The Future of Elder Care: Robots, Smart Homes and Other Aging in Place Technologies

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TechAble World

5 min readAug 30, 2015

A century ago, most people didn’t live past the age of 50. Now humans are living longer than ever, with the average global life expectancy at 71 years old. In 28 countries, including Japan, the United States, and many in Europe, overall life expectancy is over 80 years old.

What this means is that more people around the world are suffering from age-related diseases like dementia. There’s also been a decrease in the number of people who can care for this older population, says Alex Mihailidis of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute in Canada.

To tackle this uneven ratio, Mihailidis and his colleagues are developing CATs — cognitive assistive technologies — to relieve the burden on caregivers and to help seniors live in their homes longer. They’re developing solutions and tools to carry out the often mundane and taken-for-granted tasks of everyday life, such as preparing a meal, getting dressed, and cleaning oneself.

The technologies are coming in the form of robot companions, intuitive devices, and intelligent homes. They can both sense and respond to the movements of older people living alone, making them more self-sufficient and safe.

Meet ED

In the film Robot & Frank, an aging cat burglar, is given a robot caregiver from his son. With his father facing mental decline, the young man hopes the gift will keep his dad out of a retirement home and also relieve him of his weekly visits.

This piece of cinematic science fiction reflects the aim of researchers today to have smart devices monitor and help care for older adults (though likely without the robotic thievery that occurs later in the film).

In real life, Mihailidis experiments with mobile robotics in a simulated home lab using a creation named ED. Equipped with a video screen face and wheels for feet, ED the robot gives voice prompts to assist people with dementia on how to make tea and wash their hands. The video below shows the robot in action.

“This project and robotic platform is being used currently more to understand how older adults with dementia interact with mobile robots and to discover the kinds of activities that such a robot could support in the home,” he wrote in an email.

His team carried out a trial with 10 Alzheimer’s patient in showing positive results from participants and their caregivers, he says, explaining they were very interested and engaged with the robot.

At this point, Mihailidis is not seeking to commercialize ED. However, he would like to team up with one of the many companies currently developing and preparing to sell similar types of robotics.

“Our hope is that we can continue to develop the software and system that would eventually work on one of these platforms,” he said.

Fall detection

Mihailidis is also working on a ceiling sensor system the size of a smoke alarm that detects falls. The importance of this project is immense. Every year, millions of seniors suffer falls that can cause significant injuries such as head trauma and fractures, and also raise the risk of early death

A schematic of Mihailidis automated emergency and falls detection system

Retirement homes often ask that residents wear necklaces or bracelets with push buttons to inform staff of falls. However, the majority of seniors do not wear them or even press them after falling. This could be because they are too injured, are cognitively impaired, or don’t want to bother anyone.

The solution could be an artificial intelligence system that doesn’t rely on wearables. Mihailidis’s device uses advanced sensing and computer vision to observe posture. It’s learning to understand what is a fall and what is not, and may alert a neighbour or emergency service when help is needed.

The research team recently finished a three-month trial of the system in a care facility.

“The results were generally very positive where the system was able to monitor and detect various types of adverse events. These trials also identified some limitations in the system, which we are now correcting,” Mihailidis said.

He is now negotiating to license the technology to a Canadian-based company.

There’s no place like (smart) home

Beyond standalone robots and intelligent sensor devices, entire environments are being developed to assist the elderly and people with disabilities.

In 2005, Dr. Sumi Helal of the University of Florida founded a live-in trial environment called The Gator Tech Smart House. In the 2,500-square-foot, single-family home, he and his research team test technology to help older people living alone. This smart home can predict a resident’s needs and then meet them.

An interior view of The Gator Tech Smart House located in Florida.

Their experiments include a smart mirror that gives reminders to take medication, a smart closet that suggests clothing based on the weather, and a smart bathtub that regulates water temperature to a bather’s preference and to prevent scalding.

A smart toilet will also inform an outside service center when toilet paper needs refilling. Similar responsive technologies could help caregivers know when a loved one needs restocking of other types of supplies.

In the kitchen, a smart microwave uses radio-frequency identification to determine what a person wants to eat. It also plays a video of how to open the food item, and will alert the resident on a display when the food is ready to eat.

Smart homes also offer potential for the greater population. They’re expected to save energy by giving consumers advice on lowering power use at peak times.They may also inform people on their health as they step onto bathroom floors equipped with sensors. Futurist Ross Dawson predicts smart homes homes will be around in 2030.