Smart Life Care is an emergency call service from Spitex. Their emergency buttons are well known in Switzerland and are used by a lot of people. For their next step, they wanted a new design for the basis and the portable emergency button. The basis has to stand very central in the apartment; therefore its design is held very simple and looks more like a regular speaker than an emergency button. The basis has two components: The inner part with the electric parts such as the LED signs (battery status, internet status, light feedback), and the sound system (the sound has to be very loud and of good quality for phone calls) and the interface on the backside. The outer part is covered in semi-transparent plastic and is water-resistant for easy cleaning. It has a mold in the middle that functions as a button for emergency calls and a charging station at the same time. The portable emergency button is charged via induction on top of the basis. When in place, the customer can simply push on the portable emergency button in case of an emergency. Light feedback on the top shows the customer when the connection to the emergency center, the connection between the portable device and the basis for charging, and when fully charged. The interface on the backside is simple but big enough for every person. The wheel is for the volume, the x for canceling an emergency call, and the circle for more complex customizations. The electricity plug can simply be plugged in but is then secured from falling out with magnets. In the case of the basis separating itself from the basis, it has a battery.

01 –backside interface with electricity

03 –basis and portable emergency button

05 –basis front, the red battery lights up when the electricity plug is not connected to the basis and is now running with the extra battery; the red wlan sign shows a problem with the internet connection

02 –backside interface without electricity

04 –basis and emergency button, lights up in waves when charging

06 –portable emergency button with and without rope

^{Pictures: Julia Herzog, Thomas Bösch, Tabea Wschiansky; Graphicdesign Earlybird: Julia Herzog}