Tracking Older Adults

Three-part series with tech ideas to help care or keep track of older adults

Part 2

In the first part of this series, we talked about certain GPS-type devices that help keep track of individuals who may wander.

In this part of the series, we focus on those who are still able to drive, but may may have signs that cause family members to want to keep an extra eye on them.

If you’re concerned that your family member is suffering from mild cognitive disorders and is still allowed to drive, you can keep track of their vehicle by going to electroflip.com and order one of their trackers (one seen on the right) that can be attached to the vehicle. You can then track the vehicle’s movements from your smartphone. It can also notify you in case of a motor vehicle collision. Finally, it can alert you if the vehicle is exceeding a certain speed just in case you’re worried that your mother may be that “Little Old Lady from Pasadena.”

There are a number of apps for iPhone and Android phones, such as Phone Tracker app (left), that allow you to track an elderly compromised person as long as they are carrying a compatible phone and allow you to track them. Because of the competition in the cell phone industry there are numerous smart phones that are available at rather inexpensive prices. So, if your loved one loses the phone, it is not necessarily expensive to replace. I would suggest that you check out various carriers, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile etc. to find him the best deal and let them know that there is a possibility that the phone could easily be lost. These companies have insurance policies for replacement, but they can be quite expensive. Read the policies thoroughly for you sign up.

Of course iPhones and Android devices also have the ability to share one’s location with others. You can turn on that feature on your loved one’s device and share it with your device. The one risk with that option is the sharing option could be accidentally turned off.

Tracking devices not only monitor a person’s position, but some products can also be helpful to that person who may be having memory problems and has a history of losing their belongings. We share a few ideas that can help with those challenges in part three of the series.