Nobi aims to transform the age-tech market with a strong focus on design
Flemish scale-up presents new version of smart lamp for fall detection and fall prevention at Medica trade fair
Antwerp, 14 November 2022 - Flemish scale-up Nobi launches a new version of its smart lamp for fall prevention and fall detection. The updated Nobi lamp will be presented at Medica, the high mass for all things innovative in healthcare. Both the design and technology got a solid upgrade. ‘Design is the key to making age tech break through on a large scale.’
Roughly one-third of all adults aged 65+ fall at least once a year. Among those over 80, the figure is as high as half. Falls are the leading cause of fatal injuries in older adults. Those who do not receive help within an hour have a 50 per cent chance of dying within six months. The key is to act quickly.
The innovative, AI-controlled lamp developed by Nobi can detect and prevent falls. It recognises when people fall and asks if they are okay. If there is no response, the lamp automatically sends a notification to care staff or family members. It can also transmit images, which may or may not be abstract representations to protect the privacy of those who have fallen. Thanks to artificial intelligence, the Nobi lamp also notices changes in sleep patterns, enabling it to predict an increased risk of falling.
Nobi lamps are already successfully used in residential care homes in Belgium, the Netherlands, England and Ireland. As of today, they are also available in Germany and Austria after being launched in Switzerland, the US, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Norway and Hungary.
Empathetic product design: the missing piece of the puzzle in the age-tech sector
Simplicity is crucial for digital adoption among those aged 65+. That’s why at least as much attention is devoted to design as to technology, insists co-founder and CEO Roeland Pelgrims.
“We believe this is key to the large-scale breakthrough of age tech. Most technology solutions for seniors are primarily functional, and unfortunately, it shows. They are often grey, lacking in aesthetics and, in many cases, not really user-friendly either. Apple and others made functional and beautiful high-tech phones and computers. Why wouldn’t older adults want stylish, user-friendly technology?”
“Today’s age-tech sector is a bit lazy. Technology can address huge societal challenges like an ageing population. But what good is technology if it’s unattractive to older adults? If our sector wants to live up to its potential, it must build products that are not only useful and necessary but that are so beautiful and user-friendly that people actually want them in their homes. Waiting and hoping that the elderly will adapt to new technologies is not the way to go. It’s up to us, age-tech developers, to adapt to our target audience. We are the ones who must come up with solutions that people really want using empathetic product design. That is the void we want to fill with Nobi.”
Seniors co-create new version of Nobi lamp
On the eve of Medica, the largest trade fair for the medical industry and the annual world forum for innovations in health tech and age tech, Nobi is launching a new version of its smart lamp. It was shaped in co-creation with its users, who contributed ideas to further refine the first-generation lamp to meet the target group’s needs even better.
The updated Nobi lamp includes radar technology, which makes the smart lamp even more versatile and high-performing when combined with sensors and cameras. In the future, it will be possible to monitor bodily parameters such as coughing, breathing and heart rate without physical contact. Both when out of bed and asleep under the sheets at night. Nobi can detect when breathing deteriorates at night. This will enable Nobi to help prevent even more deaths - even during sleep.
The new version of the Nobi lamp also paid a lot of attention to design. The lamp previously won two Henry van de Velde awards and a German Design Award. The lines of the new shape are inspired by those of a classic lamp. We wanted the new Nobi to look like an ordinary lamp that is both stylish and timeless. A reduction in the number of internal components and electronics ensures that the technology is seamlessly concealed within the lamp.
Matías Papalini, co-founder and product designer at Watif, says the bar was even higher for the new version of the lamp: “Empathy was central to our design process. Ageing is a particularly emotional experience for many people. If blood pressure monitors, glucose meters, smartphones, smartwatches and all sorts of other devices also invade your life, it can be overwhelming. Especially for a generation that is not as comfortable with technology. That is why the Nobi lamp absolutely had to have a human face. It has to become part of users’ daily lives in a very natural way.”
Marko Filipic, co-founder and product designer at Watif,adds: “It’s essentially just a stylish, timeless lamp. Something that everyone needs every day and uses constantly. The magic happens inside. The lamp contains sophisticated, high-tech equipment, but it’s wrapped in something very familiar. You don’t see or notice any of that complicated technology in the residential care home or at home.”
The new Nobi lamp will be available for residential care homes, hospitals and assisted living facilities worldwide from spring 2023. First in stylish white, later in different colour variants.
Discover the new design and features at Medica Düsseldorf in hall 12, stand C19, from 14 - 17 November.
