Existing Systems

I've been studying systems that are similar to the technology we're looking for and compiling all the information in one place to be looked at:

Personal Alarms for the Elderly
Similar ideas to how we plan our emergency alarm button for our users. As you can see, most of these rely on a system where the alarm is hung around the neck, or they are panic buttons located in the home.

http://www.aidcall-alarms.co.uk/what_is_aid_call.htm

http://www.quicksafe.co.uk/phone-panic-alarm.htm

http://www.medscope.org/

http://www.life-alarm.com/

Home-Management Systems
Not all of these are specifically targeted at the elderly, but it useful to see how a home can be managed via a single interface.

http://www.svsmarthomes.com/

http://www.affordablemonitoring.com/elderly.htm

http://www.electronicsolutionsco.com/home_automation/

Brainstorming Session Photos

Hey guys,

The link below links to a group on my flickr account where I've posted the photos of our sheets of paper from Monday's brainstorming session. In future, any other photos will go in the same group so they all get kept in the same place.

Here's the link: http://flickr.com/photos/pirateanna/sets/72157594510437986/

Anna

Creative Meeting

In Attendance: All Team Members

Today we held our first meeting for brainstorming and creative discussion. Photos of our brainstorm will be taken and uploaded shortly.

At the moment, we seem to be planning some sort of Multi-Function Home Care/Control Device so that the elderly can remain independent for longer in their own homes, and keeping both themselves and their relatives happy that they are in a more secure environment.
- Access through the TV - simple interface.
- Controls:

• Lights
• Curtains
• Reminders
• Order Shopping/Meals on Wheels
• Alarm Button patching into phone system to alert neighbours or family of problems.

- Could also incorporate a set of sensors in the house to detect heat (fire) or motion.
- Combines existing technologies into one larger system.
- Speaker on Remote control perhaps to be used to speak reminders, or send a beep/vibrating alert to alert the user to some important message on the TV screen.
- Cord attaches to remote to keep it round the neck of the user so it doesn't get lost!
- MUST BE KEPT SIMPLE

We also discussed the constraints we have regarding this target group, as well as facts about them and existing technologies. We decided that it may be a good idea to hold a meeting in character as our personas in order to get a better grasp of who they are.

Notes:
- We have a meeting with Mike on Wednesday at 12 in Physics 117, so please all come!
- I think we all ought to have a crack at creating a persona this week. If some are too similar, we can combine a few together.
- Please keep the ideas flowing! Comments to this post will be useful, otherwise if you have a relatively complete idea, create a new post.
- If anyone gets the chance, it might be a good idea to have a quick look to see what technologies already exist.

Day One

Our team consists of the following members:

• Sam Houghton
• Andrew Fielder
  
• Anna Kennedy
• Andrew Koulle
• Dan Willis