8 · SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2017 HI-TECH ADDITIONS FOR A SAFER HOME In the rapidly evolving field of technol-ogy, more and more products and apps hit the market every year that promise to make life better, easier or safer. Although it takes some research and even trial and error to find the ones that truly work, technological advances that help keep families and loved ones safe are al-ways important to caregivers. From “smart” smoke detectors and pill-boxes to products that can help locate a person who has wandered off to apps that will alert loved ones and authorities if a person walking alone runs into danger, many tools these days could very well help save lives. AARP senior vice president of market innovation Jody Holtzman believes that voice-activated devices such as Google Home and Amazon Echo could eventually become a vital part of everyday life. “In my view, that’s really the future,” Holtzman said. “I said to someone recently that the voice is the finger of the future in our interaction with technology. Now it’s all keyboards and screens, but as we get to substitute voice commands, voice recogni-tion, voice control, it takes the friction out of it. Speak into the air and it will happen. I refer to it as putting people on the bridge of the Starship Enterprise.” The Super Bowl ad for Google Home, for instance, showed a young woman run-ning in the door out of the rain and saying, “OK, Google, turn on hall lights,” and the lights in the hallway turned on. Holtzman used the example of a mother being able to speak into the air, “Call Ra-chel,” and the woman’s daughter is then summoned. And with more and more emphasis being put into development of voice-activated technology, we can expect to see more in the future, he said. “You can call Uber on the Echo now,” he said. “It’s all going to get easier and easier and the range of services is going to in-crease to help with daily essential activities. To me, that is really the future.” In the meantime, here’s a look at some products and apps that could help make caregivers and their loved ones safer. Lively Mobile GreatCall makes a number of devices designed to help seniors stay healthy and safe. Their Lively Mobile is a wearable de-vice that sells for $49.99 plus activation and a monthly service fee. The device can clip to a belt or be worn around the neck, and it’s waterproof, so it can be worn in the shower. One button connects you to a 5Star Urgent Response professional who can provide assistance whether the user is lost, in an unsafe situa-tion, experiencing a medical emergency or otherwise finds himself or herself in need of assistance. Urgent Care assistance provides access to doctors and nurses 24 hours a day and the GreatCallLink feature allows caregiv-ers to access information about the person wearing the device, including alerts when an emergency call is made, the power level of the device and the location of the device. There is also an optional feature that detects falls and automatically calls a 5Star agent. GETTY IMAGES Packages range from $19.99 to $34.99 monthly. Jitterbug Another GreatCall device is the Jitterbug phone that’s designed specifically for se-niors. They make a basic flip phone that has ac-cess to the 5Star response team as well as a smartphone that uses larger icons and text, a simple, easy to use menu, voice typing and an optional health and safety package that includes many of the features found on the wearable device plus others. The health and safety package includes a medication reminder service, daily health New technology can keep loved ones out of danger Technology is helping to bring a wide array of services to people’s fingertips, and with the growth of voice-activated services, soon a touch might no longer be necessary to use many features.
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