Public Funding for 3Rings Care Limited

Is my ageing Mum or Dad OK today?, with over 10m people over 65 in the UK more families are asking this each day. Pressure is increasing on them to provide care for ageing relatives but hectic lives & distance is not always conducive to that. The ‘3rings Smart Plug’ is a method to connect, unconnected elderly relatives to their Internet enabled families to introduce Distributed Family Care (DFC). Power usage indicates activity, making tea or watching TV provides a valid signal that ‘Mum is OK’, unusual activity can indicate areas that may need investigation. By monitoring ‘activity’ or ‘lack of it’, events can be communicated to the families to make them aware of their elderly relatives status, regardless of distance. The ‘3rings Smart Plug’ Project has 3 elements: - A ‘Smart Plug’ that allows a domestic appliance such as a kettle/TV to be plugged in. When the domestic appliance is turned on/off the plug ‘signals’ the 3rings ecosystem via a built in GSM circuit. - A cloud based software ecosystem - an event monitoring & rules based service, communicating activity/lack of activity to defined family & friends using Internet & telecoms protocols i.e. push notifications, web, email, SMS & Calls. -‘Pattern of Life’ (PAL) tracking, an Ambient Intelligence system that provides a 24/7 early warning system informing families of possible unusual patterns which may indicate adverse situations. The key to acceptance is to introduce technology in a way familiar to the ageing relatives removing the ‘fear’ of technology and not creating a ‘badge of infirmity’ whilst simultaneously providing an ecosystem to communicate to their Internet enabled families. No Internet is needed at the ageing relatives. Following a successful ‘Proof of Market’, the intention is to take the opportunity to the next stage to create & evaluate a ‘Proof of Concept’ roadmap to bring to market a product designed to enhance the lives of the ageing population & their families.

Is my ageing Mum or Dad OK today?, is a question more families ask each day. In the UK 10m people are over 65. Impacts of the age wave are becoming apparent to many people. Pressure is increasing on families to provide care for ageing loved ones but hectic lives & distance is not always conducive to that need. The ‘3rings Smart Plug’ project is a method to evaluate the potential of connecting unconnected elderly relatives to their Internet enabled families to introduce Distributed Family Care. The ‘3rings Smart Plug’ has two components: - A hardware device that allows a domestic appliance such as a kettle or TV to be plugged in and then it is in turn plugged into the mains. When the domestic appliance is turned on the ‘Smart Plug’ ‘signals’ the 3rings cloud based ecosystem via the built in GSM circuit. - The cloud based software ecosystem is a event monitoring system that communicates activity or lack of activity to defined family & friends using Internet and telecommunications protocols such as push notifications, web, email, SMS & Calls. The key to acceptance & success is to introduce technology in a way that is familiar to the ageing relatives removing the ‘fear’ of technology but simultaneously providing an ecosystem to communicate activity to their Internet enabled families. The base assumption is there would be no requirement for the Internet at the ageing relatives. Power usage can indicate activity, activities such a making a cup of tea, watching the TV can provide a valid signal that ‘Mum is Up’, unusual activity can indicate areas that may need investigation. By monitoring ‘activity’ or lack of it, events can be communicated to the families to make them aware of their loved ones status, regardless of distance. This proof of market project will enable us to to undertake in-depth market analysis to scope the investment case and roadmap to bring to the market a product designed to enhance the lives of the ageing population & their families