AgeTech SF Hackathon: Closing the Emergency Detection Gap
Closing the "discovery gap" for older adults living alone
As more older adults age alone, the risks during moments of crisis become harder to ignore. Too many people face emergencies without nearby family, clear support systems, or tools that help them navigate what happens next. This hackathon is focused on closing the "discovery gap" for older adults living alone through practical, human-centered solutions.
Join designers, engineers, founders, clinicians, operators, researchers, and technologists to build solutions that support older adults and caregivers with greater safety, coordination, dignity, and peace of mind.
Whether you care about aging in place, care navigation, connection and loneliness, health routines, or accessible experiences, this is a chance to work on one of the most urgent and meaningful challenges of our time.
Challenge Focus
Teams will build around a featured challenge connected to independence, caregiving, and emergency response for older adults living alone. Project directions may include:
Detecting falls, medical events, or unusual changes in routine
Escalating concerns to the right caregiver, responder, or support system
Improving coordination between older adults, families, care providers, and emergency services
Supporting aging in place with greater safety, dignity, and independence
The detailed challenge topic will be shaped during the May 21st Roundtable, where older adults, caregivers, and leaders across healthcare, emergency response, aging services, housing, and technology will come together to identify the most urgent gaps facing older adults living alone. Hackathon participants are encouraged to attend to hear directly from those closest to the problem and build with deeper empathy, context, and purpose.
What to Expect
Hands-on innovation: Work in cross-functional teams to design and prototype solutions to real problems in aging and caregiving.
Mentorship: Get guidance from founders, operators, providers, researchers, and AgeTech leaders.
Community: Meet others working at the intersection of technology, health, care, and longevity.
Visibility and momentum: Use the event to test ideas, find collaborators, and spark projects that can continue beyond the weekend.
Schedule
Thursday, May 21, 5PM-7PM: Roundtable Discussion (registration link)
Saturday, May 30, 9AM-6PM: Hackathon
Both events will be take place in downtown San Francisco.
Judges
Mary Furlong, MFA Associates & Longevity Venture Summit
Sophie Boudreau, SafelyYou
Victor Wang, Friendi.fi
Dr. Sara Zeff Geber, expert on Solo Aging
Other judges to be announced
We will invite mentors from across the aging and caregiving ecosystem, including startup founders, investors, operators, caregivers, older adults with lived experience, and other relevant stakeholders.
Great thanks to our Sponsor:
Routines is an AI assistant for elder care that uses anonymous sensors to help families know when loved ones are safe, supported, and following their normal routines—without cameras or intrusive monitoring.
Lovable is an AI-powered software development platform designed to build functional web applications through natural language prompts, without requiring traditional coding knowledge.
Your Hosts
AgeTech SF is a practitioner-led community where innovators and the people they’re building for come together to take action. We leverage technology to positively impact aging communities in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond.
AgeWell Innovators brings together adults and caregivers who want their real-world experience to be heard, valued, and used with care.