Health

Location-based services and location-based safety and security have been an important topic in healthcare and university research for over ten years.  In 2007, for example, the EU released several million euros for the development of an IT-supported homecare project with whose “help people can stay longer in their accustomed environment before they have to go to a care facility” (Manuel Escriche, Telefónica). In addition to a digitally supported 24-hour emergency service, portable solutions, such as a T-shirt equipped with health sensors for continuous monitoring, were extensively tested. However, the mobile health monitoring technology available in 2009 was not yet mature enough to efficiently achieve the ambitious goals. Location-based safety and security products are only gradually becoming suitable for the mass market thanks to the enormous development of smartphone technology and the enormously affordable sensors (e.g. camera modules). This can be seen, for example, in current smart watches, fitness shirts (see Ambiotex) and intelligent shoe soles (see inSHOErance), which feature built-in sensors and Internet connections (IoT). Recently, however, location-based safety and security products have also become increasingly topical in a different context: violence in clinics. In recent years, the number of verbal and physical assaults on hospital staff by patients or their relatives has increased sharply. For this reason, many emergency rooms today hire their own security guards. To better protect hospital staff from such situations, portable emergency buttons are available, which can be used to call for help quickly and discreetly if necessary.

The first digital location-based safety and security solutions are currently being tested in several German clinics, retirement homes and psychiatric facilities.

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