Two grandmothers mystified by tablet computers have inspired a French-Romanian startup to develop an application and service to help the elderly stay in touch with their relatives through the Internet.

The system - the work of a startup called Hubert - began operating in the United States and in Europe on crowdfunding website Indiegogo last month.

"Everything started after one of my grandmothers died in a home for dependent seniors in France," says Stephane Lucon, a Frenchman who co-founded Hubert.