Emergency Device Locates People in Distress

A new location-independent mobile alarm and tele-care service enables older people, those concerned about safety, the chronically ill, and the disabled to initiate an alarm call whenever and wherever they need to do so.

Weighing less than 100 g and as small as a mobile phone, but with four large and clearly discernible buttons, the MobilAlarm device is easy to handle and above all straightforward to use. Pressing the two large buttons simultaneously initiates a call to the service center. A separate button initiates a call to a pre-programmed telephone number, which could be that of a friend, relative, or neighbor, while enhanced audio features mean the device does not have to be held up to the ear. The fourth button is for canceling a normal phone call.

When an emergency call is placed to a service center, the operator who takes the call automatically receives the user's file on the computer, and, if necessary, can use global positioning satellite (GPS) tracking to obtain information about the location of the person with an accuracy of within 50 meters. This is particularly important when people do not know where they are or are having difficulty speaking. The system was successfully tested last year with around 100 elderly users in the United Kingdom, Spain, and Germany, who were each given the device for at least three months.

"For people with diseases such as Parkinson's, this is an important feature because it allows a user to make an emergency call by simply gripping the device, rather than having to find and press a button,” explains Stefan Lilischkis, the MobilAlarm project manager at coordinating partner Empirica (Bonn, Germany). "The design is very simple, it doesn't have all the functions of a mobile phone, but that is what trial users most liked about it.”



Related Links:
MobilAlarm Project
Empirica