10 New Tech Gadgets for Elderly to Make Life Easier in 2023

By: Rosemarie Tamunday Casanova — RN, BSN, MHA

The advancement of new technology this coming 2023 and beyond provides us a set of game changing tools that will enhance the life of our elderly. Affordable high-tech devices, apps, and gadgets offer breakthrough solutions to the everyday problems they encounter.

Elisa’s 75 year old Mom is still living alone with herself. She lives next door to her home just about 50 feet apart from each other’s house in Florida, so if there’s an emergency, she can be able to get to her within a minute. A couple of days ago, her Mom had a minor fall, she only got a couple of bruises, but it completely made Elisa think that she needs some kind of medical alert device. Something that would alert her if her Mom fell again or were otherwise in distress.

Her friends suggested installing camera devices that could monitor her Mom 24/7. They also suggest using a voice controlled speaker that she can set up so if her Mom says “Call For Help” it will text and call her and she can talk to her Mom through the device. They also advise her to use a fall detection watch for her Mom where in the case the app detects a hard fall while her mom is wearing a watch, it will tap her on the wrist, sounds an alarm, and displays an alert.

Now, Elisa regularly logs into a website to check her Mom’s activity, captured via wifi connection, and remotely monitors her. She can see the number of times her Mom opens the refrigerator, and when she goes into the bathroom or heads out the door. An app can alert Elisa by text, email, web or phone if something is out of the ordinary.

”By using the full potential of this new technology, it allows me to feel emotionally confident and secure that my Mom can stay in her home longer,” said Elisa.

Technology today is designed to answer Elisa’s concern about her mom’s safety. Thanks to the development of AI powered devices and the cloud connectivity features of these devices, families of an elderly person still living in home and away from them can finally breathe a sigh of relief and can have a peace of mind.

A smart line of new technology is giving older people more confidence in their ability to live alone. And is helping many family members avoid the difficult decision to move an aging parent from his or her home to assisted living facilities or nursing homes. IOT technology like voice activated speakers, camera sensors, GPS, bluetooth devices, smartphone monitoring apps and computers are making aging in place a viable option for an increasing number of elderly people.

There are many devices suitable for any given use or purposes. Like, a device to manage medication and track elderly living with Alzheimer’s wandering activity, frequent falls and real-time health information. With GPS location tracking you can monitor parents or aging friends at home or while they go on long walks.

Check out these 10 innovative products for the elderly to simplify chores, enhance safety, and provide entertainment. These are the products that can make life easier for the elderly.

Amazon Echo Dot

The Amazon Echo Dot is a voice-activated and controlled speaker that uses Alexa to play music, control smart home devices, make calls, answer questions, set timers and alarms, and more.

Alexa is a smart cookie, built inside the Echo Dot devices and Echo is a device that uses speech recognition to perform an ever-growing range of tasks on command. Alexa’s smartness relies on the internet, in the cloud-computing service run by Amazon. This converts the recording into commands that it interprets. It’s more than a simple voice-to-text service. It is a fully programmable service that can work with other online services to do a surprising range of things such as playing music, receive news updates, check the weather, or set alarms to take medications.

You can set it up in their bedroom, living room, kitchen, and in their bathroom. Its built-in speaker can hear you from across the room with 7 far-field microphones for hands-free control, even in noisy environments or while playing music. So, if she says “Alexa Call For Help” it will text and call you and you can talk to him through the device.

Amazon isn’t the only game in town for this sort of thing: Google, Apple, and Microsoft does offer the same voice commands feature that can do a variety of tasks. OK Google, Siri, and Cortana use the same approach but most aren’t as flexible or as integrated with other services as Alexa is.

Apple Watch

Apple Watch is a brand line of smart watches developed and produced by Apple Inc. It is integrated with iOS which run apps used in fitness tracking, wireless telecommunication, and health oriented capabilities.

Apple Watch has a managed fall detection capabilities, it can detect hard fall while you’re wearing your watch. If you fall, it taps you on the wrist, sounds an alarm, and displays an alert. If your Apple Watch detects that you are not moving for at least about a minute, it will automatically make a call.

After it ends the call, your watch sends a message to your emergency contacts within your location informing them that your watch detected a hard fall. Your watch gets your emergency contacts from your Medical ID.

You have the option to inform your emergency contacts or you can dismiss the alert message by pressing the Digital Crown and tapping Close, or by tapping “I’m OK.” phrase.

If you’re immobile and there are multiple emergency numbers in your country or region, Apple Watch automatically chooses a single emergency number to dial.

GPS SmartSole

GPS SmartSole - Tracking for Elderly and Alzheimer’s, is a GPS device sealed and hidden inside a shoe insole. This ergonomic insoles uses GPS and cellular connectivity like the smartphone to send location updates to the GTX Corp Monitoring System.

The Monitoring System sends out geozone alerts to the caregivers online account or his Smart Locator app. Caregivers will receive text and email messages including links to the last known location of the person.

This tracker is developed especially for an elderly person living with Dementia and Alzheimer’s. They are the one commonly exhibiting the habit of wandering; one that can cause great stress to carers and family. By relying on the cutting-edge technology like the GPS trackers, you can significantly lower the safety risks involved with this habit.

SmartSoles let you remotely monitor loved ones at risk of becoming disoriented. No need for them to remember to carry a separate device, they just slip on their shoes and go – like they normally would. This wearable GPS tracker system capitalizes on procedural memory, which means even those with advanced memory disorders typically remember to wear shoes!

Apple AirPods

Apple AirPods is a great help substitute for elderly parents who have difficulty in hearing but won’t get or wear hearing aids. It’s wireless capability and little-known feature to amplify sound have now gone a step further.

The function called Live Listen can serve as a low-grade hearing aid. With Live Listen, your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch can act like a microphone that sends sound to your AirPods. Live Listen effectively gives you super hearing by allowing you to place your iPhone close to a person or speaker you’re having trouble hearing.

Once you download the new operating system, and enable the Live Listen feature (which appears as an ear icon), you can then turn up the volume on your iPhone’s microphone to listen to things closely through your AirPods. Sounds captured by your iOS device are sent to your AirPods in real-time, so you can hear sounds around you clearer and louder.

Note that if you have significant hearing impairment, AirPods may not be an appropriate substitute for a doctor or audiologist’s assessment. But, if you are looking for a simple hearing boost, the AirPods can be a cost-efficient substitute.

Surveillance Camera

Make sure your elderly relative is safe at home with a Nanny Cam.

As the name suggests, nanny cams are cameras placed in a home to keep an eye on your nanny, babysitter, or a caregiver who watches your children.

Leaving your elderly loved one alone in the house may be something that concerns you as a relative. You might always be thinking about their safety all the time. This is where a nanny cam can be a huge benefit, because it allows you to keep in touch with your relatives even when you are not at home.

Installing a nanny cam so you can keep an eye on your elderly relative and make sure that they are safe is a very reasonable action to take – with their permission of course. This is not spying on them, but is a way to keep them safe at home. You can install a nanny camera in your relative’s home or in your home, if they move in with you.

With a nanny cam installed in your home, you can chat to your elderly loved one even when you are at work. You can keep an eye on them in case they fall or injure themselves in some other way. Being able to see that they are okay is a great way to reduce your stress when you have to leave them alone at home. Some of the popular nanny cam that is available in the market are the following:

• Wireless Security IP Camera PIR Smart Home Indoor HD 1080P WiFi Camera
• Enter The Arena Best Spy Surveillance Camera
• Littleadd Hidden Camera Detector
• Canary View Indoor 1080 HD Security Camera
• Whisper HD 1080 10000mAh Camera Power Bank
• Blink Indoor Home Security Camera System
• Arlo Camera With Motion Detection
• Ooma Butterfleye Smart Security Camera
• Ring Stick Up Cam
• Lighthouse

GrandPad

The GrandPad is an easy-to-use tablet designed for not so very tech-savvy seniors in mind. It’s simple-to-use and hassle free apps allow seniors to listen to music, play games, and browse safely on the internet.

The large buttons and intuitive interface make the GrandPad a simple tablet for seniors who are ready to start video chatting and sharing memories with family and friends around the world.

Family members can also upload photos and adjust settings for the GrandPad user. The device’s essential apps and services remove the clutter, distractions, and complications of other devices allowing seniors to simply and instantly connect with loved ones.

Tile Sticker

Tile Sticker is a small water-resistant sticker about the size of three stacked quarters that used to help track the whereabouts of anything. It comes with a 3-year battery life and is very affordable.

It helps prevent the elderly from losing everyday items like remote controls, keys, wallets, and other easily misplaced household items.

You can set it and forget it. Just use the company’s app on your phone when you need to find your things. The Pro version is ideal for valuable items and has a Bluetooth range of 400 feet.

Apple AirTag

The Apple AirTag is an object tracker and a great complement for anyone with an iPhone. The gadget will allow them to keep tabs on their item via the Find My app. AirTag’s unparalleled ease of use and the size of the Find My network makes it a better choice for Apple users.

Like all Apple gadgets, the AirTag is accompanied by cool accessories like key ring holders, loops for attaching it to things, and even luggage tags. You’ll also have the option to engrave the gadget, too.

Tile Sticker vs Apple AirTag

To be fair, Tile products do come in various form factors and price points, and generally work really well. They also have accessories, too. But that being said, AirTag is simply easier to use, which is why it’s the tracker to get especially if you are an iPhone user.

DODOW Sleep Aid Device

Sleep problems are a common thing in every age category. However, the prevalence is higher in adult populations compared to the younger. Sleep disorders are indeed a cause for concern especially in the elderly when one considers their special health needs.

Thankfully, there are so many cool tech gadgets coming out in the sleep space, and the Dodow device is no different. Dodow is a metronome with a light system that teaches you how to fall asleep naturally, without taking any medicine. It isn’t hard to learn to sync your breath with the light, and once you get used to the process, you’ll feel the results. The brand’s website claims that more than a million people are already using and loving the product.

Click and Grow Smart Garden

Gardening is an excellent way to keep elderly health in good shape by strengthening bones, muscles, and joints. It also helps seniors keep balance and prevent falls; it helps lower blood pressure, lowers the risk of heart disease and stroke, and it keeps our minds positive.

Does someone you know feel like they’ll never be able to maintain their herb garden? They’ll be able to solve this problem with the help of this handy smart garden.

As part of the kit, you will receive a planter base featuring a reservoir that holds a month’s worth of water, a bulb for lighting the plants, and basil starter pods for starting an indoor herb garden as soon as possible.