Best new tech from the CES

February 2012 By Gary M. Kaye Special to PRIME I just got back from the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, where I stood shoulder-to-shoulder with 153,000 of my closest friends, often pushing through crowds that made me feel like I was in New York City subway car at rush hour. The largest CES in history featured some 3,100 exhibitors and covered more than a million square feet of exhibit space. The local papers said it was the equivalent of 31 National Football League football fields. Unfortunately there were few products that really scored a touchdown. And the largest single category was almost certainly cases and accessories for iPhones and iPads. One change that I did notice was that for the first time the gadgets for baby boomers and seniors are moving out of the back corners and into the mainstream of the show floor. While I may still struggle to read the icons on either an iPhone or Android phone, I can be confident that when I become senile, there will be a plethora of devices designed to track me so I don't wander beyond my prescribed area of activity. And I won't have to be homebound to push a single button to say, "Help me, I've fallen, and I can't get up." The new generation of GPS devices will be able to summon help for me no matter where I am. I just need to where a device on my wrist that would put Dick Tracy to shame. Mainstream companies like Verizon, Qualcomm, and AudioVox are delivering devices and services to help us find our way home, get help for us if we're lost or sick, even track our parents if they go astray. GPS makers like Garmin, Magellan and TomTom are coming out with devices with larger screens so we can follow their instructions without having to squint or lean. Both TomTom and Garmin have versions with voice recognition, so we can talk to them without taking our eyes off the road. Sometimes they even understand what I'm saying. In other areas of the exhibit halls, I found a handful of devices that will provide me with feedback about why I'm not getting a good night's sleep (and I thought it was because I worry about the money I don't have for retirement). For the first time there are devices that will allow diabetics to wirelessly transmit their glucose readings with doctors, family members and other caregivers. In the long run, regular glucose monitoring can help reduce the impact of that devastating chronic disease. Other devices will allow wireless connections to scales and blood pressure cuffs. The holy grail of the medical monitoring gadgets is the notion of "Aging in Place", the idea that if we can monitor what's going on with our aging parents, then we can save them the inconvenience and expense of moving into a nursing home or other facility. There are devices that can sense whether someone has gotten out of bed, brushed their teeth, taken their meds, cooked a meal, or even walked through the wrong door. There are bedside tablets that will allow regular video chats with caregivers. And for those chronically ill with congestive heart failure, there are devices to send off regular weight and blood pressure readings, which if monitored, have been shown in trials to dramatically reduce the need for emergency room visits and hospitalizations. That of course brings us to the other holy grail: reducing the cost of medical care. I saw other assistive devices that are improvements on things we've already got out there. There are telephones and cell phones with big buttons, big screens, and adjustable amplification. There are personal sound amplifiers that will allow improved hearing at a fraction of the cost of prescription hearing aids. There are wrist-mounted communicators that will let you summon help no matter where you are, and automatically tell someone on the other end of the conversation your precise location. Other devices will sit on top of your television and let you gesture to change channels or adjust volume (but be careful if you already talk with your hands). And with the next versions of Google TV you may be able to search for your favorite show just by talking to the box. Many of these technologies are already mature but are just now being adapted to the needs of seniors and boomers. Others are in their infancy. Together, they hold the promise that our parents will be able to spend more quality time living in their own homes. And that as we age we'll have more mobility, comfort, and care than previous generations ever dreamed of. Gary M. Kaye is an award-winning journalist who has covered technology topics for more than 30 years. He writes and does radio pieces for AARP and is senior writer for Tech Toys Magazine. In addition, he runs a consulting business helping hi-tech companies with strategic communications. For more information, please visit www.compellingtelling.com.