Lessening loneliness with Alexa leads to awards shortlisting
TL Tech, a smart home solutions provider with a difference, is creating a new and original Alexa skill designed to reduce loneliness and improve wellbeing. Their founder, Thomas Laurenson, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Abilitynet Tech4Good Awards.
Off the back of the Covid-19 pandemic, the company has produced a suite of online support resources including short tips videos, live tutorials and help guides, allowing people to adopt voice assistants.
The company is passionate about addressing digital exclusion and ensuring smart homes are accessible. Through their work with vulnerable people, the team at TL Tech have seen first-hand how technology can transform lives if it is used to promote independence and heightened self-care.
Managing Director of TL Tech, Caroline Laurenson, said: “There is a huge opportunity to redefine the role of the smart home, showing how it can offer support to enhance wellbeing and bring families closer. We believe very passionately that smart homes should be accessible to all, regardless of age, technical ability, or finances.”
Through digital inclusion, TL Tech believes that a home can be a smart, kind space, that supports wellbeing and reduces loneliness.
Caroline continued: “More and more people are living alone. Sometimes this is through choice, and for others, it is due to things that have happened in their lives. We believe that technology can help with so many aspects of life, providing people with comfort and connection to the outside world.”
TL Tech is extremely close to launching the first version of their new Alexa skill, which will be completely free of charge from the Amazon store. However, they will require some funding to complete the build and testing.
Look out for TL Tech’s crowdfunding campaign on Crowdfunder, which will run from August 26th through to September 23rd, with the Abilitynet Tech4Good awards ceremony held the next day to announce the winners. Donors can support this project and help towards TL Tech’s wider mission – to create a world where Smart Meets Kind. Find out more at www.tltechsmart.com