How SMART is your Home?
How often do you tuck yourself into bed and realize you forgot to turn off the kitchen lights? Or fall asleep with the TV on and the remote is lost in the blankets? Or, your arthritic fingers make it difficult to add to your hand-written shopping list? Or, you’ve fallen and you can’t get up? Or, you can’t see well without your glasses to dial a phone number, or can’t find the correct “off” button on the TV?
It’s time to enter the world of voice-activated technology. This technology has come of age, with a number of devices that can help you as inexpensive as $49 and up to $300. The price varies depending on the size of the device, the quality of the speaker and whether the device has video capabilities. The leading digital-assistants that we all know by name are Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana, and, of course, Apple’s Siri which has been on I-Phones for several years. Siri tells me at least once a day to identify who starred in an old movie, who was president of the United States after Wilson or before Hoover, what a state capital is so I can complete my crossword puzzle.
Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing in Carlsbad, California did a study of seniors using voice activated devices. Among the findings from the research (which ultimately involved about 50 residents, most older than 80): 75% used the smart devices daily, and almost as many said Alexa helped them feel more connected to family, friends and the rest of the community.
A second phase of their study offered residents the opportunity to see how Alexa can be tied to “smart home” technology. Soon, several of them were controlling lights and thermostats in their homes with voice commands. That capability gave people, particularly those with mobility issues, a greater sense of control and independence; they no longer had to bother partners or caregivers to turn on lights or adjust the temperature.
It’s not really magic… Sure you may need some assistance in setting them up, but with a little training and practice you can be in a position to ask the device to do something and it will -- 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There are still “bugs” with these devices, with security and privacy continuously being improved. If you have Wi-Fi and are comfortable with a smart phone, you may be already on your way.
Mario Oropeza, a Penn’s Village volunteer and co-chair of the Program Committee, provided an overview of these devices at a workshop earlier this year. He also has helped at other Penn’s Village programs dealing with the use of smart phones and tablets.
It may sound like magic but Penn’s Village can show you how it can be done.
If you are a member of AARP, read about voice-activated technology on Page 30 in the July/August issue of the AARP Bulletin. It’s called “My Surprising New Friend."
Mario Oropeza is a native Californian; he moved to the Philadelphia area in 2008. Prior to his retirement in 2007, Mario worked as a transportation planner on major projects in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston and San Diego. Now Mario gardens, cooks, bakes and travels. He makes leaded windows and copper foil objects, bird houses that resemble architecturally significant buildings and, more recently, birds. Mario co-chairs PV’s Program Committee.