It's Gee-Whiz for the Golden Years
From: Washington Post - 12/13/2005 - P. C1
By: Mike Musgrove

In a departure from the traditional focus on youth, miniaturization, and a
dizzying array of features, technologists convened at an exhibition this week
in Washington, DC, to showcase a variety of innovations aimed at helping
senior citizens manage and improve their lives, such as Pearl, a personal
robotic assistant that can tote groceries or dirty dishes when prompted by a
basic voice command. Intel demonstrated a watch that could project a reminder
to take medication onto a television, or make a phone call, for those wishing
to keep the message discreet. The industry of technology built for seniors is
expected to surge as baby boomers near retirement. Many of the products use
pattern recognition software to assist with patient monitoring, providing a
bevy of information that could aid doctors in making diagnoses and report
emergencies. A wireless monitoring device from Home Free can fit into a watch
or a pendant, monitoring when you go to sleep and how often you wake up, in
an effort to alert family members to a potential problem in advance of
something actually going wrong. A smart walker developed at Carnegie Mellon
helps its users navigate the hallways of a building, and can be summoned by
remote control. Other technologies are less visible, such as a bed containing
sensors to monitor breathing rate and blood pressure. Researchers have
developed games to help Alzheimer's patients keep their minds sharp, and a
version of solitaire that monitors players' moves to determine if they are
making uncharacteristic mistakes. Addressing the concern that seniors are not
ready for a barrage of new technology, Intel's Eric Dishman said, "I think
we're treating today's seniors like they are unable to learn something,"
adding that "we have to stop infantilizing them."  

Read the entire article at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/12/AR2005121201459.html

Links:
2005 White House Conference on Aging
http://www.whcoa.gov/

2005 White House Conference on Aging - Exhibitors
http://www.agingtech.org/whcoa_tech_exhibitors.aspx

Pearl, a Robot for the Elderly
http://radio.weblogs.com/0105910/2004/04/10.html

Nursebot Project
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~nursebot/

A Pearl for the elderly
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04095/295927.stm

Robot nurse escorts and schmoozesthe elderly
http://www.thematuremarket.com/SeniorStrategic/Robot_nurse_escorts_schmoozesthe_elderly-5260-5.html

Robot for the elderly at Future of Aging Services Conference
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/robot-04c.html

NurseBot: Personal Robotic Assistants for the Elderly
http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2005/09/nursebot_person_1.html

Home Free
http://www.homefreesys.com/