SilverCloud GPS Assists Senior Citizens

Real-Time GPS Location Data Boosts Elderly Safety

As we think about the process of aging and living in our golden years, often times we think about who will take care of us if we are unable to effectively care for ourselves. Of course, personal safety and health is an important topic for all seniors, but with debilitating diseases such as Alzheimer's and Dementia increasing in prevalence among the elderly population, even more focus and attention must be made on senior safety. This is because there is a significant increase in the probability of developing a memory-related illness as one becomes older, and people are living longer now than in any other time throughout the history of man. Therefore, senior safety is something that should concern all of us because it is something that all of us will have to deal with in some aspect in our lives at some point in the future. Thankfully, monitoring elderly driving activity and possible wandering is something families can do more effectively now thanks in part to the rapidly evolving technology of portable GPS trackers for seniors.

Elderly GPS tracking is a relatively new concept that has grown in frequency with the accelerated development of consumer personal tracking systems. When GPS monitoring technology first made its debut on the consumer market it came in the form of vehicle tracking applications designed to help businesses understand where employees where going while using company automobiles. However, as the technology of global positioning devices advanced, becoming more compact, affordable and user-friendly, the market for such devices began to expand to more niche applications such teen driving, outdoor recreational geo-caching and senior safety.

GPS Tracking: Helping Families & Seniors

When a family begins to recognize the signs of memory-related illness such as Dementia they typically begin researching the various tools on the market that help make life easier and safer for the senior suffering with the degenerative disease. One of the most popular tools that people have been calling upon to boost safety of the elderly has been real-time GPS solutions. The reason for the increase in usage of GPS devices to monitor seniors is because the technology can offer families real-time access to the comings and goings of a person who may be experiencing difficulties with recall. The technology can be used in two different ways, 1) to observe auto related movements, and 2) to observe physical movements.

Car Tracking

Probably the most common way people monitor senior driving, the practice of car tracking refers to family members installing a live tracker such as the SilverCloud GPS to the electrical 12-volt system of the automobile that is operated by the senior with difficulties with memory. The real-time data from the GPS is transmitted over a collection of cellular communication networks and towers, allowing anyone from the family to identify where the senior is located. The data, which is accessible both by Internet and mobile phone, also includes historical information that will pinpoint popular spots the senior frequents as well as if the senior is traveling erratically through a familiar neighborhood. The GPS can also send out alerts via text message telling family members if a senior under GPS observation has left any pre-set "safe zones".

Personal Tracking

The same way that some companies are equipping security guards and security professionals with GPS systems to observe personal movements, families are to make certain that their loved ones are being safe. A measure that is more evasive than hard-wiring a GPS to an automobile, by requiring a senior to carry a personal tracker in their possession in the same way people carry a cellular phone, family members can have 24/7 oversight on locational data of a senior. This is extremely helpful for those living at in-care facilities who have a tendency to wander and escape from care-facility grounds.

Before investing in a real-time GPS monitoring solution or surveillance device for senior tracking, families should speak with not only each other, but licensed medical doctors and GPS fleet tracking specialists to discover if live monitoring is something that would work for them. Each families' and seniors' needs are different, but with the support of family and technology, hopefully we can make the world a little safer for those suffering from memory-related problems.