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).
