So, yeah, we'll all eventually have our own R2-D2s and C-3POs. So says Heather Kelly of CNN Business.
"Technology to help monitor, comfort and care for the elderly is becoming increasingly mainstream," she writes in her story "Technology is changing how we grow old and die," posted online in January.
"But we're only just starting to consider how it will change the way we age," adds Kelly, who'd reported on the Consumer Electronics Show, which took place Jan. 8-11 in Las Vegas. "Companies -- from small startups to Samsung -- were pushing senior care as the next big thing." Which is relevant, because as is pointed out in the piece, the older-folk population is growing, while there are fewer younger family members to take care of them. And there's a growing shortage of professional home-health caregivers.
Kelly then gives a rundown of senior-care technology displayed at the show.
Most of this stuff, my hubby Dre and I -- both middle-agers -- wouldn't mind having ... right now.
• Like that Bot Care robot. It will be awhile before Samsung brings out this robot, which will be able to watch us as we sleep, take blood pressure and heart rate, and even remind us to take our medicine and help us exercise. Here's hoping by the time it's introduced that the Bot Care robot will also be able to 1) help us get to sleep in the first place as aging itself, hot flashes, night sweats and rowdy neighbors can so easily interfere with sleep; and 2) make sympathetic noises at us as we hurl abuse at it for reminding us to take our meds and trying to help us move body parts we don't feel like moving even on a good day.
• Like gadgets already in use that look out for us. According to the story, "smart home products can be set up to send text notifications when someone leaves a stove on or wanders out of the house, and older people who can't drive can ask Alexa to order an Uber ride." Boy, we could definitely use the "You're leaving something on/forgetting something" assistance. And frankly, we'd love for Alexa to drive us around in our own car and remind us whenever we're about to leave a purse, umbrella or bag of groceries in it.
• Like huggable robot companions. Kelly mentions Paro, "a plush Japanese robot that looks like a seal and mimics the movements of a living creature." Or Lovot, a Teletubby-looking robot that begs for hugs; and "Aibo from Samsung ... like a dog without the mess." Call these expensive teddy bears: Lovot is around $3,000 and Aibo costs $2,899. But hey. As Dre works from home and spends a lot of time alone there, he'd have someone to talk to besides himself. I, too, mutter to myself any chance I get, so it'd be cool to have such a robot companion at home and in the car when I'm out and about. Paro and his ilk wouldn't argue with us, or interrupt us to make callous suggestions, or interject his own woes, or fall asleep on us. (I would just ask manufacturers to make sure to keep these companions cuddly. Nothing that looks like Robbie the Robot or those red-slide-eye Cylons from the original Battlestar Galactica TV series.)
• Like the video-monitoring software Kepler Vision Technologies is tinkering with. This software will let us know if we're "drinking enough, going to the bathroom more than usual, or even [in] a bad mood." Maybe it'll also let us know if we're drinking too much of the wrong thing and not going to the bathroom enough. And maybe the software will tell some jokes to coax us out of a bad mood or at least enable its carriers to dodge a few thrown shoes.
On a serious note, the story mentioned a number of devices designed to detect and prevent falls. I'm the daughter of a tough old soldier who recently had one fall too many, broke his hip and had surgery, so I'm genuinely grateful to the makers of such devices.
The story includes an emphasis that these devices cannot replace human caregivers but will go far in relieving the burdens on them. For that I'm also grateful.
But as someone who has a bit too vivid an imagination stoked by science-fiction fare involving robots gone wild -- from that yikey Demon Seed film to the Terminator movies to the aforementioned Battlestar -- I hope all these gizmos have some serious reset buttons.
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Style on 03/17/2019