By the year 2050, more that 1 in 6 people will be over the age of 65 (United Nations, 2019). My goal was to help design a sleek and easy to use watch for the elderly that will help them with day to day activities, health, and even fitness tracking. I also wanted to add new features that nobody has used before that could heavily benefit the elderly community as well as help improve their lives and health in general. Throughout this video I will be analyzing smart watches in the industry that are doing a great job, and then what features I would add to create the best and most elderly friendly smart watch.
I think that especially as people are growing older, they are struggling more and more with their health and their wellbeing. And so current smart watches already do such a good job encouraging people to stay active, it helps them keep track of their data, it allows them to use features and apps that they would normally use on their phone, and so much more. But I wanted to help make an easy to use, sleek, and affordable smartwatch, with even more features that analyzes the risks and precautions an elderly person should take, while making sure they stay healthy and connected.
I entered a Uable competition, this being one of them, and so I made a 2 minute long video explaining me talking about current features that I love, and features that I would add to my own smartwatch in the future. I incorporated images in the final video, and had done prior research into the topic.
In my video, I talked about adding things like a more reliable fall detection, facial calls when in need of an emergency, accessibility features, allowing a wider audience to use the watch, such as zoom features, hearing, and touch features. I also wanted to put the watch into the market with very affordable prices so that many people can have access to this watch and can have it to stay healthy and safe on a daily basis. I also incorporated a GPS detection for elderly people with Alzheimers, and or Dementia, so that if they end up leaving a certain area, it will alert relatives as well as emergency services just in case. And one last thing that I would add, would be an extended battery life, higher than any smartwatches we have currently seen, so that the users dont have to worry about charging or forgetting to charge their watch; they can simply use it throughout a couple weeks, and enjoy all of the cool features.
I think that I would be proud if my future self did end up launching a watch like this, and how it could change the lives, and even save the lives of so many people. Not to mention, current watches have already been able to accomplish that with their current technology, but with an even more advanced watch line, anything could be possible.
I think that, especially since I wasn't originally going to put this into the STEAM Expo, I did not put as much effort as I should have. In the future, I would like to use more emotion when I talk, give more details and think about actual technology that could be used to achieve these goals. I would also put more time into creating my own designs with more time, and create a more interactive video. My main goal was to just share something that I created/ideas that I am proud of that I could maybe create in my future career.
I want to thank Gretchen Battle, a health and wellness professional, working as a health coach for the app Calm, and she also work as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Phoenix. It was really great for her to encourage me and teach the fellow participants about the subject and about health and wellbeing. I would like to also thank my friends and family for supporting me throughout the making of this short project, especially with motivational support. I also used a link with resources linked below:
- https://www.komando.com/shopping/smartwatches-for-seniors/755420/
- https://www.apple.com/in/apple-watch-series-6/?afid=p238%7CskDehtb7w-dc_mtid_187079nc38483_pcrid_509949306478_pgrid_110632497094_&cid=aos-IN-kwgo-brand--slid---product-
- https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/wearables/smartwatches/galaxy-watch3-45mm-titanium-bluetooth-sm-r840ntkaxar/#benefits
When I read your topic , I was fascinated by the idea of having wearable technology more accessible to elderly people. When I get older I would like to wear one of those. The GPS and fall features are very interesting features. I think the design of the watch will play an essential part in here. It has to be accessible well designed to be easily managed. I was wondering how it will run. Actual watches are usually connected to smart phones. I was wondering if these watches will be a stand alone piece. What the size will look like and what operating systems will run these devices. Very Interesting topic to continue developing.