Voice Activated Devices For Seniors

[Adriana Gowen]

About29% of adults ages 50 and over have adopted digital assistants, according to AARP. Their research shows that use of technology like smart speakers is only growing among seniors. This virtual technology, like Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri and Google Assistant, can help seniors with simple tasks and can keep them connected.

Smart speakers, or digital assistants, are a combination loudspeaker and voice command device run by Wi-Fi access. They use artificial intelligence software to respond to spoken questions or commands. They can vary from the size of a doughnut to larger than a coffee can.

As you can see, digital assistants can take care of a lot of your daily routines with minimal help. That can be a big help for older adults with arthritis, hand tremors, impaired vision or limited mobility.

With routines and reminders set a certain way, assistants can greet seniors when they wake up with a weather report, news headlines, reminders of upcoming appointments, a morning affirmation or scriptural verse and a gentle reminder to have breakfast. These reminders can help seniors take care of themselves.

Google Assistant available on the Google Home smart speaker, along with many Android and Google Pixel smartphones. It will connect with your Google accounts, like Gmail. Some third-party speakers connect to Google Assistant.

A voice-activated medical alert responds to voice commands in addition to the standard help button mechanism. Some of these systems, such as those from Medical Guardian, use wall-mounted help buttons that listen for your voice. Others, such as those from Aloe Care Health, have an extensive array of voice commands built into their base units.

Voice-activated buttons are especially helpful for seniors who may struggle to use their medical alert button. If someone has arthritis or dexterity problems, for example, calling for help verbally may be quicker or easier than pressing a button.

To make use of Alexa Together, you simply need to purchase an Echo device. We recommend the Echo Show ($129), which comes with a six-month free trial of Alexa Together. After this trial, Alexa Together costs $19.99 per month.

Aloe Care Health prices are about middle of the road; its basic in-home system costs $29.99 per month. You must purchase the system rather than leasing it, however, which means there will be some start-up costs.

Medical Guardian prices start at $29.95 per month, and the voice-activated wall buttons each cost $5 per month. I also appreciate that Medical Guardian requires no long-term contracts or equipment purchases, so you can cancel your service at any time and return your equipment.

Innovations in smart home technology such as internet-connected appliances, voice assistants, and wearables have made it the best time in history to grow old at home as homes become much more efficient and ultimately safer for the elderly.

Whether you are a home services professional or homeowner looking to build an infrastructure of smart house technology for an aging parent, grandparent, neighbor, friend, or yourself, the following devices can all contribute to a safer home for seniors.

First and foremost, the most important benefit of having smart devices installed in the homes of our older family members is for safety. Slips, trips, and falls are especially common with the elderly and in fact, falls are the number one cause of injury for the elderly. According to the National Council on Aging, every 19 minutes an elderly person dies from injuries sustained in a fall.

Any elderly person living alone also now has a source of interaction and communication even if with a voice assistant. They can ask for the weather report, news, and even make calls to family and friends, simply using voice commands.

Considering when to move elderly family members into assisted senior living facilities can be a painful decision but when their safety is compromised, it becomes a necessity. With modern technology available to aid our aging parents and grandparents, we can rest assured their safety and well-being is being monitored.

While it is unfortunate that a large majority of seniors do not own any smart home devices, 12% own a voice-activated assistant, which is one of the more versatile smart home devices. Beyond that, seniors who have smart cameras or sensors, pill dispensers, lights, and garage door openers make up a combined 12%.

Below we cover 16 common smart home devices for nearly every room in the house. Whether you are an HVAC professional, plumber, garage door technician, or home cleaner, there are devices for you to suggest your clients install and consider for yourselves.

Below are 16 of the best smart home devices for the elderly to have installed. While we recommend installing this technology, we do not recommend installing it yourself. We recommend hiring a service pro or handyman to help install and avoid injury.

These smart home assistants can make purchases if connected to a payment-enabled account, dictate the news and weather, set timers in the kitchen, and control other smart home devices like lights, television, and more.

A smart pill dispenser allows you to load your medications and program them to be dispensed and available according to the prescribed schedule. Some smart pill dispensers even have locking mechanisms that prevent theft or accidental overdoses.

Most senior citizens are prescribed a number of medications to treat common age-related ailments, and many are treated for other less-common chronic diseases. Taking the right medication at the right time can be a life or death event.

Motion sensors can be great for security systems to detect intruders, but some companies have built sophisticated algorithms to detect human falls. Some even use AI and machine vision to differentiate between animals and humans.

These sensors are important to install in the homes of the elderly especially. As previously mentioned, slips, trips, and falls are a major concern for seniors and having these sensors connect directly to friends, family, or first responders can help save lives.

Smart Thermostats allow you to maintain a temperature-controlled environment while maintaining energy efficiency. If you forgot to turn off your heat or A/C before leaving the house, you can use a mobile device to control the system remotely.

Smart locks can have a number of authentication methods to unlock a door. Biometrics, for example, use fingerprints, retina scans, voice recognition or other techniques to verify the person is authorized to unlock the door. Smart locks can also have unique pin numbers, key cards, and of course, the use of smartphones.

Smart locks are particularly helpful for the elderly. If there is an emergency a care provider, neighbor, or first responder can be easily granted access from an authorized mobile device without having to physically damage the property to get in.

Similar to smart locks, a security feature that also benefits the elderly is a smart camera strategically placed within the home. Perhaps the camera is next to the front door, allowing the homeowner to quickly determine who is at their door.

It is estimated that the average American spends 6 hours per week cleaning their home, but for seniors, it likely takes them longer to accomplish the same cleaning tasks. Thankfully, these robotic innovations have brought a wave of automated cleaning devices to lighten the load.

Despite the benefits of support animals, 20% of elderly people surveyed reported a lack of time to care for a pet. This is why a smart pet feeder which distributes food and water automatically is a great device for elderly pet owners.

These devices keep animals on a consistent feeding schedule with the same amount of food each meal. They can also send notifications to confirm when food and water has been distributed. This allows elderly pet owners to have a peace of mind that their pets will be well feed, even if they are not physically able to feed them or forgetful.

Smart lights are a good idea for elderly homeowners because you can quickly turn lights on with your voice or smartphone when you need to get up, preventing falls and injuries caused by unseen objects in the dark.

Smart plugs or outlets are extensions of a normal outlet that allows you to turn devices on and off using a smartphone or voice assistant. These can be used to adjust your lights, start your coffee maker, turn off appliances, and more.

These smart plugs can be helpful for your appliances that are easily forgotten but pose potential fire hazards. If you leave the house with an oven, space heater, curling iron, or any other electronic device on and plugged into a smart outlet, you can turn the devices off remotely.

This is yet another way for seniors to use their devices to turn lights on to navigate a dark room. The ability to turn devices, lights, and more on and off from a smartphone is a great tool for senior citizens to have when staying at home or leaving on a vacation.

Wifi-enabled garage door openers allow you to check that your garage door is sealed whether you are at home or away. The ability to open and close your garage door from a smartphone is especially important for senior citizens.

Forgetting to close the garage door at night or when leaving on a trip can open your garage and home up to thieves, wild animals, and other unwanted guests. The ability to open and close the garage door from a mobile device can help secure your home from the comfort of your bed.

From oven ranges and refrigerators to toaster ovens and microwaves, there is a smart device for that. These devices are able to integrate with smart home hubs and voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home.

The ability to wirelessly control the oven can save seniors a trip to the kitchen to preheat the oven, change the temperature, turn the oven off, and more. Smart refrigerators provide an easy way to set timers, create lists, and track expiration dates for perishable items.

Smart washers and dryers allow their owners to track their wash and dry cycles, monitor their energy usage, and alert when ducts start to become dangerously clogged. Poorly maintained clothes dryers are responsible for nearly 15,000 home fires every year.

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