My mom in law is 84 years old and she lives alone. We have had the discussion about installing a camera which will be off by default but can be used to check in if we havent heard from her (We chat to her everyday and we do live within walking distance of her but its for during the day when we are at work and when we are away for a night or two.)
Has anyone kitted out their parents home with any smart devices and if so which ones. I am considering motion sensors, and also some smart switches under furniture and shelfs etc in case she falls and cannot get up.
Would love to know what others out there have done and how its working out for them.
Not a smart home thingy but: Apple Watch. The fall detection is kick-ass. Give the watch an eSIM and no matter where your mom is, she can contact people, the fall detection can do the same and you can always know where she is. My mom is turning 80 and she loves the watch.
Motion detectors add some comfort. You could give the Aqara FP2 a go which has a fall detection, too (needs to be mounted on a ceiling). Might be worth in the bathroom where the aforementioned watch may not be worn.
Other things to consider is maybe some HomePods/google home speakers. For the simple reason that one could simply call out “Siri, call xyz”.
I can’t recommend the smart watch strongly enough.
Well… Not for my parents, but for myself (not quite as old as your mother, but getting there… ). Also because I can.
Rather than monitoring her, allow her some agency. I have buttons at floor level at fall points around the house (bathroom most importantly, but also stairs etc.). If I press one of them a friend gets an email and a text.
Same thing with voice assistants - if I say “Alexa, emergency, call for help” texts and emails get sent.
If you must monitor, the ESPHome bed presence detector is excellent - it just detects weight on the bed, but it will tell you if your mother hasn’t gone to bed or hasn’t got up.
Motion sensors get complicated. What you’re trying to detect is lack of motion, so you have to have some way of knowing that someone should be there. I use Bermuda amongst other things to establish whether I am home:
If I appear to be home but there hasn’t been any movement for 24 hours, emails and texts get sent.
I have read that the range of fall detection in motion sensors is too short to be of much use.
Never had to use any of this stuff, but it was fun setting it up.
Edit: Speaking as an older person… Don’t kid yourself that technology can provide a solution. There isn’t one. You’ll find out…
For my Mum (in care with dementia) I have a laptop open in her room that I can control with Google Remote Desktop to start a Zoom session. Well that was the idea, but I’ve only used it in conjunction with other people being there because she has no phone to check with her first, and a cold-call video feels like an invasion of privacy (ok, I’m scared she’ll be nude). I also use syncthing to update the desktop wallpaper slideshow pictures of people she doesn’t know like her kids, g-kids, and gg-kids. I also bought the kit for a LoRa tracker because she “escaped” once while on an excursion with Dad and the police had to be called, but the coverage is poor here in Australia.
I am now in the process of looking at motion sensors for when she goes into certain rooms and if she has not left after a certain time then I will get a notification saying “Mom has not left Garage in 15min” or similar
