parallelnormal

Alarm.com last week unveiled a wireless system that tells you if the older folks in your family are breaking their routine — a sign that they may need help.

The Independent Living service uses a combination of contact and motion sensors, placed around the house, that are all connected to a wireless hub that relays data to the Alarm.com operations center.

Family members can look on the Web to see when the sensors were activated, and receive alerts on their cellphones and PDAs. That way, older relatives may be able to prolong the time they spend living at home.

Link to my Boston Globe column