Practical gadgets to help the elderly and infirm at home have been developed by a university team.

Researchers have produced a vibrating wristband, which acts as a reminder device, and a bowl which lights up when easily-lost items, such as keys, are placed in it.

The MultiMemoHome project, a joint project between Glasgow and Edinburgh universities, is designed to help older and disabled people live independent lives.

Behind the devices are a series of "multi-modal" technologies which harness sound, vision, smell and touch to create interactive systems.

Marilyn McGee-Lennon, Glasgow Uni-versity's lead researcher on the project, said: "We've taken significant steps to developing products which users can set them up to work in ways which they can easily understand and react to."