3 Predictions for the Future of Aging and Tech
It’s October 2021, I’ve been running TheGerontechnologist and writing about agetech on this platform and several others for 4 years now. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that this ecosystem is full of dedicated, hard working people, truly vested in making the world a better place for our elders — with technology. I don’t think I’ve ever met an entrepreneur who was just in it for the money, there’s always a higher cause. I also think the ecosystem has matured quite a bit in the past 4-5 years. There are more companies than ever before. They raise more funding and more of them are able to reach important milestones (rather than running out of money before solidifying their product offering and business model).
There is, however, so much more to be done. So much potential, so many categories in this market that aren’t saturated, and many challenges that are not addressed yet. For example, the caregiver shortage. In the short term – pouring money at the problem (increasing caregiver wages) might work. But in the long term, when we consider the demographic shift, that might not be enough. When we see the exponential advancements in technology – it’s inevitable that more technology will be introduced in our lives. So what can the future of agetech look like 10, 20 or 30 years from now?
Home automation and ambient technology
The race towards home automation and ambient technology in our homes has begun. We already have smart speakers, light bulbs, and flying security cameras. The next logical step would be to embed technology in the walls of our homes and have it plugged into electricity and the internet by default. What type of technology? Sensors for one. MIT’s Dina Katabi is working on “building truly-intelligent wireless systems that understand people’s health and can interact with the environment and other devices.”
But why stop at sensors? We can have our homes fully automated to eliminate the need for housekeeping and maintenance which can become harder and harder as people grow older. While gardening is fun and light housework gets you moving, other aspects of home maintenance don’t necessarily promote well-being. Those who can afford to, hire help, but home automation might actually be more affordable in the long term, because it’s usually a one-time investment. Vacuuming, mopping and lawn-mowing can already be done by robots. Cooking, doing laundry and other iADLs can certainly be automated too.
Robots will assist and then replace caregivers
Caregiving is challenging work, both physically and emotionally. It doesn’t have to be this way. On top of automation that can eliminate the need for humans to do housekeeping, we can use technology to reduce some of the physical strain of caregiving. Lower back pain and injuries are common among caregivers in both home care senior living. Using hoyer lifts and lifting patients in pairs don’t necessarily prevent this, but exoskeletons and robotics embedded in apparel might.
Seismic is a startup based in California that has been developing powered clothing to assist with movement – this could potentially help older adults maintain independence, despite age-related muscle loss. Researchers from the University of applied sciences in Tampere, Finland have looked into incorporating exoskeletons in the care of geriatric patients. The exoskeleton used in the study has been reported to relieve 40% to 50% of lower back strain. In agriculture, which is another industry that has traditionally relied on manual labour, and currently uses exoskeletons similar to the one used in the above study, farm workers are gradually being replaced by robots. While it is true that not all of the caregivers’ work can be delegated to machines, I believe that using exoskeletons in eldercare will be a stepping stone to having robots take over some of the hardest physical parts of caregiving, while leaving it to humans to do the things that are uniquely human – like providing companionship and comfort.
Japan, which has the largest percentage of older adults, has been experiencing a serious caregiver shortage for years. Scientists from RIKEN and Sumitomo Riko Company Limited have developed a new experimental nursing care robot, ROBEAR, which is capable of performing tasks such as lifting a patient from a bed into a wheelchair or providing assistance to a patient who is able to stand up but requires help to do so.
Every developed country in the world will soon follow in Japan’s footsteps towards a higher and higher percentage of older adults in its population. Many long-term care providers in OECD countries already struggle with hiring new caregivers. With the current demographic shift, it’s highly unlikely that this trend of increased caregiver shortage will reverse.
Elder care will become tech-enabled
In this day and age, long-term care providers use more technology to complement their services than ever before. Smart speakers are used for communication in senior living, screen-based devices are used for resident engagement and telehealth, and VR is used for staff training and reminiscence therapy. However, there is still a need for solutions to tackle the growing caregiver shortage – which can make senior living communities as well as home care providers turn away residents/clients who need high-level care. Turning away clients, and having to train and hire new caregivers all the time (because of employee churn) chips away at the bottom line. Using exoskeletons might be a good way to reduce the churn of caregivers that is caused by injuries. In the future, it’s likely that care providers will be the first to deploy robots to replace some of the caregivers’ manual labour.
With the exponential advances in tech, there is no doubt that life in the future will include some technology we can’t even imagine today. Where do you see agetech in 10, 20 or 30 years?
Any questions or comments? You can send them to me using the contact page. You can also add me on LinkedIn, Twitter or subscribe to my YouTube channel!