My cousin once told me she worried that our grandma sometimes forgot to feed her dog, Bonnie. I suspected the opposite problem—that Bonnie was getting second dinners because she looked like a furry black-and-white soccer ball. Either way, it would have been nice to know whether Grandma’s routine was changing, for both her sake and Bonnie’s.
It turns out I’m not alone in wanting information that will help my loved ones—and myself—age in place. Most older adults want to stay in their own homes. However, some need intermittent or continuous monitoring for safety and well-being.
Age-tech, also called gerontechnology, might offer solutions.
Who Might Benefit from Age-Tech
Monitoring technology can be useful for adults with mild cognitive impairment or mild-to-moderate dementia—and even healthy older adults. (Is there anyone over 30 who has not left the stove on?)
Problems Age-Tech Can Solve—or Prevent
Age-tech that keeps an eye on the home can keep human and furry inhabitants safe or make their lives easier. There are many problems =age-tech can watch for—and sometimes fix or alert others to:
- Forgotten tasks: Taking medications, taking out the garbage, making meals, or re-making meals for Grandma’s rotund dog.
- Dangers: Doors left unlocked, wandering, falling, or hot appliances left on.
- Inefficiencies and wasted money: Forgetting to adjust the heater or A/C or overwatering the yard (my friend’s mistaken overwatering caused a messy basement flood).
The High-Tech Solutions
Many people—of all ages—already use smartphones or wearables, such as smartwatches or rings, to track activity and health indicators. Some devices also track location using GPS.
But lesser-known monitoring tech is also available. Sensors on doors, cabinets, beds, and medication dispensers track behavior indirectly. These devices work by sensing pressure, movement, or magnetic contacts, or they use software applications.
Interior cameras provide another option. However, some people—and I count myself among them—don’t like the idea of video monitoring.
Some of the most fascinating advances involve passive monitoring by sensors, usually mounted on the ceiling. (The sensors for Washington State University’s (WSU’s) “Smart Home in a Box,” for example, can be installed in a few hours for research participants.)
The monitoring process is quite innovative. These aren’t videos; the sensors use passive sensing to detect changes in infrared radiation when someone moves around. Think of them like snakes on the ceiling, sensing infrared wavelengths as some snakes do when targeting prey. (Well, maybe don’t think of that if you don’t like snakes.)
The data just indicate activity in different locations over time. This affords greater privacy than video—there’s no need to worry about walking around in your ratty old bathrobe.
Artificial intelligence (AI) software, often using machine learning, can recognize patterns and be designed to flag deviations from normal routines and notify others.
Imagine Aunt Freddy usually makes coffee at 7 a.m., but it’s 10 a.m. and no one has yet moved around the kitchen. The system could alert her neighbor or family.
There are important advantages to this kind of system. For instance, there is no need to charge a wearable device such as a smartwatch—or even put one on. That can be useful because some people simply don’t like wearing devices—or their partners object. My husband wears his smartwatch even when sleeping, and it lights up when he moves. On many a night, I’ve been rudely awakened by a tractor beam with the seeming light of a thousand suns.
What Monitoring Technology Can You Get Now
Some of these advanced research systems—such as AI-powered infrared monitoring kits—are not available to consumers yet. However, universities and organizations are working to make the technology more accessible. Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe and Diane Cook—leading gerontechnology researchers at WSU—see this as an important goal.
But some of this impressive is available now. Lists of both high- and low-tech options can be found online from sources including university labs conducting research on age-tech or assistive technology, or the federally funded AT3 Center, which provides a directory of assistive technology programs in every U.S. state and territory.
How Do People Feel About Monitoring?
Research reveals both positive and negative reactions. A 2024 review reported on varied technologies used by pairs of older adults without cognitive impairment and their family caregivers, finding that those who used age-tech with monitoring functions generally rated them positively, reporting benefits such as greater feelings of safety and reduced stress. But they also noted challenges, including privacy concerns, technical problems, and mismatches with needs. Interestingly, in several studies, caregivers rated the technology more favorably than residents did.
For caregivers, it’s a good idea to start with a specific concern and discuss it with the potential user. What type of monitoring is useful for this person at this time? Is it for the home, person, or both?
Schmitter-Edgecombe offered this advice based on many years of gerontechnology research: As is true for most people, older adults are more open to new technology if they’ve had an experience that builds confidence, rather than frustration. In one study, when older adults first used an age-tech device successfully, they couldn’t wait to get their hands on other tech. I’d react the same way; a mastery experience is very motivating.
But if your smart home ever warns you not to give the dog a second dinner, Bonnie would recommend a second opinion.
Postscript: Ironically, while writing this post, I had a fall (tripped over luggage) and forgot to change a medication dosage. I’d better consider more age-tech myself.
For more on age-tech devices, see WSU’s Tech4Aging and its Center for Advanced Studies in Adaptive Systems.
