Smart home platform developer Homebase and LG are joining forces in the US to bring smart home technologies to residents in a retirement complex in Kansas. This reinforces the view that one of the key markets for connected healthcare devices (CHDs) and smart home devices will be the elderly.
A couple of weeks ago, CHDs put in a strong appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in a more supportive market. Big Tech is now heavily invested in supporting healthcare projects, providing the surrounding infrastructure needed for CHDs to stick with consumers.
As ageing populations in the developed world continue to grow, CHD vendors would be wise to tailor their offerings to the elderly. The US Census Bureau predicts that by 2030, 20% of citizens will be of retirement age, while by 2035, more Americans will be over 65 than under 18. In Europe, one in six adults are set to be over 80 by 2050.
Figures released this week by global property adviser, Frank Knight, predict that in Europe is expected to have a rapidly growing market for residential care for the elderly. Investment into care home and senior living assets over the past year totaled €6.5bn, up from €2.6bn in the first half of 2016.
Businesses that directly serve this market can incorporate smart home technologies in order to make their offering more competitive. As such, this new initiative from LG and Homebase is a savvy move. LG appliances will be integrated into Homebase’s smart home platform at a boutique retirement complex in Kansas. Some 72 residences are being installed with LG smart refrigerators, washers, dryers, ovens and dishwashers.
Alongside its smart home platform, Homebase is supplying Schlage Control smart locks, smart thermostats and WiFi coverage throughout properties. The company, founded in 2016, provides a platform for users to monitor and manage access to the apartment with smart locks, as well as controls over smart heating and smart lighting. Users can organize maintenance appointments and pay bills through the service too.
Matt Gillam, VP of development at Overland Property Group, which oversees the property, said: “This “level of automation will set our community apart.” The new instalments will “improve the living experience of the residents” by making daily chores easier and streamlining maintenance for the management, Gillam continued.
There are plans to extend the LG-Homebase trial to predictive maintenance capabilities later in the year. If the appliances detect a fault, it will automatically submit a work order to Homebase’s platform, and a worker can let themselves into the residency via temporary access codes for the smart locks.
It seems LG is thinking the same technology could be applied to care services. Sam Chang, Corporate Vice President in the LG Silicon Valley Lab, posed the possibility that “in the future, caregivers could receive notifications based on smart device activity to check in on residents in a less intrusive way”.
This trial is just one move among many tech companies closing in on the elderly. CES brought a surge of CHDs, many of which could readily serve that market. Homebase’s blog posts encourage landlords to future-proof their property. This phrase acutely alludes to the oncoming demographic shifts which are already influencing the products on the smart home market.
There are smart home systems, much like Homebase provides, that are especially tailored for the elderly. K4Connect’s new K4Community smart home platform is built for senior living communities, with an operating system that integrates biometric health data and smart home devices into a single platform.
And then we have Ballie, Samsung’s little mobile robot that’s been trying to steal hearts, despite still being a prototype. The promotional video shows Ballie innocently going about the home, turning on and off appliances where it sees they could be of help – like hoovering up mess created by a dog. It’s still early days, but the product’s potential to enhance domestic care services is clear – acting as mobile eyes into a home, and a somewhat helping hand.
A few hardware details on Ballie have emerged. It uses a single camera to detect surroundings, and footage is not stored after on-device processing, likely because of privacy concerns.
Slightly less cute then Ballie is Samsung’s ‘cobot’ (collaborative robot), Bot Chef. Two robotic arms dangle over a kitchen surface and can assist with tasks such as chopping, stirring, and getting items out of cupboards. Again, this could find a potential customer in care services, as well as hospitality.
There is of course the question of when, or if, either product will become a reality. Samsung routinely runs into delays with these sorts of products and has not set any kind of timeline. Of course, the whereabouts of Bixby and the Galaxy Home speaker remain a mystery, and Samsung made a lot of noise about their potential in the smart home.
Other products for the older buyer at CES included a whole range of items that detect accidents. Buddy, a software-based system for wearables developed by LiveFreely, can detect falls and then subsequently notify caregivers or emergency services. Pajamas for the elderly developed by Japan’s Xenoma has a similar feature. Similarly, Beyond Vision’s CarePLUS smart can track the movement and posture of individuals via cameras which are installed in the home. Warning messages are triggered by falls, sitting too long, or leaving the house unexpectedly.