Tuesday, November 21, 2006

i-Stick, an Intelligent Walking Stick

Filed under: Geriatrics

With the CDC's recent findings that "falls are the leading cause of accidental deaths for U.S. seniors", the i-Stick doesn't sound completely quite so crazy.

A group of German scientists from the Franhofer Institute for Experimental Software Development in Kaiserslautern, Germany has developed an intelligent walking stick. The device calls an ambulance if the owner falls over and developers call their invention the "i-Stick."

The intelligent walking stick is part of an ongoing project of the institute under its Assisted Living project aimed at utilizing technology to help elderly people.

The scientists said i-Stick has a sensor which can detect if it is in a horizontal position, in case its elderly owner has fallen. It then automatically sends a signal to a control unit which plays a message instructing the owner to pick it up.

But if the stick remains on the floor or is left on its horizontal position, the control box then dials an ambulance or a pre-programmed number of a relative.

The developers of the stick are already looking for a distributor for their invention before it hits the market.

Read the press release or view the Franhofer Institute's site . . .

(hat tip: Ubergizmo)

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