life and lifestyle were dramatically changed in April of 2001 when his wife
passed away. She had always done things around the house, like turning on and
off lights, closing drapes and curtains, answering the door, adjusting the
thermostat, getting in the mail and newspaper, and hundreds of other "little
things" that Don couldn't physically do.
It looked like Don was going to either have to sell his home or pay someone to
stay with him in the home.
Don's friends would not let that happen, they all pitched in to "remodel"
the house so he could at least stay in it. They also decided to make it even
better and give him more freedom than he had ever had.
One of his friends, a computer consultant and engineer, began a project to
automate all of the "little things" in Don's house. He also decided to create a
"digital companion" that could talk and respond to verbal commands and
queries. The "companion" was named "Ralph" by Don, and the project became known
as "Project Ralph". Project Ralph created a home for Don that he could live in,
by having the computer do all the physical things he couldn't. Ralph controls
all of the lighting, heating and air conditioning, doors, drapery, curtains and
blinds, besides monitoring the home for intruders, lack of motion from Don, and
reminds him to take medicines when he needs to, reads news and weather for him,
keeps track of his grocery shopping lists, calls people for him on the
telephone, answers the phone when he's not able to, and provides a 24 hour a day
"assistant to living".
The system has been so successful in Don's home and allowed him to continue his
lifestyle, that the entire automation system has been redesigned to be sold
to anyone that can benefit from it. The product is called "Ralph" (Real
Assisted Living
for Physically Handicapped). The basic system,
including a computer can be purchased
for less than $3500.00. The product is being sold through the consulting company
owned by the gentleman who created the product, but as you can see, he is not
really trying to make a huge profit from selling it, only help other people.
To find out more about this unique solution to independent living click here
Don is always happy to talk to anyone about Ralph, you can call him at home
at: (660) 827-1094
(If Don is not able to answer the phone himself, Ralph will answer it for him
and take a message)
Don is the Central Area Director for Special Olympics Missouri, you can reach
him at work at:(660) 829-2676
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