Basics of Life (p1):
Research, explorations, discussions, and products and resources relating to Basics of Life: from Tech-enhanced Life.
Activities of daily living, and where to live.
For Older Adults, their Families, and Caregivers
— and for Companies Creating Innovations Related to Aging.
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Analysis & Exploration | Explorer Discussions | Resources and Products shared by our Explorers.
Featured Guides & Reports: Basics of Life
The "Useful Apps Club" for Older Adults
Unlock the potential of your smartphone or tablet to improve your life.
The "Useful Apps Club" is for older adults and Boomers who have a smartphone or tablet (or are thinking of getting one) and need help to turn it into a useful tool. We are focused on finding Apps that can change your life, and teaching you how to use them.
Medical Alert Systems: Help!
We kept getting asked "which medical alert system is best?"; and "how do I choose the right medical alert system for me?". This independent, objective, hands-on research tries to answer those questions. If you are looking for a medical alert system, either for yourself or for an older adult such as a parent, this piece of research is for you.
Caring from Afar: Guide to Home Sensor Systems
Read our report on this new category of products, designed to help seniors stay at home longer, and to help their families worry about them less. There are important lessons to be learned about which ones work, and for which types of circumstance they are optimal.
Aging in Place: Why Technology & Gadgets Matter
In my mind, there is a compelling argument that the right gadgets and technology can make aging in place more successful and less expensive. And by more successful, I am thinking in particular of higher quality of life, more autonomy, and less dependence on the kindness of strangers. I don't think this argument gets made much in the media or by the aging services industry though. So here it is.
Gerontech Products We Wish Existed
Here are some high-impact, gerontechnology product concepts that do not yet exist as commercially available products — although the technology to enable them already largely exists. Our hope for products like these: to significantly postpone the time at which frailty and functional disability get in the way of "living life".
Sensors, Dementia, Safety: Real World Experiences
Using a handful of simple, non-intrusive sensors, retired engineer Bob Glicksman has been able to learn all sorts of important things about the daily routine of an elderly person, who has cognitive impairment, and for whom he cares. He has been able to make multiple successful interventions to stave off what might have otherwise been serious adverse events. In fact, this simple sensor setup has worked better than he expected, and he shares his experiences, as an example of a real world use case in which a small addition of technology can accomplish a lot.
Cohousing: The Power of Community
Cohousing: The power of community. Thoughts from a cohousing pioneer.
Retirement Living Options
When it comes to retirement living options, the question of whether to stay at home or to move often looms large. Here are the things to consider so you make the right decision.
Caring for & Dealing with Elderly Parents: The Books
In a previous article I did a little research to find the 10 "best selling" books on the topic of Aging Parents (on Amazon). I have now waded through them all, and in this article I summarize my impressions of the different books, in the hope that you can leverage my work so you need only focus on the ones that seem most useful for you.
Retirement Community vs "At Home"
Five years ago, when I started research on staying in our large home vs. a retirement community, I lost my appetite quickly about my wife & I staying in our home. I lost interest because:
1. I found local programs to take us to doctors & get nursing help at home as needed, but... ....... Read more
Fridge for Forgetful Senior
We have several problems relating to a fridge and a forgetful senior who lives alone. We worry that she will leave the fridge open by mistake and that the food will spoil and make her sick. We worry that she forgets to throw out food as it gets old, and that the food in her fridge includes food... .........Read more
Forget to Turn Water Off
As people grow older they often become somewhat forgetful. We start to worry about questions like "Did I leave the water running?" How do we make it so these sorts of questions are not things that we need to worry about? .........Read more
Smart Home Share & Learn: SF Explorers
When asked which smart home devices they have, San Francisco Explorers answer with more than a few of their personal favorites. .........Read more
Idea / Challenge
Hi there! I want to start off by saying that if it wasn't for this community and the instructions on how to use the Amazon Echo and set up the device for a person without a smartphone, my family and I wouldn't have been able to interact with my father this past year while he was in skilled care... ....... Read more
Better Bra for Older Women
Our Longevity Explorers have been engaged in a brainstorming session about bra's for older adults — ignited by a challenge from explorer Marly. .........Read more
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Papa: Family on Demand
Papa is an on-demand assistance service and app designed to help people and their family members stay independent while living at home.
FireAvert - Stove Automatic Shut-Off
FireAvert is a device intended to protect the user from dangerous stove fires by turning off power (or gas) to the sstove when it hears a smoke alarm.
A Dignified Life
A Dignified Life is a book intended to offer a successful approach to caring for persons with Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
Toch Smarturns: Intelligent Stove Knobs
Knobs you can add to an existing stove that "time" how long the stove has been on and alert if it is left unattended for "too long".
Upside HoM
Upside HoM is intended to offer older adults apartment living with amenities in multigenerational buildings or campus settings.
iGPS Phoenix Watch
The iGPS Phoenix Watch is intended to be worn by older adults or children and - when paired with the app - to keep track of their movements, signal departure from a designated location, and provide cellular, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth connections where available.
WellBe
WellBe from HandsFree Health is a virtual healthcare assistant, which comes in a smart speaker and, optionally, with a modern-looking, smartwatch-type medical alert.
BoundaryCare
BoundaryCare is an iOS app intended to keep track of an Apple watch wearer's whereabouts and to display movement and location information on one or more iPhones using the app.
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