if the purpose is for the home owner, or care giver to be alerted, wouldn't it be best for the alarm to be a silent one, that only makes a sound in the owners bedroom. I'm thinking, if its not a secret, the intended subject will know to avoid it. so perhaps sensors implanted under the carpet would be the best approach.
perhaps a small display saying which mat was activated and how much weight was applied by programing the mat to go off at a certain pressure thresh hold; that way if a pillow falls off the bed your not running down the hall.
In general, I doubt that the Quirky community understands how many caregivers actually sleep
or doze in the same room as Alzheimer's patients...but still need to know when someone
is getting out of bed.
(For children, of course, the situation is usuallydifferent.} And most of the homes we work in are not high-tech places...rather simple homes of the elderly. In general, since the market for my idea is limited, I'm thinking a simple mat that chimes is adequate. However, much more likely to have marketing value would perhaps be the novelty mat which can record music or a greeting as other people have suggested. (Such a mat could still serve the purpose I had in mind...I could record a simple chime for my purposes.} Most people getting out of bed do step in approximately the same place each time, so the mat could be positioned there and a falling pillow would not set off the noise. This would certainly not be foolproof...but somewhat helpful in homecare
situation. It would operate much like the sneakers that children
wear which light up as they step, only the mat
(which could be under another rug or a welcome
mat outside) would produce a chime or other
noise chosen by the buyer. Such a mat would
have far more uses than I had in mind...for
security purposes or as an amusing conversation
piece, and thus be more marketable.
If we are talking about your stated purpose and not finding an application for a device then we have to ask if therte are better ways of achieving the purpose. say... RFID tags?
1) If there's something similar out there, I think the appeal of this one would be the ability to record your own sounds and/or voice.
2) Here's the twist this product needs: Make it not a mat or rug with this sensor in it but a RUG PAD. That way it's extremely versatile, and you can place it wherever you need to. Under small rugs, under large rugs, under hot pink rugs or white rugs, etc. Perhaps the rug pad has a certain pattern to it that allows for the recording device to slip into place--say lots of little holes in the pad and the device has little bumps around the edges that let it secure neatly into the rug pad, wherever on the rug pad you'd like it to go, and it would stay there. This would make it more valuable than just an electronic thing you put under a rug.
To me the thing that will make this idea take off will not be the technology ( though it must perform) but will finding the exact application. What if every Alzheimers' care facility bought 40 of them at $100.00 each? Best to find the positioning where the need is greatest and focus on that one audience's needs.( that will mean cost can correspond to the value of the problem that is solved, and not be feature dependent)
Cathy, I think you're right. In general the
quirky community seems more interested in the
mat as a novelty or for pet-training...although perhaps it already has been done. As a homecare item or for use in a nursing facility , it might (?)find the right buyers for the use I was initially thinking of. Thanks, everyone, for your ideas...this has been an interesting learning experience for me!
Perhaps, if the primary application would be for patient movement detection, it might be better to have something under the bed leg, which sounds an alert when the weight of the patient LEAVES the bed. A mat which they have to step on might be less sure to capture the activity than a mat they kind of step OFF?! Nothing to trip over, or somehow step around.
Great idea, but as others have pointed out, its already done. The price points are pretty tuff to beat I imagine. I don't recommend competing with existing products.
Comments
if the purpose is for the home owner, or care giver to be alerted, wouldn't it be best for the alarm to be a silent one, that only makes a sound in the owners bedroom. I'm thinking, if its not a secret, the intended subject will know to avoid it. so perhaps sensors implanted under the carpet would be the best approach.
perhaps a small display saying which mat was activated and how much weight was applied by programing the mat to go off at a certain pressure thresh hold; that way if a pillow falls off the bed your not running down the hall.
In general, I doubt that the Quirky community understands how many caregivers actually sleep
or doze in the same room as Alzheimer's patients...but still need to know when someone
is getting out of bed.
(For children, of course, the situation is usuallydifferent.} And most of the homes we work in are not high-tech places...rather simple homes of the elderly. In general, since the market for my idea is limited, I'm thinking a simple mat that chimes is adequate. However, much more likely to have marketing value would perhaps be the novelty mat which can record music or a greeting as other people have suggested. (Such a mat could still serve the purpose I had in mind...I could record a simple chime for my purposes.} Most people getting out of bed do step in approximately the same place each time, so the mat could be positioned there and a falling pillow would not set off the noise. This would certainly not be foolproof...but somewhat helpful in homecare
situation. It would operate much like the sneakers that children
wear which light up as they step, only the mat
(which could be under another rug or a welcome
mat outside) would produce a chime or other
noise chosen by the buyer. Such a mat would
have far more uses than I had in mind...for
security purposes or as an amusing conversation
piece, and thus be more marketable.
If we are talking about your stated purpose and not finding an application for a device then we have to ask if therte are better ways of achieving the purpose. say... RFID tags?
1) If there's something similar out there, I think the appeal of this one would be the ability to record your own sounds and/or voice.
2) Here's the twist this product needs: Make it not a mat or rug with this sensor in it but a RUG PAD. That way it's extremely versatile, and you can place it wherever you need to. Under small rugs, under large rugs, under hot pink rugs or white rugs, etc. Perhaps the rug pad has a certain pattern to it that allows for the recording device to slip into place--say lots of little holes in the pad and the device has little bumps around the edges that let it secure neatly into the rug pad, wherever on the rug pad you'd like it to go, and it would stay there. This would make it more valuable than just an electronic thing you put under a rug.
Might be good for Pets too. For example, after letting the dogs out in the yard they activate the alarm when the come back and sit on the mat.
It may also be more useful if the alarm is wireless and can placed separate of the triggering mat.
To me the thing that will make this idea take off will not be the technology ( though it must perform) but will finding the exact application. What if every Alzheimers' care facility bought 40 of them at $100.00 each? Best to find the positioning where the need is greatest and focus on that one audience's needs.( that will mean cost can correspond to the value of the problem that is solved, and not be feature dependent)
Cathy, I think you're right. In general the
quirky community seems more interested in the
mat as a novelty or for pet-training...although perhaps it already has been done. As a homecare item or for use in a nursing facility , it might (?)find the right buyers for the use I was initially thinking of. Thanks, everyone, for your ideas...this has been an interesting learning experience for me!
My first thought is, what if the patient misses the mat?
Perhaps, if the primary application would be for patient movement detection, it might be better to have something under the bed leg, which sounds an alert when the weight of the patient LEAVES the bed. A mat which they have to step on might be less sure to capture the activity than a mat they kind of step OFF?! Nothing to trip over, or somehow step around.
Maybe you could make a few models - college students, house, medical, etc.
Great idea, but as others have pointed out, its already done. The price points are pretty tuff to beat I imagine. I don't recommend competing with existing products.
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