Prior to Parks Associates’ 13th-annual CONNECTIONS Summit at CES, in Las Vegas, Rob Flippo, CEO, MobileHelp shared his insights with the firm's analyst team to discuss improving the quality of life for seniors with smart home solutions.

Rob will be participating on the Independent Living: Serving Consumers at Home panel during the conference on Tuesday, January 8, at 4:15 PM. Panelists joining him on this session include:

Steve Chazin, VP, Product Management, Alarm.com
Chris Gibbons, Founder and CEO, The Greystone Group, Inc.
Geoff Gross, Founder and CEO, Medical Guardian
Claire Miles, Managing Director, Centrica Hive Ltd

As the number of connected devices in the home increases year-over-year, how can technology providers ease consumer concerns associated with data security and privacy?
We recommend consumers look to companies that are heavily invested in working with regulatory agencies such as the FDA, which have testing standards associated with maintaining security and privacy. For companies that have always taken those standards into consideration, incorporating functions related to data security is second nature.

What are the best use case scenarios for voice technologies in the smart home?
As an emergency response company, we have had numerous opportunities to experience what the power of another human voice can mean – from providing access to help and reassurance in an emergency, to simply being there for someone who is battling isolation in their life.
So, what happens if that “human voice of connection” comes from a smart speaker? Voice-tech and AI will be a game changer as the combined technologies hold promise for disrupting one of the most challenging cycles that older adults face: healthcare issues that lead to extreme isolation, causing depression and further compounding of health issues.

How can the quality of life for seniors be impacted by smart home solutions?
As an emergency response company, we recognized a long time ago that the best way for us to help our customers was 1) excel at providing emergency help if they needed it, and 2) help them manage aspects of their life and health that impact the probability of an emergency happening.
We now have a tablet-based solution available that allows consumers to connect the dots of their life – whatever those dots may be – from including pictures of the grandkids to messaging options to vitals sign monitoring and, of course, emergency response capabilities.

But the first rendering of the tablet is really just the beginning: it has become a way for us to provide our customers with a connection to apps and services to help create that smart home experience. The first of these was a partnership with Amwell®, which gives our customers a direct video connection to doctors in their home state – 24/7 – to help mitigate (or even eliminate) the need for an in-person office visit or provide an option to get care outside of normal physician business hours. 

And we anticipate other such partnerships could easily follow: access to Uber ride sharing, for example, or online food shopping. Access to online libraries to check out books or to discover educational content specific to a person’s health and hobbies. All these things are possible with the tablet form factor.

As we move into the very near future, the delivery of life-enhancing tools such as these will become much more accessible through technology tools. We look forward to extending our product platforms to allow people to connect in more comprehensive ways with all the aspects of their lives.

For more information on the CONNECTIONS Summit at CES, visit: www.connectionssummit.com.