6 Reasons To Get A Google Home For Your Grandparents

One may think that those generations who have grown up with the internet would be the only ones adept at using the smart speaker ...

Posted by Elaine Iseri on Feb 27th, 2019 // No Comments

One may think that those generations who have grown up with the internet would be the only ones adept at using the smart speaker, especially when we see our elderly parents or grandparents fumbling with their smartphones. 

However, there are good reasons to equip our older generation with smart speakers and other smart options mainly because they are easy to set up and use and make a great addition to any home.  Not to mention, the Google Home can be bought at Walmart for just $99.

Here are 6 reasons why smart speakers are good for our elderly folks.

First,they are easy to install and use.  And it’s also hands-free activation.  Once the system is installed, Google Home uses a straightforward, natural voice command for the user to interact with it.

This is important for people who have mobility issues, vision loss or reduced dexterity.  Once set up, voice commands can set timers, alarms, play music, set up a to-do list and a whole lot more.

Second, with the Google Home, elderly family members can interact with internet easily, especially if they are not used to doing so through a smartphone, tablet or computer.  

Instead they can easily access the latest news, weather updates, sports scores or even make purchases.

Third, your elderly parents or grandparents can stay in touch with their loved ones – you!  Google Home can call any number, especially in any emergency if they need help but are not able to get to a phone – voice activation could be a life saver. The only number that cannot be called is 911. And Google Home is a great way for elderly relatives to chat with family and friends through the speaker system.

Fourth, the Google Home is a great help around the house.  For instance, if purchased along with a smart light bulb or plug, your elderly parents or grandparents can give a simple voice command for ‘Google’ to turn their lights on and off hands-free…no more need to clap, or flick a switch if they aren’t able to.  And there are other features for appliances too.

Fifth, the Google Assistant which is built into the Google Home device has a great feature that will help the elderly as well as anyone else at home remember important information, acting like a personal archive.

By telling Google the information you want remembered like where your keys are or someone’s birthday, phone number or address or any other data, then later you can ask Google for that info and it will retrieve it for you just with the sound of your voice!

And sixth, Google Home will provide you and your elderly relatives with hours of entertainment.  

There would be hundreds of games to play with your voice that would be mind engaging along with classic games like Blackjack, Jeopardy which can be found in Google Homes’ 43 favorite home games.

Even audio books can be purchased and then streamed through the smart speaker and listened to for the elderly with vision loss!

https://www.modernreaders.com/news/2019/02/27/6-reasons-to-get-a-google-home-for-your-grandparents.html

Google testing virtual doctor service

AFP RELAXNEWS

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

This post is on Healthwise

Google is testing a new feature that will let web users talk to a physician via video chat without leaving home.

The virtual consultations will be offered via Google's Helpouts service, which launched last year as a marketplace where experts can create, post and sell access to pre-recorded and live how-to and training videos, and for the moment at least, the tests are small-scale and restricted to the U.S.

In typical Google fashion, the new feature went completely under the radar until someone on Reddit stumbled upon it over the weekend. But since the mainstream media has picked up on the story, Google has offered more background on the idea.

"When you're searching for basic health information — from conditions like insomnia or food poisoning — our goal is to provide you with the most helpful information available," a company spokesperson said in an email to Re/code. "We're trying this new feature to see if it's useful to people."

EVERYTHING POSSIBLE/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
Google is examining the effectiveness of offering consumers live video access to doctors.

Of course, a virtual consultation with a physician is limited. With no ability to physically examine a patent or run tests, diagnostic abilities will be limited. However, as well as Google, there are a host of other companies moving into the healthcare space, including those offering at home testing facilities such asCue, whose clever little box can check for vitamin D levels, testosterone levels, the flu and whether or not the user is pregnant.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/google-testing-virtual-doctor-service-article-1.1973834

Go to Healthwise for more articles

Google making smart contact lens for diabetics

The lens, which is currently undergoing clinical tests, measures the glucose levels in tears via a wireless chip.

 

AFP RELAXNEWS

Friday, January 17, 2014, 11:06 AM

GOOGLE

Google is developing smart contact lenses that measure the glucose levels in diabetics' tears.

The Google lab known for working on unusual projects like self-driving cars is crafting a contact lens that could help diabetics manage blood sugar levels.

"We're now testing a smart contact lens that's built to measure glucose levels in tears," project co-founders Brian Otis and Babak Parviz said Thursday in a blog post.

The lens works "using a tiny wireless chip and miniaturized glucose sensor that are embedded between two layers of soft contact lens material," Otis and Parviz said.

BBC  In a video clip, a researcher demonstrates Google's smart contact lens, which
consists of a wireless chip between two layers of soft lens material. 

They said prototypes have undergone clinical tests and talks were underway with the US Food and Drug Administration. The project was described as being in its early days, and partners were being sought to make the lenses marketplace reality.

"As you can imagine, tears are hard to collect and study," the Google X lab team members said.

"We wondered if miniaturized electronics -- think chips and sensors so small they look like bits of glitter, and an antenna thinner than a human hair -- might be the way to crack the mystery of tear glucose and measure it with greater accuracy.

BBC   Google hopes its smart contact lens will more accurately

measure glucose and help combat the type 2 diabetes epidemic. 

 
Prototype lenses being tested at Google X can generate glucose readings about once a second. Researchers are looking into integrating tiny lights that would warn when blood sugar levels go above or below threshold levels, according to the blog post.

"We've always said that we'd seek out projects that seem a bit speculative or strange," Otis and Parviz said.

"At a time when the International Diabetes Federation is declaring that the world is 'losing the battle' against diabetes, we thought this project was worth a shot."

Google cited figures indicating that diabetes affects one in every 19 people on the planet.

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/google-making-smart-contact-lens-diabetics-article-1.1582917