By Josh Byer, SeniorsZen.com
As technology advances, we begin to see it manifest in more and more items in our home. Kitchens, living rooms, offices and bathrooms are now filled with electrical gadgets. All of these objects have one thing in common – they require that we learn their interface in order to use them properly. Consequentially, there has been resistance from older communities to adopt these devices.
By Josh Byer, SeniorsZen.com As technology advances, we begin to see it manifest in more and more items in our home. Kitchens, living rooms, offices and bathrooms are now filled with electrical gadgets. All of these objects have one thing in common – they require that we learn their interface in order to use them properly. Consequentially, there has been resistance from older communities to adopt these devices.
Soon, this learning curve will vanish, thanks to current advances in computing science. Here are some examples of how future technologies will revolutionize retirement… ushering in an era of ease, accessibility, and assistance.
Robots
Aging brings with it a sociological issue that creates a serious complication – we become reluctant, and occasionally hostile, to the thought of accepting care. Tasks such as cleaning, cooking, and getting dressed help us develop a notion of self-reliance, and sacrificing this independence can cause irritation and resistance. Recent studies reported by Medical News Today suggest that seniors will be more likely to accept help from a robot assistant than a human one. Relying on artificial assistance (as opposed to another human being) allows an individual to maintain authorship over their own care giving. Since the assistant is non-human, tasks like bathing and personal hygiene are still relegated to the realm of “private” – which creates a surprisingly strong sales incentive for the development of artificial home care technology. Consequently, robots will be a regular feature amongst care homes in the decades to come.
A New Era of Online Community
Isolation has always been a potential complication associated with retirement. With reduced mobility and available energy, the aging senior citizen becomes at risk of becoming alienated. If an effort is not taken to connect with an external community, sociological strain can soon develop into health-related issues – making kinship an essential component of both our physical and mental health. In seniors’ circles, resistance to social networking services such as Facebook and Myspace are often due to the learning curves associated with their interfaces. This barrier will soon be eliminated, thanks to the development of two technologies. Biometrics allows a computer to identify an individual based on an image – as this technology becomes more normalized, it will eliminate the need to recall the name, handle, and other identifying information we associate with identity. Put simply, biometrics will allow us to outsource certain functions of memory, so we can use technology to interact socially with less psychological effort.
OLED
is an acronym for “Organic Light Emitting Diode“, a type of printable television screen that can be applied to any surface – including transparent materials. As the future rapidly approaches, we’ll soon see screens on windows and prescription glasses, curtains and product packaging. Consequently, the need to use a traditional computer will decrease. Combined with the ease of biometrics, OLED promises to open up a new era of interaction and ease-of-use – one that will require virtually no prior knowledge of technology in order to enjoy all of its benefits. Josh Byer is the Social Networking Coordinator for SeniorsZen.com – a complimentary online resource for Canadian retirees. You can follow them onTwitter and Pinterest.
From LinkedIn Groups
Group: Aging Services of California
Discussion: The Hi-Tech Retirement Revolution
Hi Steve,
I was very interested to read your article. As a Gerontologist, and employed by a company that offers an easy to use, touch of a finger computer for private messaging that monitors activity by motion, I was fascinated with what you covered as upcoming technology for seniors. Aging in place longer for seniors worldwide is what they want so anything that is invented that makes their aging journey more comfortable is paramount.
FamilyLink was just offered to consumers this summer and I would be interested to see what you thought about it. It develops intergenerational communication with family and friends and also gives news, weather, sports, and more at the touch of a finger. There is also photo/video sharing and video chat all within its own private network. It was invented by a couple of Stanford PhD grads that needed to be able to monitor their parents far away unobtrusively so that the privacy aspects would be recognized.
Please go to FamilyLink.net and let me know your feedback when you have time. Thanks for all that you do for our aging population.
Kindest regards,
Laura Guluzzy, Gerontologist, Community Outreach Director
FamilyLink, a division of iKare Corporation
Posted by Laura Guluzzy
From LinkedIn Groups
Group: Long Term Care, Recruitment,Senior Care, Assisted Living, Skilled Nursing, Healthcare, JSA SEARCH
Discussion: The Hi-Tech Retirement Revolution
Sounds like we are headed straight for a “Jetsons-esque” existance.
Posted by Mark Singhisen
From LinkedIn Groups
Group: Boomers: Aging Beats The Alternative
Discussion: The Hi-Tech Retirement Revolution
This was a very well-written article. I found the idea of seniors being more open to assistance from robots rather than humans very interesting. I think even simple technologies like Skype are beneficial because they provide (virtual) face-to-face interaction, creating a more personal experience even when loved ones may be far away.
Posted by Katy Krul
The willingness to have assistance from robots does not include personal care — per the Georgia Tech study that this assertion is based on. From the Science News article that summarized the Georgia Tech results:
“Participants generally preferred robotic help over human help for chores such as cleaning the kitchen, doing laundry and taking out the trash. But when it came to help getting dressed, eating and bathing, the adults tended to say they would prefer human assistance over robot assistance. They also preferred human help for social activities, such as calling family and friends or entertaining guests.”
More to the point, at $6000 for even a telepresence robot, never mind providing any personal care, what is the likelihood of either individuals or senior housing organizations to acquire one?
And if you’d like to hear speculation as to why robots (whose tech has been available since 2003) are not yet adopted for personal care: — read insiders from the robotics industry:
http://www.everything-robotic.com/2012/11/eldercare-robots.html
Finally, this article makes no mention of the introduction of tablets (already available) and what that could mean in senior housing if the form factor improved slightly or they were integrated with the already available television.
Laurie Orlov
http://www.ageinplacetech.com
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121025161518.htm