Citizen analysis of products relating to growing older
The Amazon “Astro” is a small robot that can autonomously navigate its way around a single-story home much like a robot vacuum using a camera for floor mapping. It is being promoted by Amazon as a “Household Robot for Home Monitoring, with Alexa” and is currently offered for sale only by invitation (as of Nov 2022).
Amazon “Alexa Together” is a software tool that runs on the Alexa app.
It’s designed to run on Amazon Echo devices in a loved one’s home and is managed by a family member on their smartphone using the Alexa app. While it can serve as a “Medical Alert” device in the fall detection category with additional hardware, it also provides some “Activity Monitoring” of a remote loved one through alerts and the ability to easily create daily reminders.
The Loop digital picture frame is designed with one specific goal in mind: to create greater engagement with a person who lives at a distance, by means of sharing and viewing photos and videos. One of our explorers had exactly this scenario in mind, and bought the product and tried it out. The overall experience was positive, and the explorer “likes” the product. Here are the details.
This is a go anywhere mobile alert with fall detection. It is included in our comparative evaluation of mobile medical alerts. This product was a new entrant to the field in 2020. It is quite similar to its “companion product”, the Medical Guardian, Active Guardian in terms of the basic features. However it is smaller and lighter.
The WellBe Medical Alert PLUS incorporates the key features of a conventional medical alert into the format of a watch — and includes several smartwatch features as well.
The Theora Connect is a smartwatch designed to be used by older adults — especially those with mild cognitive impairment or dementia.
The SOS Smartwatch is one of the “easiest to use” products in the “medical alert watch” category. It functions quite well as a medical alert, looks quite stylish, and has the key smartwatch attributes of telling the time, and step counting.
The UnaliWear Kanega Watch incorporates the key features of a conventional medical alert into the format of a watch — and tells the time. Unusually for a medical alert watch, it also includes a fall detection algorithm.
Oscar Family is an example of a product category we call “Senior-friendly Tablets“. This in-depth review evaluates the Oscar Family tablet’s individual features, and explores how well it works as a tool for non-tech-savvy older adults.
The Claris Companion is an example of a product category we call “Senior-friendly Tablets“. This in-depth review evaluates the Claris Companion’s individual features, and explores how well it works as a tool for non-tech-savvy older adults.