Did you think smart home gadgets could only tell you the weather? In fact, they promote healthier, safer, and more independent lifestyles for seniors. Start a search today to explore smart home gadgets that improve seniors’ health.
As the baby boomer generation gets older, the strain intensifies on families, healthcare providers, and public resources. Luckily, the rise of smart home technologies and self-service gadgets mitigates some of these challenges.
Voice-Activated Personal Assistants
AI controlled personal assistants used to be a sci-fi pipe dream. Not anymore.
Whether you opt for Amazon Echo, Google Home, or Apple’s Siri, all of these devices help seniors offload much of their daily heavy lifting. Using a series of simple and intuitive voice commands, seniors can set reminders, order food to their door, listen to audio books and music, and even make phone calls!
Video Calling
Loneliness is about much more than depression. Social isolation kills — it’s a fact. Thankfully, catching up with the little ones is infinitely easier with video conferencing apps and services like Skype and FaceTime.
Though it’s tough to replace the tender touch of your grandkids, video conferencing is certainly an adequate plan B. The apps are easy to use, too! Just teach Grandma to open the app and, of course, call her!
Health Trackers
Health Trackers are great at monitoring the vitals of seniors. There’s an app that effectively transforms the Apple Watch into a panic button for medical emergencies. Meanwhile, the app RightMinder can (among other things) can help detect falls, and that’s before we even get into the wide variety of senior-specific, wearable tech.
Also worth noting is the GlucoMe diabetes care platform. Using a mobile app and a smart glucose monitor, the GlucoMe service helps patients, caregivers, and medical professionals track diabetes easily and effectively.
Personal Robots
ElliQ, for instance, is billed as a proactive AI driven social robot built with the elderly in mind. The ElliQ smart robot is like a Google Home on steroids.
Armed with a swiveling head, tablet, and a series of cameras, speakers, and microphones, ElliQ can suggest personalized activities to get you up and moving, it can connect you to your loved ones via Wi-Fi, it can keep you up to date on your appointments, and it can even tell you jokes.
Smart Appliances
Smart appliances have been around for a while, but their impact on the lives of seniors has yet to diminish. Wi-Fi enabled appliances can help offload some of the tedious, day-to-day tasks that make living at home a headache for millions of seniors around the world.
Smart thermostats make temperature adjustments easier and even automated. These kitchen gadgets can make at-home meals easier and safer to prepare. Smart fridges can prepare grocery lists and even order food to be delivered right to your door. What a world!
Senior Friendly Devices
If my Grandma has taught me anything, it’s that the elderly love technology too! Assuming that the devices are easy to use. Thankfully the tech world is filling the senior citizen demographic with gadgets that are easy to use.
SnapFon couples affordable cellular plans with devices designed with larger buttons and a simple operating system in an effort to keep seniors connected. Meanwhile, GrandPad takes aim at the ever-growing number of tech-savvy seniors with their popular and powerful tablet.
Smart Lighting
Smart lighting has been around since The Clapper, though it’s gotten a heck of a lot smarter over the years. These days, smart lights can be programmed to flood a room with light using motion sensors, timers, and even cell phone apps.
This is incredibly important for seniors (and their loved ones) looking to lower the risk of slips and falls. For just a few hundred dollars and a couple of minutes of programming time, you can instantaneously reduce the risk of dangerous accidents. It’s worth the time and the money, without a doubt.
Medicine Smart Boxes
Often times aging gracefully requires a plethora of medications. The thing is, these medications can be complicated to keep track of and, more importantly, dangerous if improperly managed. Luckily, the GMS Med-e-lert Automatic Pill Dispenser can help. This crafty little pill box has 28 trays, six programmable schedules, and can easily be loaded and locked by a caregiver.
Looking for something a little smarter? Then perhaps the VV-Box is more your style. The VV-Box uses the internet, a companion app, and your pills to send reminders that can be recorded using the voice of a loved one.
Monitoring Systems
Medical alert bracelets have been around for quite a while, but they’ve come a significantly long way. Take the Sonamba Wellbeing Monitor, which allows loved ones and caregivers to keep an eye on their aging friends with motion sensors, text message alerts, and more.
The interactive Sonamba Hub sits on a counter top and is about the size of a digital picture frame that will light up with important reminders and can be used to alert first responders in the event of an emergency.
House-Cleaning Robots
You don’t need to be a senior to enjoy the many benefits of house-cleaning robots, but a Roomba can certainly help lighten the chore load for Grandma and Grandpa.
These intuitive devises use motion sensors and a daily timer to vacuum up the dirt and dust so that you don’t have to. What’s more, they are widely available and, for the most part, fairly cost effective.
Smart Home Gadgets Can Enrich Seniors’ Lives
The era of smart home technology has the potential to be a transformative force in the healthcare landscape, especially for seniors. With additional online research, you can explore more advancements. In the process, you can enrich the lives and well-being of our aging population.