This is very interesting.
I wonder how much these products will cost the care homes, and how expensive they will be to maintain and replace.
In addition, with the facial recognition technology, there is the issue of data storage and privacy. (I personally would never permit this for my PWD.)
And of course there would need to be a failsafe override so a room could be entered quickly by staff in case of an emergency or urgent situation.
I'm sure you have thought those issues through, of course; I am only mentioning them as they were some of my initial questions and thoughts.
I would also like to see the design for the wristband or key fob that is hypoallergenic, won't irritate or tear fragile skin, or the wearer. My PWD has had a lot of tactile issues with their dementia. When they have been in hospital, they have worried endlessly at the ID bracelet and I think it would be the same with this sort of scheme, although otherwise it do think it's a clever design. I assume that by placing one's hand on the door handle, the bracelet is in correct proximity to unlock the door and permit entry?
I admit my first thought about the key fob bracelet was that it was like the "wander guards" used by some facilities I have seen, which bear a distinct resemblance (emotionally) to the monitoring ankle bracelets some convicts on parole must wear.
I would be very interested to hear how this progresses and wish you well in your business venture.
We are proposing to guarantee the system for life. If any one item of the system fails then we will replace it.
That battery life is expected to be years and the rechargeable batteries charged every eight months.
What does PWD mean?
Many commercially available face locks are made for workplaces and can contain data for 100 faces and also have a download/upload feature for data collection.
Our facial handle will be able to store only the residence face. When a new resident occupies the room the original face will be deleted and a new one scanned in.There will be no download/upload feature as it is unnecessary. The handle can be manually activated using either a pass number, for staff or visitors or manual key for staff only.
It must be remembered that many residents are not able to find their own room and would have to be escorted by a carer who would open the door. Perhaps in this case there would be no need for a resident to wear a wristband.
Your mentioning of these issues is welcome and as you can see above we have already thought of them plus many more.
Since wristband material technology is commonplace today finding a suitable material is not a problem. Even so if there was problem with some people then a fob attached to clothing would also work.
The handle is activated by the resident being being within a certain range of the handle.
I do understand the comparison with electronic tagging. However there is some research into detecting if a person has a fall. The nature of the current technology would mean a more sizeable detector that a wristband. This could mean perhaps using something like an ankle bracelet.
Regarding the business venture, once we have completed our market research and it is favourable, we will be looking for investors to carry the project forward to mass production.