RetirementHomes.com - technology

Senior-friendly designs help keep older people at home longer

aadmin — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 12:10:57 +0000

With a senior population burgeoning across the United States and Canada, not to mention Europe and even China, more and more businesses are being created to specifically cater to this growing – and wealthy – demographic cohort.

As seniors continue to age, relocation and downsizing becomes an important conversation to have. Many opt to make the move into an active living or independent living retirement community, others choose to move in with loved ones, while others opt to stay living by themselves or with a significant other.

As a result of this significant shift, millions of homes across the United States and Canada need to be retrofitted in order to be accessible for their aging residents, and the trends in this area are nothing short of extraordinary.

There are small, simple changes many companies offer, which include making accessible living spaces by making them wheelchair-accessible, open concept, and without significant barriers. For example, in kitchens, hollowing out the area underneath the sink allows wheelchair users to roll underneath and wash the dishes, which could otherwise prove to be difficult for them. In addition, lower countertops – or even adjustable countertops – can allow multiple people in the same household to find the same level of functionality in the same kitchen.

Additionally, different technologies are being created to help address the cognitive impairment common among seniors (such as Alzheimer’s Disease). These technologies can include sensors which identify when someone is no longer in the kitchen for an extended period of time, upon which the appliances automatically shut down, or it could include an alarm system which tracks movement of a wandering resident or someone who is forgetful.

One company based in Short Hills, New Jersey, just outside of New York City, specifically designs residential lighting systems exclusively aimed at older people.

Josh Scharf, president of Archetype Ltd., told RetirementHomes.com that the challenge in designing senior-friendly products is that few consumers consciously want to buy them!

“There are very few stylish products in the market designed specifically for Boomers and older adults. Most screamed 'geriatric' and who the heck wants that in their home, unless absolutely necessary,” Scharf said.

Archetype Ltd. designs wireless floor lighting which, while available to anyone, has found a niche in the older population because it offers a simple way for seniors to have better vision and mobility while at home, during nighttime hours, Scharf said. And regardless of the aging population, there will always be a need for such products.

“Regardless of age, everyone is at danger of falling down ill-lit stairs,” Scharf said.

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Family and Personal Care

Home Safety

How technology is making seniors safer

aadmin — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 17:55:46 +0000

Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple are the well-known technology titans changing the world. They have delivered self-driving cars, drone deliveries, and computer watches to the masses. But can the kings of the Internet Age defeat Father Time? Don’t bet on it.

Until Google invents a cure to aging, smart home technology is filling the void. The new range of emerging home technologies will change your life.

Imagine -- a remote controlled home. Waking up to the smell of coffee. Never needing to flip a light switch. Always being the perfect temperature. A smart home learns your preferences so that everything is ready exactly when you need it. It sounds like something from Star Trek, but if you have a smart phone, you can now control your entire house from one device.

The future is here. With a few smart products and a single app, and you’ll see how easy it is to make your home more accessible and simply easier (and more fun) to use. This post discusses the new smart home technologies that will change aging forever.

The Perfect Environment

Everything just as you like it – that’s the beauty of a smart home. Start your day off right when your home makes you the perfect cup of coffee and plays an energizing morning playlist. As you move around your home, the lights automatically turn on thanks to motion sensors.

Why dash to the thermostat on cold mornings when you can wake up to your ideal temperature? Smart thermostats learn what you like throughout the day so that you never have to get up to turn the heat on and off. To save energy, your home can turn the temperature down and the lights off when you leave, or for security it can make it look like you’re at home when you’re on the go.

For those with limited hand mobility or for those who simply want a luxurious experience, a smart shower adjusts to your ideal temperature, angle, and intensity. To enhance your experience, you can enjoy your favorite playlist, colored mood lighting, and aromatherapy.

In your smart home you’ll never need to fuss with the lights, shower temperature, or thermostat – everything will be customized just how you like it, automatically.

Chores Made Easy

Do you always forget to unload the washing machine? Avoid musty clothes with a washer and dryer that tells you when the laundry’s done. With your smartphone you can communicate with all of your appliances.

Your refrigerator can tell you if you need more milk and your oven can tell you that your food is ready. Getting all of your alerts on one device makes it easier to remember household tasks.

Better Home Security

Smart home security systems keep a sharp eye on your home and let you see what’s going on in your house at any time. Since you and your home have gotten to know each other, it can notify you of important events or if anything unusual happens, and you can control it all from the palm of your hand.

Smart doors mean you no longer need to fumble with your keys. Just walk up to your door and enter – your smartphone serves as your identification. Some smart doors will even open for you like your own personal butler. With no keys, locks, or handles, you can easily move about your home while maintaining privacy and security.

You set who you want your home to open for, and you can get notifications that they've arrived. And what if someone unexpected shows up as your door? Take a look at the picture your home sends to you for your approval. If it turns out to be someone you want to let in, you can unlock the doors from your phone – you don’t even need to be at home! If it is intruder, you can press your panic button to sound an alarm and summon help.

Do you tend to forget if you've closed the garage door? No need to worry about it all day – your home will text you that it closed it for you. If there is unwanted motion in your home, including doors, windows, and cabinets, an alarm will sound and you will get an instant alert and photographs so you can see what’s happening. You will also be notified of more subtle threats, including a buildup of moisture that can cause structural damage.

It’s easy to forget to lock your doors or not notice moisture buildup. Smart homes keep watch for you when you aren't home, and allow you to monitor and control your home no matter where you are.

Conclusion

With today’s technology you can control almost everything in your home with your smartphone. You've worked hard all your life taking care of your home – it’s time to enjoy your golden years and have your home work for you.

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Learning and Technology

Connecting Residents through Digital Technology

aadmin — Wed, 07 May 2014 08:13:26 +0000

Computer technologies and the Internet are commonplace everywhere. Touch screen gadgets and WiFi connections are popping up all over the place, including retirement lifestyle communities across North America.

Some retirement residences use technology based systems to keep residents informed about what’s going on in their community; from recreation and event calendars, to daily menus and special announcements, even a snapshot of the weekly weather report. For these lucky residents, the most up-to-date information is always at their fingertips, available online anytime. No need to wait for the latest copy of a printed monthly calendar anymore! Like paperless billing, this type of regular communication is going digital, along with today’s seniors :)

Currently, hardware designers and software developers are building accessible technologies for an aging population. Doro, as an example, designs devices for older adults in particular, including a simple, full function cell phone and a new laptop, EasyPC, being released later this fall.

Connecting Residents through Digital Technology

Technology based systems meant for use in retirement residences, for instance the Brookdale Connected Living program, are specifically geared towards the needs and interests of older adults too, as they are the intended users, not staff or visiting family members. Although some guidance using the system is required to get started, anyone can learn the basics in no time.

The software interface is stripped down to be simple and easy to navigate. This helps accommodate the large percentage of inexperienced technology users residing in retirement communities. Things like sending/receiving email, conducting research online, viewing shared photographs, listening to music, and video conferencing are presented to users with easy to follow instructions and no distractions, keeping the process simple and not intimidating for a novice.

James Bond and After-Dinner Tiramisu

A new and interesting feature of this type of technology based system is how family members around the world can also access the community based calendars and information being shared with residents. This keeps the children and grandchildren of today’s seniors “in-the-loop” about what’s happening each day or throughout the week. It creates opportunities for conversation… “I noticed James Bond was playing in your theater last night. Did you go with your neighbor?” or “How did you like the Tiramisu after dinner tonight?”

Families often feel closer and more connected when they are in tune with the smaller details of day-to-day life. By sharing this sort of insight into daily life online, family members can help those in long distance relationships feel more comfortable with their living arrangements and feel more involved with their family.

Whether it’s checking the menu for lunchtime tomorrow, reviewing the agenda for next week’s shopping trip, or keeping families informed about their loved ones, technology’s role in retirement living has only just started to shape the terrain. There will certainly be more to come, and soon!

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Senior Living Professionals

The Brave New World of Medical Alarms

aadmin — Fri, 26 Jul 2013 10:11:11 +0000

The medical alarm industry is on a growth curve. Innovations ensure a greater acceptance in more homes of adults opting to age in place.

Also called PERS (Personal Emergency Response System), these small, unobtrusive gadgets are gaining wider spread recognition.

How Do Medical Alarms Work?

Chuck Stevens is the Vice President of the Health and Wellness Strategic Business Unit for Linear LLC, a large manufacturer of PERS devices, located in Carlsbad, CA. He described the inner workings of these electronic devices.

A pendant, watch or clip is carried or worn by the older person in a home setting. A button on the device activates radio signals to summon help. A residential console contacts a remote emergency reporting center; a 2-way voice communications is activated with the senior-in-crisis.

Remote Call in Centers

They are located across the USA with trained accessible emergency reporting operators. They do not provide medical advice, Stevens said. They determine the situation and condition of older adults and summon help via 911. The reporting center calls designated people of the elderly person – family, friends, and neighbors.

Previous medic alarms possessed limited range, but Linear’s PERS-4200 can function within a range up to 1,000 feet, in the home, yard, and garage. “But not miles or blocks away,” said Stevens. “It’s designed for local use only.”

PERS – Response or Reporting?

Linear LLC, founded over 50 years ago as a security and access control company, has expanded into the medical alert field. Stevens utilizes the PERS moniker differently, deviating from the standard Personal Emergency Response System, renaming it as a Personal Emergency Recording System. The company’s PERS 4200 possesses add-ons for 16 devices, including smoke, fire, and carbon monoxide detection.

Expanding the Horizons of PERS

Active Care Inc. of Oren, UT, has designed a PERS product that can alert emergencies of older adults across North America – USA, Canada, and Mexico.

Michael Z. Jones, the company’s Chief Strategy Officer, outlined the far-ranging capabilities of its premier product – the Active One PERS Device.

In the event of an emergency, Active Care communicates regardless of the location of the older-adult-in-need, said Jones. The company’s proprietary technology embeds GPS-location capability within a miniature PERS device.

The PERS Device employs a cellular network. Combined with GPS, the exact location of an injured senior can be determined and a remote communication line established from vast distances.

At Home and Abroad with GPS

GPS capability means PERS wearers can reside in their homes or travel anywhere in North America and utilize the Active One. In emergency situations, cross- continental seniors can push the PERS button. An alert will be sent to the local cellular provider and relayed to the internal call center in Utah.

Emergency response will be dispatched to local first responders. Family and friends will be notified of the crisis.

A complex system – access to emergency regardless of location – has been combined with the ability to locate the respondent through GPS – said Jones.

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There are many other PERS providers in North America. Consumers need to select the right option for their lifestyles.

Image One - PERS 4200 Lifestyle. Image Two - DXS-LRC Wristband. Courtesy of Linear LLC.

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Gadget Reviews

Learning and Technology

Researchers say video games may boost seniors' mental health

aadmin — Mon, 01 Jul 2013 13:00:26 +0000

Video games may seem like all fun and - well, games - but behind the racing cars and the fighting monsters, video games is just business; a very big business.

According to the Entertainment Software Association, a Washington, DC-based industry group, video games are about a 25-30 billion dollar annual business.

And with an industry that large, there is a lot of room for niche industries, including a growing segment of video games specifically tailored for older people.

One of the most well-known video games popular with seniors is Wii, a console made by Nintendo and first introduced in 2007.

The Wii requires users to physically engage with the console in order to play the games.

Another console, the Microsoft-produced Xbox Kinect, works on a similar basis, with a motion-detecting sensor for its video games.

And although these consoles were not specifically designed for use by seniors, older people represent a significant portion of these markets, and experts say these games may offer seniors the opportunity to boost not just their physical health, but also their emotional well-being.

This past March, researchers from the North Carolina State University (NCSU) reported that seniors who played video games were more likely to say they were emotionally happy than their peers who did not play video games.

“The research published here suggests that there a link between gaming and better well-being and emotional functioning,” Dr. Jason Allaire, associate professor of psychology at NCSU, one of the authors of the report, said in a statement. “We are currently planning studies to determine whether playing digital games actually improves mental health in older adults,” Allaire said.

In the study, researchers spoke with 140 people aged 63 and older, and asked them how often they played video games, and then evaluated their emotional security. Thirty-five per cent of respondents said they play video games at least weekly, and 61 per cent said they play video games on at least an occasional basis.

Among respondents who said they play video games regularly, researchers found they were more likely to have higher levels of emotional satisfaction and happiness, while their peers who did not play video games regularly were more likely to exhibit signs of depression.
The research paper was published in the academic journal Computers in Human Behavior.

While researchers said they cannot claim video games are likely to help seniors’ emotional well-being, there is a strong correlation between the two.

What do you think? Do video games help improve seniors’ emotions? Tell us in the comment section below:

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aging

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Entertainment and Hobbies

Games and Puzzles

Meet the newest technologies of 2013

aadmin — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:58:58 +0000

One of the best things about technology is that as a whole, it’s in a constant state of motion. Technology never stays the same. The devices we use are constantly upgraded and remodeled to enhance the users overall experience using it. For this reason we’ve seen several versions of Apple’s iPad released in 2012, along with the introduction of new tablet technologies like the Microsoft Surface and Google’s Nexus 10.

Tablet technologies are quickly gaining popularity and will someday soon take over the place of a laptop computer. Similarly, smartphones like the Apple iPhone, Microsoft Windows Phone, and the Samsung Galaxy were all released in 2012, gradually pushing our normal cell phones into extinction. So many new gadgets, all in the same year, and 2013 will follow suit.

One new technology to watch out for is called Leap Motion. Their product, which is scheduled for release in 2013, converts traditional desktop and laptop computers into a motion sensing device. In other words, you’ll be able to check your email, read Google news, build your family tree and connect with loved ones over Facebook and Skype without needing to use your keyboard and mouse.

The best part is you don’t need a new computer. You simply add the Leap Motion device to your current computer setup and it’s instantly converted into a motion sensing machine. It’s quite remarkable. Be sure to watch their demonstration video so you truly understand how this will change the way we interact with our household computers in the near future.

Surprisingly enough, there is a great new thermostat technology called Nest planned for release in 2013. Nest is a thermostat that learns how your home likes the temperature to be regulated, not only for comfort, but also to save energy. Whether it’s extra warm at night to stay cozy during the winter months, or cool when everyone leaves for their regular morning exercises, Nest learns every time you use it, so it eventually does all the work for you. Also, Nest is WIFI enabled, which means you can access your thermostat from your smartphone when you’re out of the house.

Isn’t it nice to think about warming up the house for a couple hours right before you get home from a ski trip? You can bet that there will be many more things you’ll be able to control in your home from a smartphone using the Internet. Security systems, lights, and even cameras are already available and getting more and more popular.

Probably the most incredible technology expected in 2013 is a revolutionary idea in the automotive industry. Sometime in the near future, Cadillac Super Cruise will be available, allowing drivers to remove their hands from the wheel while the vehicle drives itself.

In a nutshell, high tech computers and semi-autonomous intelligence monitor the side of the road and the cars around the vehicle simultaneously. With this information, Cadillac Super Cruise calculates a safe speed to travel and maintains a safe distance from obstacles on the road.

This means that when you drive from your retirement home to the theatre, you can sit back and read your e-reader with a cup of tea. Now, 2013 won’t actually create this scenario for us, as the technology is brand new.

Think of how many digital cameras existed before there was actually a good one at a reasonable price. It’s important to recognize that the technology is in development and will eventually get here with more upgrading and remodeling.

What a great year it will be for seniors and technology. Imagine 5 years from now…

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Learning and Technology

Online Learning

Dating website for seniors looks to attract more men

aadmin — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:53:37 +0000

As RetirementHomes.com has reported, dating websites for single seniors are becoming increasingly popular, and that’s good news for the online businesses and for older people looking to meet their mates.

But as reported recently in the National Post newspaper, one British website for older singles, mylovelyparent.com, is finding that success also has a price. Started by 35 year-old Briton Matt Connolly, spurred on by a request from his 60-something mother asking for his help finding her a mate, mylovelyparent.com has sparked interest among older singles, but now has a 4:1 ratio of female to male members on the site.

Connolly told the newspaper he didn’t attribute the gender gap to demographics of women outliving men, but to the reticence of many males to seek romantic partners online.

“The older we get as chaps, the less confident we become in meeting people. As a result, the fear of failure builds up and we eventually stop trying,” Connolly said.

To help attract more men, the dating website is offering free membership to the first one thousand men who join, and is giving away free coaching sessions and tailor-made suits.

Have you ever tried a dating website? What did you think of the experience?

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technology

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Learning and Technology

Online Learning