Abstract: A system for controlling electrical appliances is disclosed. The system comprises: at least one detection device configured to acquire detection data, indicating the presence or absence of a user in a spatial region; a comparison unit configured to (i) receive the acquired detection data from the at least one detection device; (ii) access a database storing data associating each of a list of users with respective stored detection data and a respective set of electrical appliances; (iii) compare the acquired detection data against the stored detection data in the database; and (iv) if the acquired detection data matches the stored detection data of one of the list of users in the database, identify the user associated with the matched stored detection data and extract the set of electrical appliances associated with the identified user; and a control device configured to control the extracted set of electrical appliances associated with the identified user based on predefined settings.

Abstract: A secure access system includes security stations 2 which grant access to doors 3 under the control of a computer 1. The security stations 2 include biometric sensors 212 which receive biometric data from users, and transmit it to the computer 1. The computer 1 matches the received biometric data to stored biometric data, to identify the user, and so control the security station 2 to grant access to the door 3. A display system 4 is used to display any stored message for the user. For each of the users, the system stores security data for one or more associated security cards, which may be attached to valuable properties. A wireless system 7 monitors whether any of the security tokens leaves a secure area. If this happens without the presence of the associated user having been detected by the biometric system, an alarm protocol is performed.