INTHEBLACK December 2021 - Magazine - Page 58
F E AT U R E
// “ G O L D E N M A R K E T ” T E C H N O L O G Y
Data generated has the potential to identify
changes in a person’s activity levels and may be able
to predict declines in health status.
In Japan, sensors in clothing and shoes are being
used to track dementia patients, while New Zealandbased Jupl, whose partners include Cisco, Amazon
Web Services and Samsung, has created a homemonitoring platform that includes emergency alarm
buttons, geo-fencing, mobile alarms and real-time
tracking.
Professor Greg Tegart AM, nonagenarian and
science and technology advocate, advises that, in
developing solutions that prolong the time older
people can continue living in their homes, businesses
need to employ a broad combination of technologies,
including nanotechnology, biotechnology, information
and communication technology and cognitive science.
Future homes need to be designed to incorporate
systems that provide for the lifelong needs of
occupants, Tegart says, and gerontechnology is already
well established in many countries’ national agendas.
“In Australia, however, more needs to be done, and a
market focus and long-term business models
are critical,” he says.
OUT WITH THE OLD SYSTEMS
Dr Claire Mason, senior social scientist with CSIRO’s
Data61, agrees. “I don’t think the culture around
ageing is the same as Japan, for example, where
they are trying to provide the best possible use of
technology and models of care.
“We need to be thinking about how to reinvent
services, but many aged care homes, for example, are
invested in old systems.”
A recent report on digital health in the home, from
Australia’s not-for-profit Global Centre for Modern
Ageing (GCMA), has found that only 58 per cent of
aged care providers have a digital strategic plan, only
14 per cent are using fully integrated software systems
and less than half use any smart home technology at all.
This is at a time when more over-60s are using
technology than ever before, says Julianne Parkinson,
CEO at GCMA.
“The desire for gerontechnology usage is clear, with
digital solutions required both in older people’s homes
and residential aged care,” she says.
GCMA works with businesses to develop future
technologies through its LifeLab initiative, recently
conducting studies into Aurrigo’s autonomous bus and
a smart home system, B-One Hub, from Australiabased Blaze Automation.
For businesses looking to enter the market,
Livingstone suggests innovating in the smart home
58 ITB December 2021
“WE BELIEVE
ADVANCES IN
ASSISTIVE
TECHNOLOGY
CATERING
FOR THE
WORKPLACE
CAN DO MORE
– FOR
EXAMPLE, A
MECHANICAL
HARNESS FOR
THE LEGS TO
SUPPORT AN
OLDER PERSON
WALKING
AROUND
THE OFFICE.”
CAYDEN LIM,
AGEING ASIA
technology space – lighting, monitoring and safety –
as well as the innovations in mobility, such
as exoskeletons and driverless vehicles.
THE ROBOT WILL HELP YOU NOW
Robotic technology is increasingly emerging as a tool
to help seniors live at home or work for longer, as well
as to assist caregivers.
Hug by Fuji is a mobility robot that helps caregivers
move loads of up to 100kg, while Muscle Suit by
Japanese exoskeleton developer Innophys is designed
to amplify a user’s strength.
The New Zealand Government is working with
South Korean company Yujin to develop a digital
“healthbot” that talks to patients and prompts them
to take medicine and exercise. The robot has been
popular with users, but too challenging to bring to
market, says Professor Bruce MacDonald, head of
the robotics group at the University of Auckland.
“One reason was the competition from smart
devices like Alexa and Google Home,” he says.
Another promising robotics innovation is lowmaintenance “pets” with “no vet bills, just love”,
such as ones from Joy for All. Such robotic animal
companions have shown positive results with
dementia patients.
Human-like robots, which not only fulfil functions
in senior care, but also provide companionship, are
being developed as well, including Israel-based
Intuition Robotics’ ElliQ, marketed as “a sidekick
for happier ageing”.