Task-specific devices must add functions over time. The cliché in the tech industry is truer now than ever – because an innovation is possible – not always helpful, but possible -- it will be done. And adding functions to products is as inevitable as tomorrow’s sunrise. As we look around the home technology market, we can already see dedicated devices beginning to share activities: a TV can now be interactive, PCs and tablets now functional for viewing movies, radios that become speakers for Internet streaming, ever-more multi-function kitchen devices and so on. As devices become multi-purpose, they can also add new channels of distribution – opening up new retailers, catalogues, websites, and show venues.
Rounding up the recent technology launches – tech for older adults. Catching up, here are few recent announcements from in-market companies. A brief digression: I get a bit upset when I read about companies in the news that are described as offering "SOLUTIONS" about products that are not ready, products for which they could be taking pre-orders, but basically there is nothing to buy. This is especially unfortunate in the category of PERS, where consumers expect a solution can address a fear of falling and being left alone. It is especially NOT okay for products that target the senior housing industry, where the residents may be very frail, where the companies are very cautious, and the industry is not known for leading with tech of any type, let alone one that is so new that it cannot be purchased. So here are four new offerings – it is my belief/hope that all are available -- preventing a few others from being on the list. Content is from the vendors’ press information:
Essence Group is pleased to announce the release of its next generation Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) called EverGuard-Care. The EverGuard-Care is a home health monitoring system designed for seniors, the chronically ill and adults living with a disability to remain independent in the comfort of their homes. The system is easy to self-install, simple to use and highly dependable, giving peace of mind to those in need of care and their families and caregivers.
AARP’s Care Gap report sets the table for innovation possibilities. Driven purely by population changes over the next several decades, AARP predicts that there will be fewer people in the age group (45-64) that can provide care to the baby boomer population when aged 80+. Based on this model, says the report, boomers at that age will likely have various disabilities and thus may need some level of care. What technology categories would be useful and likely in-market with this multi-year lead time to think about them? Of course, today there are millions of people who are 80+, but if you follow AARP’s logic, today there seem to be enough available family members, home care, nursing home and assisted living aides between the ages of 45 and 64 to care for them (emphasis on available). If caregiving availability shrinks, what are the technology implications for those who would serve that future wave of baby boomers?
AMC Health announced today the addition of five new technologies to its remote monitoring platform, enabling the company to offer the most comprehensive array of in-home monitoring in the industry.
