I have a friend who is almost a quadraplegic (he has limited use of one arm thus the almost). One automation I’d like to use is when he enters a room, certain actions occur (ie blinds adjust based on the time of day, for example). The one thought I had in figuring out where he’s at is to use nfc tags in each room. Am I missing something? I’m also having to do the automations with Alexa and Windows, which adds to the fun. Any thoughts on this (or potential automations) is much appreciated!
Start by learning.
You say:
One automation I’d like to use
First things first: your desire to help your friend is genuine and admirable. Just, keep in mind: any automation you might set up for them is to assist them, not to please you. As automators, we sometimes get carried away in our own cleverness, inventing cool things more to satisfy our own need to be creative than solving someone else’s real-world need.
Your friend has their own intelligence and agency. Have you asked them directly what s/he needs and wants?
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Second, there will be other folk out there who already have needs and likely solutions similar to your friend’s, and I’m sure they have their own online communities and other gathering places where they can share advice and experiences. Does your friend participate in any of those?
Third, there is a large, vigorous, well-established industry of commercial vendors, freelance makers, and individuals all selling, inventing, and using assistive technologies today, all discoverable online. I recommend you google that particular phrase and begin your research from there.
Last, depending where your friend lives, there might well be local/national schemes for charitable grants, state disability benefits, and so on that could cover the financial cost of off-the-shelf and/or bespoke solutions. Of course, there’s likely paperwork, bureaucracy, etc. to navigate which can become its own draining chore. Maybe that’s something you can offer help with too?
And, you know, just be there for your friend, as a friend. That itself is worth one helluva lot.
Good luck to your friend, and to you.