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Ask Slashdot: Bulletproof Video Conferencing For Alzheimers Home?
Milo_Mindbender writes I'm trying to find a bulletproof near zero maintenance video conferencing client for shared use in an Alzheimers living facility. It's used so the patients can regularly see their relatives who are often out of town. Most everything I've tried on PC or Mac requires tweeks/updates from time to time to keep it working, not good in a place where there are no computer savvy people. It looks like most of the low cost dedicated boxes have died out too. The ideal setup will be turnkey with little-to-no maintenance and if possible support auto-answering calls from approved users. It needs to be compatible with video conferencing apps the relatives can easily get on phone/tablet/pc such as Skype, Facetime, Hangouts...etc. Any suggestions?
Move the maintainance to something you control and deploy through a browser.
One setup could be:
Crhome/Firefox as VoIP client
SipML5 http://sipml5.org/
Webrtc2sip (see above)
Asterisk for handling the RTP exchange and authentication.
The security aspect is handled by Asterisk via. simple sip.conf, all clients use a webcam + browser and connect through a simple client (see the call.html example at sipml5.org ).
This way you have a linux box somewhere at your control running asterisk, apache and webrtc2sip (needed for dtls proxying); the clients can be a simple kioskmode setup with a webcam and a single page served from your apache.
Have a full time tech on site with that and bill each patient health insurance a monthly or daily or per use fee.
That is how most things healthcare marketplace work.
I might set up a computer with a VNC server, so that you can maintain it remotely. To make the machine addressable, you can use dynamic DNS or a VPN.
Take a look at Polycom's RealPresence CloudAXIS Suite. It is supposed to be an interface between their dedicated video conference boxes and Skype, Google Talk Video, etc. I haven't used it myself.
I Don't Work Here
Or how about you just buy the video phones like
http://www.sophiesystems.com/g...
There are some that are skype compatible. You can then encourage the families to buy a video phone or if they are tech savy they could skype as well.
You're dealing with nontechnical folks at both ends... You want ease of use and commercial customer support
Easy answer: Smart TV w/ Skype camera. Here's Samsung's version
An iPad with FaceTime. Sorry, but this is really the simplest one out there. Setup an MDM on it for remote management.
Create an app that posts family pictures that with a click will call them. Or it can hook into the fingerprint reader and call the right family. Or, get a personal iPad for each patient and set it up in their room and have the MDM only allow Facetime to the family.
If you are talking about hundreds of iPads, then even Apple will help you setup all this.
Technology is constantly changing, forget the term "near zero maintenance" as the obsolescent nature of the industry is guaranteed to screw you over at some point.
I would install Skype or whatever comm client is simplest/cheapest to use, and spend the time educating the unsavvy to use it. In the end everyone benefits.
https://appear.in/
No account is necessary. You only need to send the other party (or parties) the name of the room.
Firefox, Chrome of Opera are currently necessary I believe.
Service is free, there is currently no ad. I don't know what is there business model and how long they'll be able to sustain it, but it looks like they got video-conferencing right.
Yea, because those MDMs work without a hitch an nothing ever goes wrong with an iPad. There is also no possibility the patients would suffer from anything like arthritis that might make holding it up or using the small onscreen controls difficult. They also never run out of power or suffer from battery degradation over time.
Use the Samsung TV method above, nice big screen, loud speakers to compensate for hearing or vision loss.
Honestly, not every solution is an iPad or an Apple product.
Chromebox for meetings is maintenance free and comes with a remote anyone can use!
Cisco has been working hard to productize video conferencing, and has hardware and software solutions for it, from telepresence suites down to desk phones with screens, as well as applications.
Don't know all about the fit and price, but probably worth a look: might beat a duct-taped solution where no onsite maintenance is required.
Actually, my suggestion is in a separate comment down the page...
But to answer why the above is still a bad idea, it leaves OP on the hook for regular/recurring maintenance. Moreover, it creates a single point of failure if he gets hit by a bus, or just goes on vacation.
When dealing with highly nontechnical users, especially under a high-stress environment such as distant family wanting to talk to failing relatives before they die or can't usefully communicate anymore, any delay or breakdown leads to massive tension- and gets OP called at 2am on Sunday!
Therefore, a 100% COTS soltution is ideal.
Fronkly OP needs to learn to use freakin' google, I found COTS solution, in stock at Best Buy, in ~45sec... There are still supported, stable solutions out there
Get an Xbox one with Kinect and set up a shared skype account on it. The camera even moves and zooms automatically to whoever is talking
Once you know how much the home charges per patient and month, consider whether you still want to do the work on the cheap and end up supporting the result for free.
Do tell how those points are fixed by using a Samsung product.
If he sets that up, he is still on the hook, when some software needs to be updated, when the internet is down or whatever else might get in the way.
Oh and have you actually used samsung products? They are a fucking pain in the arse to setup, my solution pushes updates through the browser using html5 and JS; yes he will need to keep that server running, but that can be outsourced very cheaply and since it's not using proprietary software, codecs and service providers, any part of it can be switched - tired of chrome? use FF or safari (IE will work from next verion as well). Tired of Asterisk? Use FreeSwitch. Don't like the SIP ML5? Well switch to JS SIP.
Linux runs Skype and Google+ Hangouts. I can't vouch for Facetime. Ubuntu works well with automatic updates and can be administered remotely as needed. The user interface needs to have icons on the desktop for the needed programs. I would use kubuntu since I have never liked Unity.
Ray Seyfarth, ray.seyfarth@gmail.com, http://rayseyfarth.blogspot.com
Stop arming seniors afflicted with alzheimers.
Mod me down with all of your hatred and your journey towards the dark side will be complete!
http://meet.jit.si/your_group_...
zero setup, just need to open the url in a browser.
in its infancy but webrtc is the future.
meet.jit.si is just the demo site, you can run your own videobidge.
Posting AC, so I don't undo the moderation I've already done.
The rest of your comment is fine, but for Alzheimers patients, this is a complete waste of time. We've had to stop bringing my grandmother to large family functions, as she gets so confused and possibly frustrated when she doesn't recognize anyone. (luckily, my cousin's daughter is good at telling when she's getting frustrated, and distracts her with hugs).
We were all together for Thanksgiving a few years ago when she asked my mom who she was, and my mom replied 'I'm your daughter' to which my grandmother replied 'You can't be my daughter, you're old'. Mind you, my mom goes up and visits her for lunch almost every week, so it's not like her grandchildren and great-grandchildren who she would've have seen for a few months. At one point that night, she said that she was going to do a cartwheel, after seeing her great-granddaughter show off that she had learned how to do one. (I managed to convince her that there wasn't enough room, as she was twice the height)
I've heard other stories from folks ... one in which his mom (might've been grandmother) was hitting on him ... which has got to be disturbing, but we're hoping it was just that he reminded her of her dead husband, and she's in a similar situation of not being aware just what age she is.
So ... this might be a great idea for a general retirement community -- but for Alzheimers patients, like my 90 year old grandmother who is now kept in a locked wing after wandering off (she was going to visit her parent ... who have been dead for 40+ years) ... you'd be better off labeling the phone numbers so the staff know who the people are. (eg. 'Mary Smith's son Joe'). ... and I'm not even sure that video conferencing is a good idea for Alzheimer patients. The only good thing is that by *not* taking her out of the nursing home, you don't have to deal with the issues of her not believe that's where she's been living for the last 8 year when you take her back.
It's a nice idea, but it requires the calling party to have a Mac or iOS device to call in from. I would have thought they need a solution that would support PC users as well.
I did something like this recently with Skype and Ubuntu 13.10. You can set up auto-login on Ubuntu, auto-start on Skype, and set up Skype to auto-answer and auto-activate the camera. In theory, it could get torpedoed by some kind of random dialog box, but it hasn't happened in two months. To make a it a little more bulletproof, you could set up a cron job that reboots the system nightly.
One warning: since Skype was acquired by Microsoft, the standard Skype login dialog was replaced with some kind of weird integration to Microsoft's outlook.com single-sign-on. When Microsoft is having system problems (like they were a couple months ago), it appears to lose all of the single-sign-on tokens, which will drop the system back to the login page, and you will be stuck. However, this only happened once in the past couple months. (Yes, things worked far better before Microsoft bought Skype, but it's not a lost cause.)
Easy for the elderly to see? You'll need a large screen. So get a large screen of the kind they're used to seeing. Use a television.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...
This Logitech camera has Skype built right into it, plugs in via HDMI. What more could you ask for?
Google's offering for video conferencing, albeit through plus, ive found to be really reliable. I am however at a loss for a solution to the problem of all those bullets whizzing through the house though...
Good people go to bed earlier.
You want low cost AND no maintenance AND compatibility with existing systems?
Sorry, you're SOL. There is no such thing, never was, and never will be. Even non-low-cost systems require at least some maintenance.
At the absolute minimum, you will need an on-premise machine with some kind of VPN access so that you can remote in and perform updates. You can do that with windows or linux.
What you require can't be given via a slashdot q&a. There are too many options, and too many give 'n take decisions that need to be made. Is it video conference only? Do you want to support instant messaging? What platforms will the system support on the families' sides? What hardware and how much bandwidth is available at the facility? How much are you willing to pay for monthly service contracts and maintenance? If you want Facetime, then you *have* to use a Mac, or iPad or something.
Your best bet is to talk to a telecom consultant who can help you out. But you're going to have to adjust your expectations because what you want is physically impossible.
Take a look at the Logitech Skype TV box. No computer to speak of, just plugs into a HDMI and Network (they do a wifi version)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Logite...
hope that helps.
yes, www.dotcomforwardslash.com is my real URL.
http://www.voipsupply.com/telyhd
Get an iMac, nice sized screen, you can lock it down. You can also use screenconnect with it phoning home to your screenconnect server so you can maintain it remotely, doesn't matter if it's IP changes. Then that gives you the option of Skype or FaceTime or google hangouts. Depending on what family has.
Using screenconnect, you could also set it up to screensaver through photo galleries that the patients might enjoy, like the Grand Canyon or other things they might remember from the past if family photos are too emotional.
You can also do offsite training for staff if needed using screenconnect. If they manage to forget how to do something.
If you don't want to maintain a system, then don't deploy it. Either pay someone to maintain it for you, or plan to maintain it yourself. You seem to want to be a hero and give unknowing non-technical users a complex system and then abandon it because it takes too much time.
1. turnkeylinux.org (ejabberd)
2. Made it as a VM first to get the hang of it. Broke it a few times etc. Then used an old duocore, 80 gb drive, 4gb ram.
Set up a VALID certificate. Plenty of tutorials available. Final fix was a pesky LF&CR in pem file (again read). Since there are potentially some HIPAA issues do get a real cert! Some are free.
3. Point the ports from the router to the ejabberd box and you are in business.
4. I vpn through the router and use the preinstalled web pages to configure anything I need. user accounts are done by the staff. I did it pro bono.
5. Jitsi was my client of choice, your own mileage may vary. For the residents I use linux (use what you want) it's virtually bulletproof. Last uptime I checked was 8 months. Eat your heart out MS.
Splab, thank you.
Thank you for giving us an a *perfect* example, in the wild, of *exactly* how techies answer questions condescendingly & with making big assumptions, but most importantly, demonstrating you have a high level of technical knowledge, but not ***ACTUALLY FIXING THE PROBLEM***
People like you have been making tech obnoxious for decades, and it needs to stop. /. bear witness:
It is perfect. All the elements are there. This kind of response typifies interactions between people with tech problems and those who claim to be able to fix them.
First, obviously OP was asking about **low maintenence for everyone** not just one subset. This is the language voodoo. Conjuring a dichotomy of meaning where there is none.
2nd, we see the dork/troll complete the circle by insinuating that OP was ("obviously!") being unreasonable thinking they could get something at required **absolutely** no maintenence...for that he's, of course, "shit out of luck"
But OP didn't as for "absolutely no maintenence"...but for the dork/troll that doesn't matter. This whole thing was a way for parent to demonstrate superiority by dropping some jargon & then making the original person out to be dumb for ever asking the question.
***WE MUST STOP DOING THIS FOREVER***
It's ruining our industry, and our work life quality. People hate a person who (having demonstrated their technical knowledge by dropping jargon) wastes their time.
When people need help, it's wrong to use that as an opportunity to make yourself look smarter. It only makes everything worse, and it causes the other person to hate you and tech in general.
Just stop. Forever. The whole routine...let's just end it...
Thank you Dave Raggett
I know I'm gonna get modded down for this - so be it:
Typical /. radical evangelism for open source, at all costs (metaphorically, not $$), without regard for the whole of the circumstances.
If there was a dedicated IT team, fine. If this was just OP and his grandma only, fine. Any of several circumstances, fine. But that's NOT the case!
Here we have lot of users, you MUST have dedicated support, and OP can't (trust me, I've been in this situation) provide that 24/7 long-term. And keep that server running, but that can be outsourced very cheaply is a delusion. Who's gonna pay for the next X years?? IT Consultants aren't cheap, and any upgrades that break things will be costly to repair, while being an outage for the users.
In a situation like this, COTS, with consumer support available and used to dealing with non-technical users (you know, the helpdesk script monkeys that piss US off...), is the way to go.
http://www.google.no/intl/en/c... That s what I think Google uses internally. It should be stable... Never used it in that form...
Sneak teach kids Algebra using a game
Splab, you should get some kind of Golden Raspberry Webby Award...
Thank you Dave Raggett
So far it's got the features I'm looking for, price point is OK.
I've been looking for something similar myself. I was using the Logitech Revue until they shut down their Vid service.
The Biscotti has many good traits:
1. Has HDMI passthrough so no need to switch inputs if TV normally stays on a particular HDMI input.
2. Can overlay calling notification.
3. Can switch on the TV via CEC if needed.
4. Can be set to auto-answer.
5. Compatible with SIP and various standards.
Unfortunately, it's not perfect. You don't want to put it on a hot TV, or it might overheat.
Sometimes it has issues and needs to be rebooted by unplugging/replugging.
Recently, it looked like Biscotti's servers were down for a bit, so calls couldn't go through.
But aside from these typical kinds of issues, it's the best solution I've found so far.
Easieast secure 2-click video conferencing
Supports any hardware
Get up!
Who wants to shoot at Alzheimer patients? Foolproof seems more useful.
Polycom or Cisco. Nice devices that work great and cane even be automated.
Problem is no nursing home will pay for them.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Get a video phone, such as: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KO...
In the Alzheimers facility the phone is used just like a regular phone.
I've heard of bulletproof glass, but not video conferencing. Have you looked at polycarbonate, thermoplastic, and layers of laminated glass?
I do all sorts of PBX, UC solutions, entreprisey stuff for people. Why does OP want/need to do this for his residents at all? It doesn't fit.
From a "nice guy" standpoint, OP could set them up with an iPad or Android tablet of their choice and add a few contacts of their kids and grandkids.
Something tells me this might be with a view towards monetizing video communication through a per month fee for rented tablets or something. In which case, OP should cough up the money and buy pro grade gear. But there is a simpler way - find out what grandma's daughter uses, buy her one of those and set it up once.
Also, it has the added convenience of having absolutely nothing to do with a telephone, that still always works, and little Billy can tell granny what to press on her fancy iPad to get Facetime working.
For me, old people and tech is like this - their kids are their tech support because they use it better than them and the old folks know it. That's good enough for them and when that works, leave it alone!
I work in IT in LTPAC (nursing and rehab). This is something we've discussed many times. The best model we've found is a TV with Skype (either PC or SmartTV) on a cart. Family schedules a time and staff (eg CNA) brings cart into the room and answers call. I'm in a higher acuity environment most likely (mostly SNF, some ALF) so this might not be ideal for your environment. We do have "Memory Care Units" at some locations. Generally it's a specific hall that has some additional accommodations (read: Wanderguard).
Reply to this post with contact info if you'd like to discuss in detail. I can talk to our reimbursement folks, but I believe this is billable via Medicare and Medicaid.
Might be worth checking out Apache's OpenMeetings. That comes with the advantage of being a run-your-own-server solution.
If there were only a simple low cost low maintenance device that could do FaceTime, Skype etc. that costs less than $299 was portable, automatically updated itself, and was foolproof. I wander when someone will invent such a device. It wouldn't even need a keyboard and it could be wireless! It could have a front facing camera and be a simple touch screen device.
Nahh we will never see something that simple in our lifetime....
That's easy!
Start with a computer that doesn't need tweaks/updates from time to time, and then add video conferencing software that allows you to not upgrade it in order to support new platforms because the basic protocol never changes, but is already ubiquitous on every platform someone might want to use, and get it all from a vendor who has no monetary interest in forced updates!
The ideal setup will be turnkey with little-to-no maintenance and if possible support auto-answering calls from approved users.
OP says no maintenance at the Alzheimers home, my suggestion needs no intervention on the Alzheimer homes part once it's up and running. If OP wants something that requires absolutely no setup, no software, no hardware and magic internet rainbows, then he is shit out of luck. But that's not how I read the request.
Well first of all he asked for a turnkey solution, which is pretty much the opposite of a DIY project. If someone took a small fanless box, cobbled together these open source projects, configured them and created a nice little administration UI and manual/troubleshooting instructions for sale you'd be pretty close to a turnkey solution but this would basically be his custom client-server setup that only an expert could maintain. Which brings us to the second point, he asked for little-to-no maintenance full stop. Adding a server and hosting hardly sounds like low maintenance, it adds complexity to what seems like a very basic direct videophone call. Surely one of those has the basic contact management to handle this? This seems mostly like a lazy man's "I'll let /. Google it for me instead of doing my own research" question.
Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
P.S. “via” is not an abbreviation and is not written with a dot.
I use Skype on the remote Windows laptop; the patient has only to start the computer (unless you want to keep it on full time). Then I use chrome remote desktop to reply to my own Skype call, do updates etc.
Our family tried those. We bought 2 of them to talk to mom, but while they work for a while, they seem to just die after a few days. Sure, a reboot, reconnect to wifi and re-login sets it all good again, but that's a lot to ask.
We went with regular skype on an old thinkpad.
Do yourself a favor and install TeamViewer as well.
-- My Weblog.
Biscotti is pretty cool. Uses Google hangouts or their service. Only $100.
Forget trying to set it up for the other residents as a group. The staff and administration will likely freak out over the privacy implications and HIPAA laws or whatever. Offer to help other families do it on a one-by-one basis as I outline below:
My mother is in a rest home for the past few months and she's lost the ability to do much of anything on a computer.
Still, we manage to video conference with her every day, with almost no problems and no work required on her part.
The cost was negligible and the setup trivial. Here's what we did:
Scrounge an old laptop. For this, my brother donated a late-model thinkpad. It runs some version of Windows, currently. If it gets a virus, I'll wipe it and install Ubuntu, but it's been fine so far.
Install Skype, with an account created for the elderly person. Set it so that only people on their friends list are allowed to call. Set it to auto-answer incoming calls. Add family members to the person's friends list, but do so carefully, as anyone you add will be able to pop on any time they like.
Add TeamViewer, in case you need to log in and restart Skype, add someone, or even start a movie on Netflix or YouTube.
Our setup has worked well in practice for two years, including scenarios like talking to ambulance crews and LifeAlert, before she went into the home and talking with her doctors and other caregivers at the home. She spends time every day visiting with an infant grandson she hasn't yet met, so it's had a huge impact on the quality of her life.
Some people will complain that they don't like Skype, or they want to use FaceTime, but another family member isn't on IOS or whatever, but by now, everyone knows that if they want to call mom, they just use Skype.
-- My Weblog.
Try VSee - wonderful solution, HIPPA compliant. Easy to use.
Jitsi looks realy nice. I want to try it myself when i need videoconferencing later this year. There is also Jitsi videobridge which you can deploy on your server and use Jitsi meet web client to connect to it. Or you can use 3rd party maintained instalation of videobridge available at https://meet.jit.si/
lol it all relates to linux of course
seriously tho...I forgot one thing...
if you think someone asks a dumb question...(I always say, there are no dumb quesitons, just dumb people who ask quesitons)...just **make fun of them**
it's ok to just make fun of someone...it's honorable...if in your opinion, the question really is obvious then don't pretend to help by rattling off bullshit, just make fun of them if you want to express yourself somehow
Thank you Dave Raggett
WebRTC is making this stuff stupidsimple.
https://appear.in/
https://talky.io/
Why are you getting modded insightful? There is no fucking single solution out there, that has the magic bullet, if there can't be no single person doing anything to maintain it.
OP wanted a cheap, simple easy to maintain solution, one was offered. People suggesting dedicated IT guys are fucking idiots, if they think that matches cheap.
And yes, my solution is complicated, if you don't know how to read howtos, but then again, you are out of luck, if you want it cheap.
And regarding server setup and maintenance, if you think that is expensive, then you sir are delusional. You can get 5 9's cloud based hosting with excellent support for very little money; and yes, someone needs to update it from time to time, but if that can't be done, there is nothing to do.
No matter if you select TV, iPads, Macs, Windows or magic unicorns, you will have to have some software update from time to time - and it sucks no matter which one you select. Personally I think the TV option is the worst, as there is very little reason for Samsung, Sony, et. al. to push updates to old televisions, they will just tell you to get a new one, when you favorite Skype(ish) app decides to change protocol.
Kills just about anything else.
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
If it were me I would set up a Xbox One with Kinect on a TV, would require almost no maintenance, the Skype app on the Xbox auto updates so you wouldn't have to worry about keeping it updated. You would just need to set it up once with a user name save the password and be done with it.
It's not going to be no maintenance This sounds fairly similar to the market GrandCare Systems (grandcare.com) was designed.
I'm unsure of the costs, but I'm sure they'd be happy to work it out with you.
Discloure: GrandCare was started by someone I went to high school with. Though it's still a cool product.
Yes. People who are in management often have these characteristics: "You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air...you expect people beneath you to solve your problems."
That's often true.
It's not some kind of "yin/yang" relationship, however.
Customers and co-workers also ask for help.
Both groups have **reason to expect help**
That's the difference here...the "dork/troll" behavior I described happens in a context where, for whatever reason, there is a reasonable expectation that the person being asked the question can help...in the case I put up for examination, it was b/c he even posted a comment with a serious tone using jargon (that may be technically right, as the story elucidated).
Also, management, at some kind of level, has to exist. Directing resources and making decisions on the meta level (which worker will do what job, how to structure workflow, how to train managers, etc) has to be done inasmuch as the system's complexity demands.
Management cannot possibly know all the information to the same level as all the specialists she manages. Invariably, **with certainty** the person being managed will have some piece of **specific technical knowledge** that the manager needs but does not have.
Management will always need to ask questions of people "below" them who know more...otherwise there would be no point. We are stupid if we fault managers inherently for asking questions!
note about "management"...it is a function first, a part of a complex system...it could be done by one human with full authority who delegates (sometimes by heredity) or the work/decisions required can be accomplished/made in a distributed manner of some sort...my comments here are about "management" the cybernetic necessity not one dipshit wearing khakis.
Thank you Dave Raggett
bullet proof video conferencing is exactly the idea behind the xbox appliance
Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
This. Even if everything works flawlessly you still have older, forgetful folks to support. Cisco's stuff is AWESOME and works automatically. They just have to dial or pick up.
FaceTime.... Even if the relatives don't have an iDevice someone near them will or they can probably go to an Apple store.
Chance favors the prepared mind.
Perfect is the enemy of good.
Look into Vidyo for your solution. The same technology was used to build Google Hangouts. You can get a dedicated system (so no one screwing up some form of computer OS, no need for daily or weeks updates) for a fraction of the price of a Polycom, Tanberg, Lifesize. It is VERY simple to use, and people wanting to communicate with the unit at the living facility have a lot of options - mobile clients for iOS and Android, Desktop Clients for Windows, Mac, and Linux. You can also connect with other dedicated room systems, as well as H.323 and SIP based devices. Vidyo uses Scalable Video Coding which makes for rock solid connections across the wilds of the internet, will work over 3G and 4G, and will even work with as little as 256 Kb connections. Throw in the fact that you can support multiple simultaneous video connection and that the system is HIPA compliant, and you find yourself with little to compare against. As far as maintanence, there is VERY little -- which consists of periodic software updates (which you don't need to do very often and are as simple as clicking a button to upgrade). The Vidyo solution also does not get outdated as all upgrades are software based.
For a small rollout, you should consider using a solutions provider, such as Coroware (www.coroware.com). For larger rollouts, consider your own servers and such to facilitate the 'heavy lifting' offsite from your facility.
I fail to see why FaceTime won't work. It's as easy as making a phone call and it's bulletproof simple
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
Might very well be a Chromebook, use Hangouts. Very little maintenance and pretty obvious how to use it with a minimal amount of instruction. (could be written out and posted with the machine).
What he really wanted was for someone to actually read his request. I guess it wasn't you.
So this solution is not open source or in the "cheap" range, but it will be pretty bullet proof with full support from Cisco
Look these pieces running together(Solution 1):
-Cisco Jabber (for use with Jabber guest which lets you connect via website to a video enpoint)
-Cisco Callmanager with VCS Expressway (your brains, and it lets physical endpoints an Jabber clients connect over the internet)
-Cisco TMS (Telepresence manager) , this lets you setup the endpoints to auto connect a video call at a scheduled time.
-Cisco DX 80s or 70s, there are not horribly expensive and they are full video endpoints that run android
This lets you have a video conference start a scheduled time and the outside party(with reference to your organization) can connect using jabber guest. Also, alot of the backend pieces are not available as cloud services which reduces your admin effort day to day.
Solution 2:
I would look at the blue jeans conference service. They support a plethora of units (sip and h323) to connect to a conference so you could use something like a polycom VVX or yealink (although the DX 70 price already gets near the VVX price).
If you dont have a team to back you up I would stay away from the Asterisk / SipXecs /Jitsi solutions. They will need engineer/s to manage and develop the platform. With those solutions you usually trade off freedom/free/customizability for ease-of-use (so you can make a really powerful and customized solution but you will need an engineering team to make it all work together).
I work in the AV industry and see a good share of VTC technology that is the de-facto current industry standard, and the main turnkey systems are Cisco/Tandberg (C40/C60/C90 series) -or- Polycom (either the HDX series or RealPresence Group Series), -or- LifeSize.
Cisco (who bought Tandberg) and Polycom have been VTC leaders in the industry for over a decade, and make some of the best VTC hardware around. They can also be expensive, but both companies have more economic lines in the VTC codec line-up as well, that offer less features at reduced pricing. The Group300/500 from Polycom works fairly well, and is geared down from the HDX line (which is their flagship line).
There is also the LifeSize hardware that is reasonable cost compared to the Polycom and Cisco solutions, and gets the job done well enough. They are dedicated hardware boxes still, but aimed at lower cost than the previous mentioned solutions.
If you need to interface with other VTC systems that aren't H.323 compatible, you can use on of several bridging services available. They cost money to subscribe to a bridging service, but they basically act as a man-in-the-middle for disparate systems to communicate together, and aid in larger multi-point calls beyond what the hardware can support natively.
For a turn-key system, I believe any of the 3 mentioned solutions can be had in a stand-alone cart-based system, where the cart houses 1 or 2 LCD monitors, a single camera, the codec, and any other necessary hardware, and can be rolled around to different locations as needed. All the solutions mentioned are HD quality, support SIP/h.323 and some of the higher end ones can also use T1 and ISDN if needed (optional card required).
These dedicated codecs can also be controlled with either the provided IR remote control for establishing calls and such, or through a web interface. The Cisco C-series can also be had with a Cisco touch panel for user interfacing with all the UI controls located on a easy to use touch panel interface. Most of these systems can also interface with Exchange or other contact management solutions if needed.
EasyConnect HD is a high definition video calling system designed to connect families with their loved ones living in senior communities. http://easyconnecthd.com/
Have you looked at any of the new robots?
https://suitabletech.com/beam-plus/
Why go thru all that trouble, they're not going to remember it anyhow :-)
Table-ized A.I.
Whats wrong with JUST Google hangouts? All you need is a browser, and a webcam. You can set $OS to auto login and start Chrome (in kiosk mode, fullscreen even!) at the Plus login page - living facility staff might need to enter a username/password combo for the patient is all, and log out once done. This should be able to be easily managed in a spreadsheet. On the client side, there is a Hangouts app for both iOS and Android.
Samsung TV solution is a bust. The assloads of apps mentioned above is a bust.
You can download camfrog server. It runs on Windows or Linux, and set up a free video chat room.
There are clients Win/OSX (and Camfrog operates just fine in WINE) and apps for the two dominant smartphone OSes.
There's a cloud version of the server if you're worried about reliability, so you can set it up on an instance or four if you are worried about uptime.
Or you could rent a web-based room from Camfriends.co.uk (based on the Camfrog Web software) and just connect via a web browser.
Maintenance? Oh, look, it asks you to upgrade, gives you a download and install button. Nothing else to do, it's that simple. Click. Done.
Questions?
Still waiting on Serviscope_minor to wake up to fucking reality and realize that Jessica Price isn't going to fuck him.
It's a blanket technology allowing you to do any authentication model. It's supported by Chrome & FF, so the standard won't break anytime soon.
You'll need someone to build out the web app (like me) and then the app can get pushed easily.
After that, a simple but modern browser locked into a kiosk mode should do it. Then I'd seriously consider reducing updates to zero by limiting the kiosk to only your server's domain.
Yes, it could break. Anything can, but this gives you control over the:
- UI
- updates (since you control the app it connects to)
- privacy (doubtful you can trust data mining in a medical facility)
And that's compelling.
Science & open-source build trust from peer review. Learn systems you can trust.
With the exception of that compatibility with third party stuff that is likely not usable by alz patients, I would think a javascript dev could come up with a simple browser application that leverages HTML5's streaming audio and video capabilities to implement a simple video conf tool using touch screen computers. Perhaps a simple opening split screen that has thumbnail pictures of people the user knows in a sidebar, and a main screen that shows the realtime video.
Push on a face, and it 'dials' that person or whatever, it 'rings' the other end showing the caller's thumbnail pic large, they click the pic to 'answer'. And can do the same with other thumbnails at the same time to bring several people together. A small hangup button at the bottom left of each active video.
I had to make an MP3 player and 'internet radio' app for a technophobic senior, and went this route. Took some time to make the web app full screen properly for the browser + hardware used (a lenovo tablet running Android), but it worked.. all javascript + html5. No other libs or ui toolkits needed.
Have a look at http://visbuzz.com/ this product is designed to do exactly what you need...
So as I understand it, what's desired is a solution that will just plain work out of the box as soon as you plug it in, and will require no work/help from the users at the other end to keep it working. Teleconference (video and audio) calls need to be auto-answered at the remote end, provided it's the right party calling them; effectively, the remote endpoint needs to have neither control over the system nor responsibility to keep it running. I presume to some degree this is to be able to check up on them and make sure everything is okay, as much as it is for more social uses of telepresence?
So, do this:
1. Send them one of the new "smart TVs" that comes with a webcam built in.
2. Get a job at the NSA.
3. Profit!
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
Two iPads and Perch - Always On Video Portal by Perch Communications Inc.
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/perch-always-on-video-portal/id576108735?mt=8
I was in a very similar situation 2 years ago and installed a Grandstream GXV3140 (http://www.grandstream.com/products/ip-video-telephony/gxv3140) at the home of the target person.
To my knowledge the only hardware Skype phone on the market
I setup the Skype account such that only registered persons can call and set it to autoanswer.
It has worked since then without any problems.
The firmware update function can also be automated such that the phone checks and installs updates on a regular basis.
Sound and video Quality is good.
would do it again if I had to
in a place where there are no computer savvy people
Assuming you mean staff, that sounds like your problem right there. Would you advocate a medical treatment for your residents without "medical savvy" people to administer it? Or try to run billing without a "finance savvy" entity?
Like the other two examples, the solution is to hire someone. It could be part-time, fulltime, or outsourced, but someone needs to have the knowledge and bandwidth necessary. Then your question can become a much more reasonable "How do I hire a tech worker?"
https://www.eff.org/https-everywhere
I did one for a lockdown unit years ago. I am a Nurse and IT guy. After initial learning curve for me (about 4 hours) with some google reserch, I have created a secure system that supported, not only the residents but nurses and docs. It is secure! Meets all guidelines of HIPAA, and allows doc or np to see patient. I made a VM of the setup and use it for personal use as well. Got signed certs to keep it all legal (some are free if you look around). Just checked it, uptime: 8 Months, 13 days, some hours... I used all open source. Some residents have PCs, even though some can't use it. Just set them to auto answer and turned cam away from patient bed. Nurses use inexpensive tablets. Practicioners use whatever the have. Based on XMPP, everything is outta the box, no tweaks with the exception of the SSL cert. One PC in activity room with only one icon on it, browser. Use opendns to block undesireable sites. The client for the video conference is just a vanilla account, CNA answers it, if seen, and get's the resident if available. Too simple! Receptionist adds / deletes user accounts from webpage gui. My buddy a mediacl director uses it in a hospital and an LTAC where he is medical director. He bills for telemedicine when he can, and has made it through two audits. We get 95% scores on IM observatory only because it is NOT tied to XMPP servers and we didn't pay high dollar for their certs. Jeff not sure how to reply privately yet or i would send contact info if interested
Look who's talking. It's clear that neither you nor Mr. Anon have ever had to manage this kind of system before. It sounds like a simple and obvious question on the surface, but once you dig down into the actual details, it's anything but.
If you want to use facetime, then everyone needs a mac/iPad/iWhatever.
Sure you can use something else like hangouts or skype, but the asker made no mention about how he intends to deploy this software.
Does every resident get their own machine? Do they share a common one? Has network cables already been run through the areas where the asker intends to have the video kiosks? How do you manage the local environment? These are all questions that need to be addressed, and the only way to do that is to have someone physically go there, look things over, and give a set of *viable* options based on their current environment.
You may have read the post, but you clearly didn't *comprehend* it. Or at least, didn't even stop to consider the possibilities before shooting your mouth off in an attempt to compensate for your lack in other physiological aspects.