A couple elder care applications related to accelerometers have recently come to mind. Dad wears a device around his neck that’s designed to detect when he falls, and I suspect that an accelerometer is the detecting component. It’s a great service, but it’s limited to 50 ft. within his home, so it’s no use if he falls on a walk in the neighborhood. It came to mind that an iPhone (which already has an accelerometer) or iWatch could probably do something similar, and it would not have limited range. Anyone want to design this app? Pro tip: The 24-hour service and calm, caring voice on the line are essential and the main attraction of this service.
Another problem that needs more fleshing out is Mom, who can’t stand on her own. She needs to be weighed regularly, because she’s a dangerously low 60 lb. The current solution is to use 2 scales and balance her walker (and her) on them, tare the walker, and add the weights. This is terribly cumbersome and mildly dangerous, as the small step up on unanchored surfaces is non-trivial. She is able to walk by leaning forward on the walker (which rolls). Something tells me that an accelerometer on her shoes which measures the impact of her footstep, as well as forward motion, would be able to tell me her weight, without having her climb up on 2 scales with her walker. I’ve thought about attaching a pole with 2 handles to a single scale, but I don’t have the proper welding capacity for doing this safely.
Anyway, I thought I’d toss these thoughts out to some of the best engineering minds in the business. Elder care is sure to be a growing field, and there are plenty of things left to design and invent in this area.