Voice First and Voice Recognition Examples in Senior Care

It’s a piloting world for new voice technology in senior living and care.  But some senior living and service provider companies are experimenting and using for differentiation.  As the Front Porch report and other examples have demonstrated, use of Voice First technologies can engage residents, improve concierge services, reduce unnecessary trips down long hallways for check-ins, enable some home automation actions for turning on lights, managing a thermostat or monitoring entrances.

AARP Foundation and Senior Living. The AARP Foundation recently piloted a program with a senior living facility in the Baltimore area to test whether voice-controlled technologies like the Alexa-powered Amazon Echo can help curb isolation and its associated health effects in seniors. The organization worked with Comprehensive Housing Assistance, Inc., to place Amazon Echo devices in its senior living communities, teaching them how to communicate voice commands to Alexa for everything from turning the lights on and off, medication reminders, and getting news and weather reports. Learn more at Associated.org.

Amazon could take on Home Care. As Amazon looks to possibly capture some of the market share in the pharmacy space, home care providers are keeping watch on the company for other reasons. Coupled with its home-based voice technology, Amazon’s Echo product could easily be paired with home health and home care services to fulfill a number of responsibilities for seniors needing care. And some home care and home health providers are already actively exploring these options, including California-based Libertana Home Health, which tapped Amazon’s Alexa for a pilot study with some of its clients. Learn more at Libertana Home Health.Bottom of Form

Juniper Saves Money Retains Staff.  Products like the Amazon Echo have already made their way into senior living settings, allowing residents to hear the dinner menu or get medication reminders simply by asking for them. But voice recognition also holds promise for making clinicians’ lives easier, while enabling senior living companies to cut costs and improve retention. least, Juniper Communities believes this to be true, based on initial results from a technology pilot with a startup called LexiconAI. Learn more at Juniper Communities.

HoneyCo Smart Home for Seniors. Stringing together an array of smart devices into a home is no easy task for even a moderately tech-savvy individual -- let alone someone enjoying their retirement. HoneyCo, based in Nashville, offers a one-stop shop for the smart home, taking products off the shelf and corralling them into a single, easy-to-use software platform. HoneyCo charges a monthly fee to manage the service. Learn more at HoneyCo Homes.

 

category tags: 

voice/AI technology, Boomer-Senior Tech Business, assisted living, IoT and home monitoring

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/voice-first-and-voice-recognition-examples-senior-care

For seniors, what are the negative impacts from rapid technology change?

Social isolation has grown for the older and/or less tech-savvy segments.  This has been a result of tech replacements that are more difficult to use, whether it is the cost of Wi-Fi connection, excessive device screen sensitivity, screen size, the continuous need for OS upgrades or software updates, many of them security-related as hacker threats grow.  Older adults and those who care about them examine this landscape and wonder what can be done because:

• Cost is too high versus the benefit of technology improvement.  Most people replace their smartphones after 2-3 years – even though the phone life is more like 4.7 years for smartphones and feature phones. But 24 million clamshell (flip) phones sold in 2016, 2 million more than in 2015 – while seniors make up a big percentage of users, others like, $20 price tag, superior telephone call form factor and the long battery life – in contrast to the $800+ smartphone, need for a headset, and daily, if not more frequent, charging requirement.    

• Mobile apps require updates and costly retraining.  Smartphones have spawned more than 2 million apps per for each of Android and iOS. App vendors frequently change them, sometimes to add features, but also to fix bugs. Optional updates are often ignored, which can result in slower performance or falling so out of date with fixes that an actual update is not feasible – or as with the iPad, the vendor declares the device itself to be obsolete.

• Tech-enabled threats drive fear and more updates. Tracking malware has become a business unto itself – one fifth of devices breached and 1.5 million new incidents detected in just one quarter in 2017. In fact, a quarter of those device owners did not even know that their device had been under attack.Often the malware is embedded in ads inside publications older adults trust – an email attachment inadvertently sent by someone they know or in a website they trust.

So what is the solution to help the older population stay better connected?  Stay tuned for next month's Future of Voice First Technology and Older Adults 2018 Report.

And as always, thoughts welcome.

category tags: 

computers, internet and social networking

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/seniors-what-are-negative-impacts-rapid-technology-change

CES 2018: Five More New Technologies For Older Adults

Tech with applicability in the older adult market.   The Digital Health event is also covered in detail through MobiliHealth news and few of those announcements, not even counting the plethora of tech that addresses diabetes and brain health, could specifically benefit older adults.  And more expert and more detailed (and analytical writing) about new tech at CES reveals a few more offerings that could be useful for older adults if applied to that market.  Here are five – more when there’s more:

• Invoxia portable Alexa speaker. "Here’s an example of filling a hole in Amazon’s own product line. It is just a battery powered speaker with embedded Alexa. Triby features voice control with Amazon Alexa and is a smart portable speaker, Internet radio, hands-free speakerphone, and connected message board all rolled into one! Use the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, get the news, set alarms, control smart home devices, and more using just your voice. Just say the wake word "Alexa" and Triby responds instantly." Learn more at CNET.

• Lenovo Smart Display. "The Lenovo Smart Device, intended to compete with the Echo Show, the interface design is different to that of a phone, however. Everything is larger, bolder, pared down without the ultra-detail that you'll find from Google Assistant on a phone. This is to keep things simple, to typically keep your hands off the device - although the touchscreen is perfectly usable - and help focus, including playing music, making calls, recognizing different voices."  Learn more at Pocket-Lint.

• MobileHelp and Samsung GearWatch.  "MobileHelp, a maker of home and wearable medical alert devices, also announced a new partnership with Samsung to bring its emergency response capabilities to Gear smartwatches.  Called MobileHelp Smart, the devices integrate MobileHelp’s platform into a modified version of Samsung’s watch, taking advantage of its fitness-monitoring features, GPS, and cell capabilities." Learn more at Research Park.

• ADT Health.  "ADT, Reemo Health and Samsung have teamed together to provide customers with wellness data, connectivity and an ADT professionally-monitored personal emergency response system (PERS) on the stylish Samsung Gear S2 and S3 Gear smartwatches. Gone is the stigma from pendants and wristbands, users can proudly wear their PERS device with confidence, knowing that help is a simple tap away to a live two-way voice assistance with a specially-trained ADT agent directly from the watch’s speaker. Gear S2 or S3 can also track fitness trends, including steps and heart rate, encouraging seniors to stay active. The collaboration allows ADT to provide seniors, their families and caregivers, peace of mind and better visibility to their health, enabling them to actively manage their own wellness, maintain an independent lifestyle and access help anytime, if needed." Learn more at the CES overview from ADT.

• Corti. "Corti is an example of how AI can augment, not supplant, human healthcare workers. The AI runs in the background of an emergency dispatch call, analyzing not only the caller's words but also background noises that might include the victim's breathing patterns. It culls that information for indicators that someone is suffering from cardiac arrest, then prompts the dispatcher to ask questions or walk the callers through activities like CPR that could stabilize the patient until the ambulance arrives." Learn more at MobiHealthNews.

category tags: 

Mobile PERS, voice/AI technology, mHealth-Digital Health-Telehealth

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from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/ces-2018-five-more-new-technologies-older-adults

CES 2018:Five More New Technologies To Ponder

Tech with applicability in the older adult market.   The Digital Health event is also covered in detail through MobiliHealth news  and few of those announcements, not even counting the plethora of tech that addresses diabetes and brain health, could specifically benefit older adults  And more expert and more detailed (and analytical writing) about new tech at CES reveals a few more offerings that could be useful for older adults if applied to that market.  Here are five – more when there’s more:

• Invoxia portable Alexa speaker. Here’s an example of filling a hole in Amazon’s own product line. It is just a battery powered speaker with embedded Alexa. Triby features voice control with Amazon Alexa and is a smart portable speaker, Internet radio, hands-free speakerphone, and connected message board all rolled into one! Use the Alexa Voice Service to play music, provide information, get the news, set alarms, control smart home devices, and more using just your voice. Just say the wake word "Alexa" and Triby responds instantly. Learn more at CNET.

• Lenovo Smart Display. The Lenovo Smart Device, intended to compete with the Echo Show, the interface design is different to that of a phone, however. Everything is larger, bolder, pared down without the ultra-detail that you'll find from Google Assistant on a phone. This is to keep things simple, to typically keep your hands off the device - although the touchscreen is perfectly usable - and help focus, including playing music, making calls, recognizing different voices.  Learn more at Pocket-Lint.

• MobileHelp and Samsung GearWatch.  MobileHelp, a maker of home and wearable medical alert devices, also announced a new partnership with Samsung to bring its emergency response capabilities to Gear smartwatches.  Called MobileHelp Smart, the devices integrate MobileHelp’s platform into a modified version of Samsung’s watch, taking advantage of its fitness-monitoring features, GPS, and cell capabilities. Learn more at Research Park.

• ADT Health.  ADT, Reemo Health and Samsung have teamed together to provide customers with wellness data, connectivity and an ADT professionally-monitored personal emergency response system (PERS) on the stylish Samsung Gear S2 and S3 Gear smartwatches. Gone is the stigma from pendants and wristbands, users can proudly wear their PERS device with confidence, knowing that help is a simple tap away to a live two-way voice assistance with a specially-trained ADT agent directly from the watch’s speaker. Gear S2 or S3 can also track fitness trends, including steps and heart rate, encouraging seniors to stay active. The collaboration allows ADT to provide seniors, their families and caregivers, peace of mind and better visibility to their health, enabling them to actively manage their own wellness, maintain an independent lifestyle and access help anytime, if needed. Learn more at the CES overview from ADT.

• Corti. Corti is an example of how AI can augment, not supplant, human healthcare workers. The AI runs in the background of an emergency dispatch call, analyzing not only the caller's words but also background noises that might include the victim's breathing patterns. It culls that information for indicators that someone is suffering from cardiac arrest, then prompts the dispatcher to ask questions or walk the callers through activities like CPR that could stabilize the patient until the ambulance arrives. Learn more at MobiHealthNews.

category tags: 

Mobile PERS, voice/AI technology, mHealth-Digital Health-Telehealth

• 

from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/ces-2018-five-more-new-technologies-ponder

CES 2018: Five Technologies Useful for Older Adults

CES 2018 is off to a noisy, rainy and motion-filled start.  The Intel dancing drones, the Aptiv Self-Driving rides, Google’s soaked outdoor booth ("Alexa, make it rain"?) and Amazon somewhat smaller-scale “magical experiences.” It virtually never rains in Las Vegas – and hasn’t for 121 days – but there’s the video of the downpour -- and Google employees bailing out the booth. The big headline for CES is the battle of the voice assistants for the smart home – which includes Samsung’s Bixby – go ahead, talk to your TV and refrigerator -- as well as Alexa, Google, and Microsoft's Cortana.

How will this gaggle of goods work for older adults – or anyone? One might wonder, as The Verge does – is technology today built on incorrect assumptions about the tech capability of the user? For example, check out the steps to set up the Echo. Sure, it is a useful device for older adults, but that assumes that after plugging it in, the user has access to the app, the Wifi password, and the Amazon account password. That’s for starters. What about accessing services like Internet radio, requesting rides, listening to books, speaking with family or setting reminders?.  Read the Front Porch pilot report to see the scope of training needs and opportunity.

As always, CES will have announcements and products that will become popular immediately or hopefully evolve into something useful.  Anyway, here are five new technologies from CES 2018 intended for (maybe) ir can offer service/support for older adults (all info is drawn from media or sites):

• IQBuds. "A set of wireless earbuds ($200) that create a custom listening profile by evaluating the user's hearing. The device uses an app called Ear ID to do just that, calibrating the earbuds automatically to tailor them to each person. Nuheara says the app offers a hearing test you'd usually have to visit an audiologist to get. Of course, that personalization will also help users who can hear just fine but want a more custom sound from their earbuds. The customization extended to the touch controls on the outside of the earbuds as well."  Learn more at Nuheara.

• Woohoo. "Set for its global release in Q1 2018, WooHoo is positioned as "a tool through which families can care for both elderly parents and children through an interactive and intuitive interface," said SmartBeings co-founder and chief strategy officer Himanshu Kaul. "Through such features as gesture control, motion-and-fall detection, a smart camera with facial recognition, NLP-based voice commands, and audio/video conferencing, every home and office can now connect and control every device through our Artificial Intelligence Platform and mobile app." Learn More at SmartBeings.

• Buddy. "Buddy is another robot that's been with us for a couple of years in some form or another, but it's on show at CES 2018 in its latest incarnation. From French robotics firm Blue Frog, Buddy is designed as a robot that can keep up a conversation with anyone in your family, monitor your home, play music and videos, and more besides. Think of it kind of like an Amazon Echo with a face and wheels, though there's no Alexa on board here. It's particularly good for playing with kids or keeping an eye on elderly parents, but like a lot of CES kit, you can't actually buy Buddy right now. Its makers say preorders for the robot assistant will be open again soon." Learn more at BlueFrog Robotics.

• Cutii.  "Our vocal and facial recognition robot, named Cutii, provides elders with access to a full catalog of activities and services.” Cutii responds to verbal cues to offer users a catalog of services and activities. It can’t assist with day-to-day tasks like cooking and doing the dishes, but can schedule and coordinate enrichment and well-being activities like contacting family members, arranging doctor’s appointments, and signing up for fitness classes. The robot can be controlled manually with a remote or it can be left to navigate autonomously around the home." Learn more at Digital Trends.

• EZVIZ. "Home security camera maker EZVIZ announced its first product for smart entry security at CES 2018 today, with the debut of the Lookout Smart Door Viewer. The system is designed to work with the company’s new ezGuard security camera, as well as with other EZVIZ products and Amazon Alexa. What makes the system more interesting than the usual smart entry solution is how it takes advantage of facial recognition. Using the EZVIZ app, homeowners can opt to create a gallery of trusted people who can gain access to the home. It does this by utilizing facial recognition technology to identify the person at the door automatically, allowing the homeowner to act as they see fit to allow entry." Learn more at TechCrunch.

Of course with 200,000 attendees and 4000 companies exhibiting-- and the 2018 Digital Health Summit soon to be underway, there may be so much and so many more to note. Newslinks about helpful and/or interesting offerings for older adults will be posted here as well.  Stay tuned or if you see something, say something! 

 

category tags: 

robotics, CES 2018, hearing loss, IoT and home monitoring, smart home

• 

from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/ces-2018-five-technologies-useful-older-adults

Five 2018 technology opportunities in tech for older adults

2017 was an interesting year -- 2018 should overcome a few obstacles.  Probably the most significant innovation during 2017 was the growth of the Voice First technology market -- but judging by the aisles of gadgets in places like Best Buy, everything else is changing as well. CES is next week, and with it more speakers, TVs, and gadgetry than is seen in Best Buy or anywhere else during the year.  But even as technology leapfrogs and crawls forward, obstacles to broad adoption for older adults remain. Hopefully interest in mitigating social isolation among older adults will lead to the role technology could play. But to make a real difference, here's a look at five areas for improvement in 2018:

Broadband pre-requisites and the home. As of November, 2016, 51% of people aged 65+ had broadband to the home compared to 81% of those 30-49.  What are the barriers? Other than lack of interest and perceived benefit, cost can be a barrier, with a median cost of $80 per month by mid-2017.  Setting up Wifi and troubleshooting Internet connections might be a barrier – and once set up, then there’s knowing how to fix problems.  But the real barrier (for this and other complex connections) may be finding the right training that is both accessible and repeatable as technology changes.  Maybe training options in 2018 will become ever more obvious, given the growing dependency on online access to nearly every service, including most banks.

Mobile device price and built-in obsolescence. The slowing down of older iPhones in 2017 -- was it lack of transparency or deliberate obfuscation to urge people to upgrade within 12-24 months? Whichever -- most outside the media and geek-dom apparently did not care.  Smartphone replacement cycle still stands at 2-years – possibly longer for lower-income adults, since average replacement price is now $400.   And that does not include a monthly plan, which can run $60-80 per month for an individual user (grand total annually, nearly $1000 for 2-year owners).  Fixed and lower income older adults will likely make do if they are part of the 42% of the 65+ who actually have smartphones.  

Car user interfaces – baffling or ignored.  Like much of the technology we encounter, car user interfaces have evolved because it was possible to add features to them.  Were these requested – or invented because they were possible and turn out to be a distraction? (Hint: it’s been a bad case of the latter.)  So what to do if baffled by the latest and greatest?  Be one of those who keeps the car the longest:  “Vehicles 16 years and older are expected to grow 30 percent from 62 million units today to 81 million in 2021.” And the people driving?  Consumer reports notes that they might behind the wheel substantially longer than their ability to drive.  Considering feature creep and advancing age of the oldest drivers, this conundrum will worsen in 2018.

Identity and privacy protection. Let’s hope that 2018 is better than 2017. It was a bad year for data breaches, some of which were of spectacular scope and scale.  Let's hope that your health-related data breaches, including insurance and healthcare delivery, were not predictors of problems in 2018. And so far, no policy actions have appeared following the Equifax breach (145 million people affected). The net impact on older adults – more caution and fear online (and guidance from the FTC about online practices). Concern may be justified, but may also keep people from accessing services and connections they really need. Possible public policy changes could help protect consumer privacy.   

Home automation -- is it useful for older adults?   In conjunction with Voice First technology, there are unforeseen benefits -- as outlined in a recent report from Front Porch -- which could be deployed in other senior living communities as well as private homes.  It may be that other smart home trends that surface next week at CES could be applied in senior settings.  And it could also be that 2018 is the year of smart(er) appliances, robots and even wearables  -- which join the trend of Voice First in the home.

category tags: 

vehicle/transportation technology-services, cell phones, smartphones, computers, internet and social networking, IoT and home monitoring

• 

from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/five-2018-technology-opportunities-tech-older-adults

Five 2018 technology opportunities in tech among older adults

2017 was an interesting year -- 2018 should overcome a few obstacles.  Probably the most significant innovation during 2017 was the growth of the Voice First technology market -- but judging by the aisles of gadgets in places like Best Buy, everything else is changing as well. CES is next week, and with it more speakers, TVs, and gadgetry than is seen in Best Buy or anywhere else during the year.  But even as technology leapfrogs and crawls forward, obstacles to broad adoption for older adults remain. Hopefully interest in mitigating social isolation among older adults will lead to the role technology could play. But to make a real difference, here's a look at five areas for improvement in 2018:

Broadband pre-requisites and the home. As of November, 2016, 51% of people aged 65+ had broadband to the home compared to 81% of those 30-49.  What are the barriers? Other than lack of interest and perceived benefit, cost can be a barrier, with a median cost of $80 per month by mid-2017.  Setting up Wifi and troubleshooting Internet connections might be a barrier – and once set up, then there’s knowing how to fix problems.  But the real barrier (for this and other complex connections) may be finding the right training that is both accessible and repeatable as technology changes.  Maybe training options in 2018 will become ever more obvious, given the growing dependency on online access to nearly every service, including most banks.

Mobile device price and built-in obsolescence. The slowing down of older iPhones in 2017 -- was it lack of transparency or deliberate obfuscation to urge people to upgrade within 12-24 months? Whichever -- most outside the media and geek-dom apparently did not care.  Smartphone replacement cycle still stands at 2-years – possibly longer for lower-income adults, since average replacement price is now $400.   And that does not include a monthly plan, which can run $60-80 per month for an individual user (grand total annually, nearly $1000 for 2-year owners).  Fixed and lower income older adults will likely make do if they are part of the 42% of the 65+ who actually have smartphones.  

Car user interfaces – baffling or ignored.  Like much of the technology we encounter, car user interfaces have evolved because it was possible to add features to them.  Were these requested – or invented because they were possible and turn out to be a distraction? (Hint: it’s been a bad case of the latter.)  So what to do if baffled by the latest and greatest?  Be one of those who keeps the car the longest:  “Vehicles 16 years and older are expected to grow 30 percent from 62 million units today to 81 million in 2021.” And the people driving?  Consumer reports notes that they might behind the wheel substantially longer than their ability to drive.  Considering feature creep and advancing age of the oldest drivers, this conundrum will worsen in 2018.

Identity and privacy protection. Let’s hope that 2018 is better than 2017. It was a bad year for data breaches, some of which were of spectacular scope and scale.  Let's hope that your health-related data breaches, including insurance and healthcare delivery, were not predictors of problems in 2018. And so far, no policy actions have appeared following the Equifax breach (145 million people affected). The net impact on older adults – more caution and fear online (and guidance from the FTC about online practices). Concern may be justified, but may also keep people from accessing services and connections they really need. Possible public policy changes could help protect consumer privacy.   

Home automation -- is it useful for older adults?   In conjunction with Voice First technology, there are unforeseen benefits -- as outlined in a recent report from Front Porch -- which could be deployed in other senior living communities as well as private homes.  It may be that other smart home trends that surface next week at CES could be applied in senior settings.  And it could also be that 2018 is the year of smart(er) appliances, robots and even wearables  -- which join the trend of Voice First in the home.

category tags: 

vehicle/transportation technology-services, cell phones, smartphones, computers, internet and social networking, IoT and home monitoring

• 

from Tips For Aging In Place https://www.ageinplacetech.com/blog/five-2018-technology-opportunities-tech-among-older-adults