One of the really fun things about being in this industry is the sheer level of innovation that is occurring. It seems like every week a new company pops up providing some sort of remote monitoring for the elderly. “We use an AI-powered platform attached to activity monitoring sensors to tell you if Mom is OK” or “Our remote monitoring capability uses Alexa and other cutting edge technologies to give you piece of mind” could be the marketing tagline for a lot of them...
What’s the matter with Alexa? When it comes to the age-in-place elderly, nothing that a resetting of expectations can’t fix. To be clear, we like Alexa. In fact, our next release of our firmware will include Alexa integration. However, it seems like every week we will run into someone who says “Isn’t Alexa going to do everything that ONKÖL does?” Ummm…...
Does it require professional installation? No. All you need to do is plug it into an electrical outlet. Some third-party sensors like smoke detectors might require non-professional assistance (family member or friend) to place on the wall or ceiling. Does my loved one need to configure it in any way? The unit is configured remotely by either a family member or caregiver...
From the start, ONKÖL has been designed to be different. On the outside, we specifically designed ONKÖL so that it looked like a high end piece of audio equipment, or about as far from medical as you can get. Although our design sessions were a blast, getting the outside design just right took a lot of long hours with mechanical, electrical, and human interface engineers. But the level of innovation on the outside pales in comparison to what we’ve done on the inside...
ONKÖL is a revolutionary family communications solution that allows older folks and younger family members stay in touch. We've all heard about the Internet of Things: wireless sensors that can monitor and configure everything from thermostats to refrigerators to medical devices. Over the coming years, we will see anywhere from 18 billion to 220 billion new sensors brought to the market, and a lot of them could benefit the elderly...