With improving GPS and cellular technology, personal emergency response systems are breaking boundaries in what’s possible for personal protection and expanding the market to serve a growing segment of the population.
Personal emergency response systems (PERS) have been around for years, helping seniors get emergency assistance with the push of a button. Now, with evolving technology in cellular communication and GPS-based location services, PERS has stepped out of the home, redefining the role of PERS while bringing security and other benefits to a wider range of people.
Five years ago, mobile PERS (MPERS) did not exist, but today the market is growing rapidly. Just a year ago, Linear providers reported that MPERS was a very small part of their business, says Chuck Stevens, vice president, health and wellness specialty business unit, for Carlsbad, Calif.-based Linear. He adds, “Today, it is 10 to 15 percent of their total business. The market has about doubled since last year.”