Project Hydra

Project Hydra is designed to bridge the gap between smart metering and telecare, exploring ways to utilise the same infrastructure and investment to deliver two key benefits to the UK population for a single cost.
Governments globally are setting roll-out targets for smart meters, resulting in a new communications path to every home. In an innovative approach, Project Hydra will explore the future potential of this communication infrastructure to enable patients to send their health data directly to their physicians, carers or family members. This will be achieved by wirelessly sending information on health issues, such as a person’s weight and blood pressure, to many health care professionals via the smart grid infrastructure. Regular monitoring and frequent data transfer from a patient’s home will not only improve the quality of healthcare provision, but will mean that both patients and healthcare professionals will be able to avoid the cost and inconvenience of hospital or house visits.
Our applications will return health data over the ZigBee home area network and advanced smart metering infrastructure using Continua Alliance protocols and secure Java Card smart card technology. Hydra is developing a technology that is effective, simple to use and allows interoperability between devices. The Project opens up opportunities for more than just healthcare applications.