Our industry talks a good game about adapting home technology to the changing needs of the aging population, but at CES a new company demonstrated actual products focused on this growing demographic.

What the CloseBy Network alert might look like on an iPhone. Click here for a slideshow of other images.

In Control4’s Partner Pavilion in Las Vegas, CloseBy Network, a subsidiary of Card Access Inc., unveiled its remote monitoring for care giving solution.

CloseBy Network is a flexible technology solution built for the Control4 platform that allows secure, remote monitoring to keep loved ones in their homes longer. The CloseBy Network system allows invited family members and friends to keep an eye on elderly or disabled loved ones through real-time monitoring.  
 
CloseBy Network uses a combination of sensors and software tied to a secure web application to allow families to choose what to monitor, how to receive the information, and who should be sent alerts. Depending on sensor location, they can receive alerts when their loved one leaves and returns, gets out of bed, opens the refrigerator or medicine cabinet, and if he is moving normally about the house. Members of the care network can also receive an alert if there is no activity within a specified time, or if their loved one uses the “Contact Me” button.

The CloseBy Network solution provides caregivers insight into daily routines and establishes what a normal living pattern looks like, and then alerts them if anything changes.

The system does not require the elderly loved one to learn anything new or change behavior.

CloseBy Network CEO Kent Hansen says he wants to enable caregivers and their families to enjoy a better quality of life.

“We intend to help build the digital healthcare category for remote monitoring for care giving by offering flexible technology systems that lets people embrace their independence and lets their families know they are safe,” Card Access CEO Kent Hansen explained. “With CloseBy Network, we’re able to offer a solution to enable caregivers and their families to enjoy a better quality of life on terms everyone can accept.”
 
Laurie Orlov, founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, has measured the market for technology to help seniors “age in place” to be $20 billion by 2020. “Home safety and security offerings like CloseBy Network's are a key element of that market", Orlov stated.

CloseBy Network offers a preconfigured system that allows Control4 dealers to easily tap into this $20 billion market of 44 million family caregivers. The system provides a return on the initial investment, as well as recurring revenue from monthly monitoring fees. Because it is built on the Control4 platform, it provides dealers an opportunity for further customization and add-on sales, such as automated lights, door locks, temperature control, and security cameras.

CloseBy Network provides marketing support, technical and sales training, and customer support to its dealer network to help them successfully go to market and sell CloseBy Network.

CloseBy Network is available today with a North American MSRP of $2,799. As Hansen pointed out at CES, for less than the cost of one month in an assisted living facility, CloseBy Network can be installed with monitoring capabilities, allowing loved ones to stay in the comfort of their own homes and giving family members peace of mind.