New alarm platform sheds cowbell image
Aged care technology company Umps Health launches a next-gen home monitoring system.

Australian aged care technology company Umps Health has developed a personal alarm and wellbeing monitoring system that operates across a single smart home platform called Umps Link.
During the development of the personal alarm pendants, Umps Health tapped into research carried out by Swinburne University’s Professor Sonja Pedell through her work with the Smart Services Cooperative Research Centre.
As part of her research, Professor Pedell spent thousands of hours with seniors and care providers to try and understand why people don’t like to wear the devices.
“In our interview we found participants referring to emergency alarms as ‘cow bells’ forced upon them by their relatives,” said Professor Pedell. “By inviting older people into the design process, we create products that respect all of their needs.”

The innovative monitoring platform also uses smart plugs to identify abnormalities in an individual’s appliance use that can indicate a decline in wellbeing.
For instance, the system can detect when an individual hasn’t switched on the kettle for their usual morning cup of tea and send out an alert to a chosen responder.

“With the Umps Link, we’ve reimagined smart home and personal alarm technology,” Umps Health CEO Adam Jahnke told Community Care Review. “We think the Umps Link is going to be a game-changer for the sector.”
Umps Link is already being used by more than 40 care providers, said Mr Jahnke. “With a single platform for both personal alarm and smart home services, it’s much easier for care providers to offer their clients tech-enabled services.”
Through partnerships with alarm monitoring companies, Umps Link can also provide 24/7 supervision of home care clients.
“Twenty-four-seven monitoring is key,” said Mr Jahnke, “because it means care providers can implement these solutions and receive information back into their organisation without having to take on the role of first responder.”
Umps partnership with monitoring companies also means that care providers have “100 per cent assurance that if an alarm is raised, a trained operator has responded to it,” added Mr Jahnke.
Umps Health plans to release a range of services using Umps Link, including services to support care providers more effectively transition to the home care reforms, coming into effect in July 2024.
“We’re working closely with a number of providers to understand how they can use data from the Umps Link to meet their obligations under the Support at Home reforms,” said Mr Jahnke.
Main image: a Umps Link alarm pendant
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