The official launch of the service is aimed at families caring for elderly members who are still living independently but need extra support. At the company's fall 2021 event, the feature was introduced and it is now available as a $19.99 per month or $199 per year subscription service.
The company tried to turn the devices in the home into a tool to care for aging family members. A set of features included in the service would allow family members to keep an eye on older parents and other loved ones with their permission, as well as alter certain activities, like if a family member had called out for help.
The Care Hub feature set includes access to an emergency helpline, fall detection response features, a remote assist option that allows family members to manage settings on the elderly person's device, and an activity feed for family members that notifies them when their loved one is active.
In an opt-in consented environment, both parties must complete the sign-up process together to enable the features.
The system allows the elderly person to say "Alexa, call for help" if they ever need help. A trained agent on the other end will be able to dispatch the police, fire department, or ambulance to their location, much like what is possible with some home security systems. The system can be used with third-party devices to detect if the customer needs emergency assistance and help.
SkyAngelCare is a pendant that is worn around the neck of aging customers that can detect falls, while Vayyar Care is a wall-mounted sensor that can identify when a fall has happened. If the customer presses a help button on their pendant, they can detect a fall. More device makers will be added by the time.
A family member can manage settings on an elderly member's device with the Remote Assist set of features. Setting reminders, adding contacts for calls and messages, checking things off a shopping list, and linking a music service are some of the things this includes. The family member can provide I.T. assistance instead of the elderly member having to call Amazon.
Amazon is the image credit.
The activity feed will let family members know when their elderly loved one has had their first interaction with a smart home device. This system is not perfect, but it is suppose to be used as a proxy for knowing if the family member is doing well as it assumes they will engage with Amazon frequently. If there is no activity, the feed will send an alert to let a family member know to reach out to their loved one.
The 6-month free trial will allow customers to determine if the solution is a good fit for them. Existing customers of the Care Hub will receive a free year of the service.
In the future, Amazon says it will add the ability to support multiple caregivers, including family, friends and even neighbors, among other features.
Amazon is increasing its investment in using the voice assistant to care for elderly and infirm people. The company this fall also announced it was bringing the service to hospitals and senior living centers, including Cedars-Sinai, BayCare and Houston Methodist. The company said it would work with partners who could use the smart properties tools to develop specialized solutions for the elderly care market. To make these solutions possible, Amazon has built out a healthcare team to navigate other regulations.
While many of the existing elderly care solutions are designed to be sold in a business-to-business (b2b) environment, the Alexa Care Hub and now Alexa Together services target the consumer market with a subscription offering.
The add-on service is available for both the Echo and the Show, and the device bundle is available for both the Dot and the Show.
