Re: Geezer Tracker

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

"Robert Green" <ROBERT_GREEN1963@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Yes, I've read about those phones.  There is a local sheriff's program
>that's had some remarkable successes with recovering lost "wanderers" with
>those special phones.  The problem with that system is I think you have to
>issue a "lost geezer" alert, and that's not something I want to do.  I'd
>like to have a plug in cradle on the chair so he can plug in a cellphone and
>operate it from a larger-buttoned control panel and speed dial up to ten
>numbers without much effort.  Most new cellphones are designed for people
>with very small fingers, very good vision and exceptional hand-eye
>coordination.  That's definitely NOT my dad!

I'd look at voice activation/control for the cell phone - it would be much
simpler. If you could (or could not) reach him via the cell phone, you could
decide whether or not an alert is appropriate.

Google on "GPS people tracker" and you'll find a lot of options, many of
which are not terribly costly. This is a common need. Checking with various
support groups might give you up to date info on what's available.

GPS tracking, whether by cell phone or a separate GPS device, is in
widespread use and there are companies that provide such service.

>> >Part of the problems if that I can't really use anything COTS vis-a-vis
>> >keyboards or readouts.  He has trouble reading LCD's and fingering small
>> >buttons, which has sent me on a search for large button phones, remotes
>and
>> >DVD players.  I have a cheap but very rugged OFA remote with huge,
>form-cut
>> >buttons that he can manage with for now.  The problem is that I can see a
>> >time when even that level of manipulation will be difficult for him.  I'm
>> >not sure where to go from there.  I know about devices like Sip-N-Puff
>and
>> >other head motion controllers, but there's got to be something for people
>> >who are not completely paralyzed.
>>
>> Assisted Living suppliers have very large buttons. Of course, the larger
>the
>> buttons, the fewer functions in any given space. There are proximity
>sensors
>> and field sensors that can create keypads on doors, glass, almost
>anything.
>> Some have been discussed here. Circuit Cellar magazine has also had some
>> articles on them.
>
>Part of the problem is that as soon as something's considered a medical
>device, its cost at least triples.  I bought him a very nice child's CD
>player for Christmas that he can handle quite easily because it has enormous
>color-coded controls.  My idea was to give him the ability to scroll through
>a large font on-screen list of choices using the right hand to advance and
>the left hand to select.  He can still mash things down with his fist pretty
>well.  :-)  I suspect it will be fairly easy to wire in large "mash" buttons
>to an existing mouse and use one of the very small PC's to drive it all.
>I'll have to give it all some thought because the problem he has now is over
>and underclicking.  He clicks either too early or too late and gets
>frustrated because he has to then back out of wherever he went accidentally.

I would seriously consider voice control although I would steer clear of HAL
and others like it - they're more toy than tool. Quadriplegics and others
who _must_ depend on voice control almost universally recommend HomeVoice.

http://www.appliedfuture.com/cgi-bin/SoftCart.100.exe/scstore/sitepages/index.html?E+scstore

>> There are also brain implants that allow control of a mouse cursor but it
>> doesn't seem like he need go that far.
>
>Most of those types of controls are for people quite a bit further along in
>decrepitude.  I want to deliver technological advantage without it being as
>much of a curse as it is a blessing.

The implants are still in the lab stage but have been proven. There are
other, less intrusive, bio-feedback devices. They do require training and
only offer rudimentary control but they are enough to replace a mouse.

It's almost always possible to devise something. More than 40 years ago I
worked for the Seeburg (juke boxes, pinball, vending machines, etc.)
distributor in San Franscisco. (I installed and serviced commercial sound
systems.) The guys in the shop that repaired the juke boxes and other coin
operated machines turned a pinball machine into a typewriter for a kid with
cerebral palsy. It rotated through the alphabet and he pushed a button to
"type" the currently highlighted letter on a teletype machine. The concept
lives on in computer programs for the handicapped today.

If you really want to do this right, look into "wearable" computing. You
could give him a heads up display and voice control. Your dad might end up
on "Beauty and the Geek".