Caregiver Drones and Other Robot Caregivers?
I‘m fascinated by technology and I’ve read several articles about the use of technology in caregiving for elders. With the proliferation of drone use by consumers, I was interested in the December 4, 2015 article in the New York Times As Aging Population Grows, So Do Robotic Health Aides. A robotics prof at the University of Illinois has a grant “to explore the idea of designing small autonomous drones to perform simple household chores, like retrieving a bottle of medicine from another room. Dr. Hovakimyan [the professor] acknowledged that the idea might seem off-putting to many, but she believes that drones not only will be safe, but will become an everyday fixture in elder care within a decade or two.” The use of robotic caregivers is viewed as a way to help folks stay at home longer than now.
Can technology or robots be used to combat isolation and loneliness? The article turns to “Brookdale Senior Living, one of the nation’s largest providers of assisted living and home care… [which] is using a variety of Internet-connected services to help aging clients stay more closely connected with family and friends.” According to the senior director of dementia care and programs at Brookdale, “there was growing evidence that staying connected, even electronically, offsets the cognitive decline associated with aging.”
The article features several technologies under development, not just the drones which Dr. Hovakimyan refers to as “Bibbidi Bobbidi Bots.” The article notes that Toyota is even getting into the field, noting that adding artificial intelligence to vehicles to make driving safer and to”make it possible for aging people to drive safely longer.”
There are concerns about downsides to the use of such technologies, which are discussed in the article. The article turns to other countries leading the way in these advances and concludes with discussing a number of products currently on the market and how those may compare with in-person interactions.
Interesting times…