Gizmo Guy: Geezer Gadgets

Is it coincidence that major advancements in fitness trackers, home automation, and remote health monitoring are happening now, as the big bulge of baby boomers eases into senior citizenship?

Or is it because there are trillions to be made from this needy, plugged-in crowd - estimated to account for 70 percent of the nation's disposable income by 2017 - as we strive to age gracefully?

This is the gang that now declares - and often believes - that "60 is the new 50" and so on. Smart tech helps delay the inevitable.

I hear you knocking. As a gizmo guy now "seasoning" alone, I found the new Schlage Sense automated door lock ($190-$230) appealing on multiple levels. Whom do I call now, if I lose (or forget) my keys? Nobody. I can tap into the Schlage app on my (access code-secured) iPhone or enter numbers on the door lock's key pad to unlock the thing, which easily replaced an existing dead bolt.

And if independent me ever falls ill, I'll be able to usher pals or a nurse into the house the same ways, by giving them a temporary (voidable) door combination or unlocking the Schlage from my bedroom.

By the way, Schlage Sense also offers distant door opening when an Apple TV is near the smart lock. Android phone users, look for Schlage Connect lock equivalents.

Ring, a WiFi-enabled doorbell, is likewise ready to help. Mounted in wired or battery-run fashion at front and back doors, this $199 device both rings and shows clear images of the visitor on your smart phone.

An Ooma Telo 2 voice-over-internet phone system ($99) also waits at the ready, with the least expensive "help me, I've fallen" emergency Safety Phone call button ($50) and alert software, free with your $10-a-month, two-line Ooma Premier service.

Ooma users can also exploit voice-activated, hands-free phone message retrieval through an Amazon Echo smart speaker ($179), a thriving automation support system unto itself.

I'll just sit here in the dark. At the Philly Tech Week Internet of Things seminar, Lutron executive Michael Smith told me his firm's occupancy sensor-triggered light switches and remote-controllable Serena wireless shades have been a godsend for his 82-year-old mother.

"She always had the shades behind the sofa drawn, because she couldn't reach out and pull them up. Now, with a remote attached to her wheelchair, there's daylight pouring in every day. She's so much happier."

Speaking on the same panel, Comcast Cable/Xfinity Home GM Daniel Herscovici banged the drum for a new "Works with Xfinity Home" program that tests and endorses devices for use with the company's home security/automation monitoring service, a blessing for the tech wary.

"It's like our Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval," he said. " 'Works with' means the products integrate into our single app so you don't have to bounce between a bunch and our customer service reps can help you get any of them going."

Personal health monitoring and support devices for the aging populace are going to be a "huge" part of the Xfinity Home business, Herscovici predicted.

Think a Withings Smart Body Analyzer scale, automated pill dispensers and other assessment tools for a remotely observing doc or nurse.

Live long and prosper! Track (and strive to improve) your exercise habits and vitals on an Apple Watch. Save money. Add years to your life.

That's the pitch I heard this week from Derek Yach, in his role as chief health officer for Vitality Group, a South African-spawned health technology company now collaborating in the United States with John Hancock Insurance.

Policy holders who wear the smart watch and improve their workout numbers (heart rate, daily step count) can see annual charges for their life insurance policy go down.

"The tracking might not be as accurate as the FDA would like, but it's reasonable, in the ballpark," said Yach. Likewise incentivizing participants to build up their ultimate death benefits. Bet the insurer profits from clients' added longevity, too.

Yach was here in town, wearing his other hat as chair of the World Economic Forum Global Agenda Council on Aging, co-hosting a seminar with the University of Pennsylvania Healthy Brain Research Center billed "Aging and Cognition: Maintaining Economic Security in Later Life."

Among other things, the group is now pitching for U.S. financial institutions to be a lot more proactive, putting "machine learning" skills to work in spotting and reducing financial fraud and abuse that targets older adults, now estimated to be costing more than $3 billion a year in the U.S.

As already is the case in Japan and England, banks can raise a red flag (and to hell with customer privacy concerns) when ATM users repeatedly fail to enter their proper PIN.

"It's often a sign of reduced capacity and vulnerability that the banks can catch long before a doctor picks up on it," Yach said.

Robotic pals that comfort, monitor, and assist seniors in their dotage is another big Japanese (and Korean) trend that Yach anticipates moving west.

takiffj@phillynews.com

215-854-5960@JTakiff