Addressing delegates during one of the free 20-minute CEDIA talks at ISE yesterday, Dave Pedigo, emerging technology director for the association, urged home technologists to create ecosystems that not only improve lives, but also save them.
In his ‘Improving the Quality of People’s Lives though IoT’ session, Pedigo argued there are many products which could be viewed as a novelty, but when configured with others “could both improve life and extend it.”
He spoke of his own experience of caring for his 77-year-old father who had been using a torch in the night to try and find the light switch. Now he uses voice control with Philips Hue lights which can be voice controlled via Amazon Alexa.
Pedigo expects to see more products paying attention to blood sugar, blood pressure and heart rates, and that these consumer devices are gaining approval from professional associations.
“Apple’s watch, which can detect an atrial fibrillation heart attack, has been approved by the FDA – and it’s really hard to get approval from them.”
Other off-the-shelf innovations include a baby monitor which can help prevent cot death by measuring how much oxygen is going through an infant’s blood; and a hip airbag for the elderly that can detect when its user is about to suffer a fall injury.
He was also impressed with VR applications that can help patients manage pain by transporting them into other environments.
While some of these products are still expensive, Pedigo said that there will be opportunities out there “in the next 10-25 years.”
