With increasing developments in technology designed to help seniors age within the comfort of their own homes, the future for aging in place is not much further away. Soon, seniors will be able to rely on robotic assistance in their daily lives, reports TribLive.
High-tech advancements have already made headway into senior care, but one Pittsburgh tech center’s design for a robot butler looks to take aging in place to a new level.
The Home Exploring Robot Butler, or HERB, could one day help more older Americans live at home as technologies and programming update over time. Adept in retrieving out-of-reach items, disposing garbage, and even opening and closing doors, HERB may one day help seniors prepare meals, writes TribLive.
The Quality of Life Technology Center—jointly run by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh—is currently developing prototypes of personal assistive robots.
Part of this research, notes TribLive, focuses on cognitive and behavioral coaching systems, along with human awareness and driver-assistance technologies.
Though some senior care technologies are still only available to hospitals, many are becoming accessible for older individuals.
From GPS-tracking shoes and cellphones, camera monitoring and electronic medication reminders, tech developers have begun to take a keen interest in the senior living sector.
With smartphone apps being able to record and monitor blood pressures, robotics might be the next frontier in helping more older Americans age in place.
Read the full article at TribLive.
Written by Jason Oliva
