Helping the elderly in an emergency: Grandis XXI

The Erasmus+ project of our partner company Prompt-H Ltd, Grandis XXI, which recently received the Tempus Public Foundation's Award for Excellence, focuses on technologies that enable older people to lead independent lives, increase their sense of security and create opportunities for them to remain active members of the community 

Such technologies include:

• sensors to monitor certain vital functions,
• detection and signalling devices for detecting incidents, events and emergency calls,
• communication devices for consultation, contact, internet chat, video calling,
• smartphone applications — applications running on mobile phones that provide health maintenance alerts and reminders,
• specialised devices connected to the Internet, for storing vital signs data (blood pressure, ECG, etc.) and sending it to health professionals.

On Android phones, you can install a special launcher to change the look of the home screen, for example by moving the most commonly used icons to a larger size so that they can be easily used by older people. One such app is Simple Launcher, which can be downloaded for free from the Play Store.

There are also devices specifically designed for older people. One example is the Swedish-developed Doro 8040 smartphone running Android 7.0. This phone comes with an information guide in Hungarian to help you get to know the device when you switch it on. The buttons on the front are larger than usual and there is a help button on the back. Emergency information can be saved, such as blood type, allergens, etc., and contact details of people to contact in case of emergency. The device provides easy access to the most basic functions important to the elderly, such as phone calls, messaging, camera and web browser, all in one place.