Modern medicine offers the possibility that we will all live longer and be healthier. But inevitably the last few years of most people’s lives will find them needing caretaking of some sort. As many Baby Boomers already know, taking care of aging parents is a labor-intensive task. Even a moderately disabled person can require around-the-clock care and more than one helper to move from place to place.
Today, the members of the huge Boomer generation are struggling to take care of their aging parents, but the problem will be compounded when the Xer and Millennial generations have to take care of the Boomers. Not only is the effort going to be huge, but the cost of paying for that effort is expected to be enormous.
The question is: Can information technology be applied to solve this problem? The answer appears to be yes.
Japan is experiencing the same aging population as the United States, and engineers there are busy developing robotic technology to give seniors a new lease on life. For example, Applied AI Systems has developed a so-called “intelligent” wheelchair that is able to navigate automatically and move around obstacles.
At the University of Tsukuba, researchers are developing a robotic suit that uses hydraulic power to boost muscular strength in elderly people. Sensors in the suit read electrical signals that the brain normally uses to activate muscles. Those signals activate motors that boost the person’s strength. This so-called Hybrid Assistive Limb makes it possible for an individual who couldn’t stand on his own to walk with ease.
But the elderly and infirm need more than just mobility and strength. They need companionship, too. The Japanese have been working on this as well, according to an article in The Globe and Mail.1
A company called ZMP in Tokyo has released a helpmate and companion robot called Nuvo that sells for $6,000. Using a cell phone as a control panel, you can direct its movements and have it take pictures and send them back to you over the Internet. It tells time in a voice with a Japanese accent, plays music, and shakes hands. It also bows in a traditional Japanese greeting.
Next year, a new version of Nuvo will be capable of reading aloud, checking appointments, delivering the news, and speaking in a normal tone of voice. As it...
