Stack Labs Inc
Originally founded in 2013 to create a new type of responsive light bulb, Stack Labs was working on occupancy and spatial awareness from the very beginning. Early on, the seeds of an idea were there as Stack’s Data Scientist realized that the embedded motion detection could offer a much different product.
Lighting studies running circadian patterns in retirement communities offered an ideal opportunity to start collecting and validating data.
In September 2017, Stack divested the lighting hardware side of the business and a few of us with aging parents and grandparents decided that we should attempt to build a product that would give us some daily insight into how our loved ones’ are doing.
Less than a year later StackCare was born and we started to implement a professional version for retirement communities. Over 18 months Stack built up working relationships with a number of communities from California to Vancouver to Tennessee to Toronto and points in between.
So many people have been requesting an at-home version of StackCare that we decided this was a must! Now in January 2020 'StackCare @home’ is being launched online to friends and family.
Production has started. Nationwide deployment is planned for 2020.
What StackCare does...
Data science algorithms constantly search for anomalies and atypical occurrences or events and when something is spotted the notification platform issues an alert back to the specific account holder.
This all happens in a fraction of a second.
StackCare then continuously learns and adjusts for each individual resident over time. This helps maintain accuracy as behaviors change as residents age or change their routines.
Worrying About Your Parent
Independence and dignity are important to seniors. But anyone with a parent living alone understands the daily anxiety and stress of worrying whether Mom, or Dad(!), is OK. StackCare can be the perfect solution waiting for both of you!
Privacy
StackCare is designed to allow your aging loved one to live in their own home as long as possible without being intrusive or cumbersome. All of the motion data is protected, only you control the app and we designed it so that you can add other family members, caregivers or the resident themselves.
There are no cameras, no microphones, nothing to wear and no batteries to recharge. The system is designed for self-install and is so easy we've had a number of seniors installing it themselves; no-one will be calling or showing up at the door.
Smart Solutions
StackCare uses discrete motion sensors and artificial intelligence to learn individual behavior and activity patterns, sending notifications directly to your phone. A fall alert pendant or box is a great idea but it can only react when something catastrophic happens or when your loved presses that button; StackCare doesn't replace that but offers so much more...
With StackCare you get to see at a glance, simply and easily, if your loved one is sleeping ok, is visiting the bathroom too often, whether his/her activity patterns have changed, or even seeing the house temperature to make sure everything is set for the ideal climate.
Easy to Use
StackCare’s easy to use app will give you the information to know if everything looks normal or if maybe you need to check in on him/her. Mom/Dad keeps their independence, you get peace of mind.
No Tools Required!
Download the app. Plug in the hub. Install the sensors. It’s that simple.
How StackCare Works...
StackCare Hardware
Three discrete sensors to collect motion data combine with a gateway which connects to your wiFi and sends data to the Stack Cloud.
The Sensors
Whether for StackCare @home or with our retirement community product for professional managers and caregivers, we use the same high quality sensors made by NYCE Sensors Inc in Canada. Stack tunes the sensors so they give us rich motion data when someone’s home and then preserve their battery life by ‘sleeping’ when they sense that there’s nobody there. The sensors have a built in thermometer to also provide room temperatures helping you to make sure that Mom or Dad are turning on the AC when they need it.
The Gateway
The Gateway is really just a coordinator for ‘talking’ to the sensors, it collects motion data 24/7 and sends it back to the Stack Cloud. We don’t identify individuals, protecting your loved ones’ privacy, so we just analyze movements within the household based on a unique number identifier for each Gateway.
Oh, and good things come in small packages; the Gateway is only 4”x4” square (that’s 11cmx11cm for our friends in Canada) so it won’t be obtrusive or take up much room.
Development work is completed; we're ready to ship.
The StackCare App
We're already available in the iOS app store; Android version is planned for May 2020.
The app includes insights on sleep hours and bathroom visits, both of which are critical wellness indicators while changes may also indicate an increase in fall risk. Other screens include room temperatures as well as a discussion platform which connects directly to other family members or caregivers.
Future Developments
We have a number of ideas and concepts in our development plan and we'll be adding new features and notifications over the coming months and into the future. All updates are done over-the-air so your product will just continue to get better and better.
One of the upcoming developments we're already working on is an option that allows you to receive a daily 'positive' notification letting you know that Mom (or Dad, Grandma, Grandpa) is sleeping ok, is up and about and activity patterns match their usual.
Subscriptions
StackCare monitoring runs 24/7 and sends pushes notifications to your phone; therefore there's a monthly subscription fee which can be reduced down by purchasing annually. We're launching here with specials only for Indiegogo early birds.
What We Need & What You Get
Next stage for us is simply to start rolling out national sales, word of mouth will be critical to making this a success so we want to build an initial user base:
- Social Media pages established
- Web-store established
- Product ready to ship by early February
- You'll receive the full hardware package and a subscription of your choice