The future of technology and how it is helping people age better

Members of the older population are not only taking measures to protect their own health. Some companies are developing products to make aging a better experience for both the older person and the caregiver.

In this article, Carole Railton and Lucia Dore, authors of SeniorITy explore the ways companies are leading developments in technology and how these enhancements will be beneficial to seniors and helping people to age better.

Mental ability and disease 

Alzheimer’s, a form of dementia, plagues many older people. One UK manufacturer, Chameleon Technology, which supplies smart meters, is working with Liverpool’s John Moores University and the local Merseyside NHS Trust to study how technology could help patients living with the disease. It aims to do this by spotting changes in behavior.

Behavioral changes associated with the illness include alterations in routine or abnormal sleep patterns. These abnormalities tend to get more frequent as dementia progresses and can be detected through the energy usage recorded by the smart meter. The data it collects can then be shared with the senior person’s family and friends.

Other technologies are being developed to help people with dementia. They include easy-to-read clocks; reminders to take medicines at a certain time; phones that list a contact’s picture rather than number; in-home cameras; GPS and tracking devices; and smart appliances such as stoves and ovens that ensure they are switched off.

Playing games can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by keeping the mind alert and active. It can reduce Alzheimer’s by up to 50% and AI has a part to play here too. Games on a smartphone or computer are likely to be powered by AI of some sort. Apart from traditional board games like Monopoly and Scrabble, Solitaire or other word games may pop up on your screen, whether on a desktop computer or a cell phone. When you embark on playing one of these games, you are told how old you are—whether you’re thirty- five or ninety-five.

Physical Challenges

Arthritis is a significant problem among the older population and living with the physical challenges it brings usually requires considerable support from others. Once again, AI-powered technology can help. For example, the UK charity Versus Arthritis is using IBM’s cognitive technologies in its quest to help people with this condition. To do so, it has introduced an IBM Watson powered VA to provide personalized support and lifestyle advice. This includes answering questions and fielding answers about Arthritis.

IBM says it intends to develop other solutions for the aging population, particularly those with physical and mental disabilities. Its solutions will “incorporate sensors, robotic assistants, the IoT, and other cognitive-powered technologies,” all of which will allow clinicians and caregivers to make better care decisions.

In the home

In homes, stair lifts are becoming increasingly common, particularly because they are generally easy to use. For the most part, older people can get up and down stairs using a stair lift more easily than they could on their own. Once again, these devices make things easier for caregivers, too.

In 2017, an energy-recycling mechanical staircase was developed to help older people or those who are mobility impaired. Scientist Karen Liu collaborated with other engineers at Georgia Tech and Emory University to produce the prototype of the energy-saving stairs, which do not have to be permanently installed. This device can be placed on existing staircases to make climbing and descending easy on the knees and ankles, but it uses little power.

Getting active 

Seniors are becoming more and more active and like to spend time outdoors. Cycling is a favorite pastime and has been increasing in popularity among the older generation worldwide, who can do it alone or with friends. Cycling has significant health benefits, such as increasing the heart rate or relieving stress.

One company that is making the most of this trend is ICEdot, a Tusla, Oklahoma-based crash-sensor maker. If the rider falls off a bike and hits their head on the pavement, a built-in sensor in their cycle helmet will send a signal to the phone of an emergency contact the rider has selected, calling for help. The sensor will also determine the severity of the crash and send the GPS coordinates to the designated emergency contact.

Relationships 

The Max Planck Institute, based in Germany, has built robots that gave “soft, warm hugs,” which people prefer “over hard, cold hugs.” The people involved report feeling trust and affection from the robots, with some even saying they feel understood by them. It is not that they are falling in love with robots, rather that some form of social connection is forming that is often missing from conventional relationships.

It is relatively easy to buy a robot, especially online, whether it’s to act as a PA, a sexbot, a companion or simply to do the housework. Even the AI PA on smartphones, such as Siri on an Apple iPhone, could act as a companion.

Companionship

In Japan, where the country’s birth rate is declining, there are concerns that having sex with robots will make it fall even faster, but this is not a concern for seniors. Older people there have been drawn to a social interaction with a small therapeutic robot called Paro. Paro is an advanced interactive robot, the eighth generation of a design that has been used in Europe and Japan since 2003.

Robotic pets are also becoming increasingly popular as a way to alleviate loneliness. AIST, a Japanese industrial automation company, makes robotic animals that are “cute and cuddly” and a substitute for a real pet. The company says that patients who took part in a study were shown to have increased motor and emotional stimulations. According to the same study, seniors interacting with these robotic pets improve their relationships with other humans and reduce their stress levels.

From a behaviorist’s perspective, co-author Carole Railton says of Paro: “We have always had relationships with things that aren’t human, so interacting with robots is nothing new. Robots, our new friends, might just be an aid to helping us keep our empathic skills honed so we can use them in times of need.”

Carole and Lucia conclude AI is still an emerging technology so there is a long way to go and plenty of research to be done. We also need to ensure that ethical discussions are ongoing so that AI doesn’t end up doing more harm than good.

About the Authors

Lucia Dore, who lives on the South Island of New Zealand, is a financial and business investigative journalist and editor with many years of experience in the print and online media, working in the UK and Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Asia Pacific. She is also a researcher, communications professional and co-founder of Behavioural Shift. In 2015, she completed a documentary film entitled “Stepping Up: NZ’s response to the refugee crisis”.

Carole Railton FRSA is a global body-language specialist who previously worked for IBM in Zambia, DataPoint (USA and UK), and Xerox (UK and the Middle East). Now she works as a global body-language consultant with international organisations, showing them how to communicate with clarity and impact using modern body-language behaviours. Ranked tenth in the world of global body-language consultants, Carole has worked with KPMG Singapore, IBM France, Google London, and CFEO Nigeria.