Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Smart Home
  3. News

Nobi smart lamp senses movement to discern when older people are in distress

Add as a preferred source on Google
Promotional image for Tech For Change. Person standing on solar panel looking at sunset.
This story is part of Tech for Change: an ongoing series in which we shine a spotlight on positive uses of technology, and showcase how they're helping to make the world a better place.
 

Having to move into or admit a loved one into an assisted living facility is a wrenching decision. Medically focused technology has always been a major presence at CES and this year is no different. The Nobi Smart Lamp offers one way of keeping tabs on older loved ones to make sure they’re not in any sort of distress.

Recommended Videos

The Nobi Smart Lamp utilizes artificial intelligence to monitor those living alone and can automatically detect when someone falls. According to Nobi, one in three people over 65 fall at least once per year, often resulting in serious injuries. If the person cannot get up, the results can be catastrophic.

Devices like Life Alert and other solutions have been present in the market for years, but the more safeguards that are in place, the safer the senior citizen population will be. Nobi claims that as many as 95% of elderly people living alone have safety devices, but they are not used in 80% of falls for a variety of reasons.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Nobi Smart Lamp allows older people to maintain their independence for longer. It provides smart lighting and 24/7 monitoring of falls, and also has a host of other features.

The Nobi Smart Lamp can also detect fire within the home, monitor air quality, detect burglary, and recognize patterns in a resident’s living patterns. The A.I. recognition is performed on-device without being sent to the cloud, ensuring a higher level of consumer data privacy. The resident of the home determines whether or not to share images, as well as who has access to the data and alerts.

Installation is also simple. Just replace the ceiling light with the Nobi (or its cousin, the Nobita, a version of the Nobi for smaller rooms and bathrooms.) No batteries are needed, and the light monitors at all hours of the day.

The Nobi Smart Light is predicted to be available by the end of 2021 with a starting price of $2,490, that’s if smart lights are purchased for every room. Yes, it’s a costly investment if you pursue this option, especially when you factor in the $19-per-month subscription service that’s also required. If that’s too expensive, there is a rental option for the lights and service that starts at $120 per month.

More technology than ever before is focused on providing the older population with independence. Between devices like the Nobi Smart Light and Amazon’s Care Hub, technology can let you keep an eye on senior family members, even from across the country.

Patrick Hearn
Former Technology Writer
Patrick has written about tech for more than 15 years and isn't slowing down anytime soon. With previous clients ranging from…
How to Choose the Right Mattress for You
sleeping

This post is brought to you in paid partnership with Sleep Number.

Shopping for a new mattress sounds simple until you start looking. Memory foam or hybrid? Soft or firm? Cooling covers, pressure-relief zones, motion isolation, sleep tracking — suddenly, you're comparing features that barely existed the last time you bought a bed. Even the most expensive option could be a poor match.

Read more
Amazon unveils Alexa Home Map, letting you control your smart home in 3D
Alexa Home Map lets users control individual smart home devices from one place, without remembering their names or searching through menus.
Alexa Home Map on a smart home hub display

Amazon has been a major player in the smart home market for years, but fresh competition from Apple may have lit a fire under it. The company has just unveiled a new lineup of Alexa devices, including Echo speakers, a smart alarm clock, a photo frame, and the Echo Show 16. On the software side, Amazon also introduced Alexa Home Map, which puts your connected devices on an interactive 3D model of your house, letting you monitor and control them from one place.

Your entire smart home on a 3D map

Read more
Amazon’s new Alexa photo frame wants to rescue your best pictures from your camera roll
Your favorite memories deserve better than being buried under screenshots in your camera roll.
Amazon Alexa Photo Frame

Our phones have made it easy to capture our lives in beautiful photos. But that also means we shoot hundreds of photos every year and don't look at them, as they keep collecting the proverbial dust in our phone's gallery. Amazon’s new Alexa Photo Frame wants to put those forgotten shots on your shelf instead.

Amazon revealed the frame alongside several new Alexa devices, including a new smart alarm clock and a 16-inch Echo Show. It pulls pictures from Amazon Photos, which Prime members can fill up without paying extra for storage.

Read more