Skyhook is announcing its partnership with Australia-based mCareWatch, a company whose wearable devices use the latest technology to provide assisted living, mobile health and telecare solutions. mCareWatch is deploying Skyhook’s Precision Location solution to improve the location accuracy of their mobile devices.
We spoke with Paul Apostolis, mCareWatch's Director & Founder, to discuss the relationship:
How would you explain mCareWatch’s role in the independent living space?
When Peter Apostolopoulos and I co-founded mCareWatch in 2012, we sought to use technology for what we deem to be most important: keeping families connected. We wanted to use the latest technology to take assisted and independent living to the next level through mobile and telecare solutions. Today, we specialize in remote care-giving technology that enables the elderly, disabled and people with special needs to live wherever and however they want to live. We’re proud to offer a range of products – including the SOS Mobile Watch, GPS SmartSole and Bluetooth Low Energy SmartSole – that give individuals, families and caretakers peace of mind.
What were the business drivers for teaming up with Skyhook?
mCareWatch was looking for a solution partner to address accuracy and reliability of the location services we were offering to our end-user consumers and enterprise customers. Skyhook is a perfect fit for our requirements, and is now integrated on our ConnectiveCare platform. Our customers now have the assurance that when they use our smart wearable devices, they have the ability to receive a trusted location through Skyhook.
How will mCareWatch use Skyhook?
mCareWatch will use Skyhook to provide an accurate and a trusted source of location services. In an emergency situation, our customers rely on accurate location when they press the SOS (emergency) button on our current devices. They are independent and mobile, so we need to be able to use available technologies like Wi-Fi location based connectivity when customers are in a densely populated areas or inside buildings, as GPS is not always available in those scenarios.
What kind of competitive edge will Skyhook give mCareWatch?
Most vendors are purely using GPS trackers for the target group we are selling our devices to, and do not have Wi-Fi built into the device to improve location services – which gives mCareWatch a competitive advantage over other vendors in the same market.
Is mCareWatch available in the U.S.?
mCareWatch has developed its ConnectiveCare platform to be agnostic and connect to any available stand-alone device. Our current device, which is in use in Australia, is not available in the U.S. at the moment. We are talking to potential resellers in the U.S. so that they can integrate their own devices onto our platform.
