Smart Assistive Tech Facilitates Senior Care

• Attentive Robots: In East Asia, care robots have been part of senior care since the 2015 introduction of Japanese care-bot Robear. Now, more practical robots (focusing on manual instead of emotional labour) are entering care homes. To create more time for communication-orientated tasks for carers, Texan robotics company Digilent developed Moxi, which performs non-patient-facing tasks, such as delivering lab samples and distributing PPE. Elsewhere, Chinese Pudu Robotics supports care home operations with robots for cleaning and disinfecting. To explore the ethical implications of care-bots, see Ethical Automation.

• Tech-Enabled Care Tools: Smart tools aid carers with daily tasks and help people live autonomously for longer. Australian Sleeptite’s smart bedding system REMi tracks movement and vital signs, such as heart and oxygen rates, during sleep. Obi, from American medical equipment manufacturer Desin, is a robotic arm that helps those with mobility limitations to eat independently. The machine brings food up to the user’s mouth and is controlled via two large portable buttons, which can be operated using either hands or feet.

• Smart Home Helpers: Chinese tech giant Baidu’s DuerOS smart display deploys natural language processing to enable people to make video calls, play music, search the internet and operate smart home controls. The natural language feature aims to assist seniors using modern technology while ensuring safety in case of a fall or accident. Also, see robot companion ElliQ, as previously highlighted on The Brief.

Read Advancing MedTech for more insights.