Saturday, December 30, 2006

News: Robot, My Slippers Please

Home sensors, long-distance health monitors and other gadgets help seniors remain independent.

May 2006

RI-MAN isn’t your average caregiver. The pale-green, 220-pound robot is a mass of wiring, metal and computer chips. It was created in Japan as an eventual high-tech alternative to costly home-health services and nursing-home care.

Although you can’t order your own RI-MAN or other home-care robot yet, you can buy many other assistive-technology devices that enable older adults with various ailments to continue to live in their own homes. Such devices include home sensors that monitor a person’s day-to-day activities and special goggles that help the visually impaired to see. These products are part of tech companies’ response to the new demographics: a rising number of seniors, families scattered around the globe and grown children with full-time careers who care for elderly parents. Here are some examples of what’s available now.

See the full article.

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