Some industries remain the same for 30 years – and then POW! Think back to travel agencies, bank branches, bookstores, hardware stores. Each of these ultimately were traumatized into consolidation and transformation by new entrants. Smaller players in every segment went out of business. The consumer was willing and eager to change. Online promotion of new capabilities helped them see what the existing players could not. Consider that in 2011, there were a very few indicators of the utility of tech-enabled home care. Naysayers about home care’s future in those days included some of the most entrenched.
SAN DIEGO – AUGUST 30, 2016 – GreatCall Inc., the leader in connected health for active aging, is starting a program that addresses one of the top issues in aging: transportation. The GreatCall Rides program will provide GreatCall customers with easy access to Lyft services – without an app – through GreatCall’s Personal Operator Services.
Today we’re excited to announce new integration with a healthcare communication company, Relatient, aimed at increasing access to healthcare by overcoming the barrier that annually prevents approximately 3.6 million Americans from receiving health care: lack of transportation.
Like robots, self-driving cars and the elderly make good media. [Rant on] It never ends – another admiring NPR story about Google’s self-driving car –which of course has no steering wheel or controls. Go ahead do a quick search for "Self-driving cars seniors” and then scan down the headlines. No need to read these articles – just the headlines. "Perfect for Elderly!" says AARP, "Seniors will be the first to benefit from self-driving cars!" "Can self-driving cars redefine old age?" And "will self-driving cars undermine Senior Living?" Seriously? Can the self-driving car cook dinner, clean the apartment and provide compelling social interactions, too?
Las Vegas, NV, January 9, 2015 - CES® 2016 wrapped today as the most expansive CES, breaking records across the board and providing unparalleled opportunities for companies big and small to launch innovation to the world market.
We have seen the scary future – and it is behind the firewall. Let’s say it: The Internet of Things almost seemed useful – smart objects connected together was once a great marketing tag line. Now it is becoming an Orwellian nightmare, not just because Google can drive the car while you text. Now we know your car has millions of lines of code in it and is easily hacked by two guys on a couch with a laptop. Volkswagen’s internal hacking, uh, deception to meet emissions standards has given visibility to the Internet of Cheating Things, not to mention the Internet of Hacked Things (from drones!!), and Scammed Things (from the refrigerator!!). And just think how obsolete CES "crap gadgets" will seem after the 2016 CES – the real tech news will be these long-distance and unwelcome invaders from afar, redirecting gadgets on the show floor.
Some tech companies don’t see the senior market as an opportunity. They are the Peter Pan tech firms, the ones in which no one (including the customer) ever ages (you might know them as Facebook, Apple, Google, and Twitter). Meanwhile, from Nashville, France, and Germany, others see inclusion and extra services as good business, maybe because this market is pretty much ignored by the gang of four. Here are five companies that vary a platform or a product to make it more useful for an older adult market or service. – All material is derived from the vendor websites or press releases:
From smart phones to smart cars, both public and private entities must consider the needs of older adults in order to help them optimize the use of new technologies, according to the latest issue of Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR), titled “Aging and Technology: The Promise and the Paradox.” A total of eight articles all from authors affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology AgeLab are f
