Every Step You Take: Home Monitoring Systems May Seem Invasive, but Could Keep You Independent
By: Reed Karaim Source: AARP Bulletin Date Posted: May 2007
Marcene Lancaster wants her mother, Lucille, to feel independent. But Lucille is 79 and has had a couple of bad falls. Safety is such a concern that Marcene, 55, even considered leaving her job so she could keep an eye on her mom, who lives with her.
Instead, Marcene has turned to a high-tech option: a new home monitoring system that lets her use her computer at work or even her cell phone to check in on her mother via motion sensors and small cameras in their home. "It gives me a peace of mind I didn't have," Marcene says. "And it also provides more security for her."
The Lancasters, of Austin, Texas, are pioneers in a brave new world of technology that aims to keep older Americans living longer and more safely on their own. Until recently the province of high-end custom homes or demonstration projects, home monitoring products that are now hitting the market target a much wider audience. These products are simple to install and use and are relatively affordable.
The most basic kits, such as the AT&T; Home Monitor system (starting at $99 with a $9.95 monthly service fee), contain a camera to watch over one room, a small motion sensor that registers when a door to a room opens, and a control box. Most monitoring systems can also e-mail or text-message alerts to a computer or cell phone when activity suggests cause for concern. [For a demonstration, go to www.attrm.com/demo.]
Other systems—for example, QuietCare, distributed by ADT Security (starting at $199, installation included)—use more elaborate networks of sensors that track movement: monitoring bathroom visits, time spent in the kitchen, and medicine intake. These systems typically have sophisticated computer programs that establish a person's behavior patterns and then keep tabs. Transmitted either wirelessly or through the home's existing power lines to a book-size base station, the collected data travels via a phone line to a password-protected website that can be checked by family members or caretakers. [For a demonstration, go to www.quietcare.com/movie.html.]
These new technologies have prompted some skepticism, as new technology often does. Consider the electronic bracelets and pendants that people can wear at home and can use in an emergency to notify an outside monitoring station with a click of a button: While the devices have been available for more than two decades, only 2 to 4 percent of the over-65 population most likely to need them do wear them, according to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AgeLab.
That's because, says Joe Coughlin, head of the AgeLab, the technology is the easy part: "What's more difficult is the change in social attitudes that brings these innovations into the living room."
QuietCare chose to rely exclusively on motion sensors because studies indicated that many older people found cameras intrusive, says David Stern, chief professional officer of Living Independently Group Inc., which developed the system.
But other companies believe cameras provide a critical look when trouble is indicated. The AT&T; system has a privacy button so the camera can be turned off and uses technology that prevents its signal from being intercepted, says Brad Bridges, AT&T; assistant vice president.
To Lucille Lancaster, whatever privacy she loses by having cameras in her house is a reasonable tradeoff for the sense of security both she and her daughter gain. "If I'm going to be doing something I don't want her to see, I'll just cut it off," Lucille says. "At 79, there's not many things that I care whether she sees or not."
Reed Karaim is a freelance writer in Tucson, Ariz.
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