20Oct Robots and Sensors to Help Elderly Stay Independent

Robots and Sensors to Help Elderly Stay Independent
Dallas Morning News (10/13/08) Moos, Bob

University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) professor Fillia Makedon says technology will enable people to grow old at home. Supported by the National Science Foundation and others, Makedon has created the Hercleia Human-Centered Computing Laboratory at UTA, where she and other faculty members and students are designing technology that will enable seniors to remain independent longer than previously possible. The research facility, and several similar labs across the country, will help launch what experts predict will be an exploding assistive technology industry within a decade. The UTA lab hosts a one-bedroom apartment equipped with high-tech cameras, motion sensors, and robots to measure any movement within the furnished apartment and relay data to computers that search for abnormalities. Once the technology has been perfected and deployed, caregivers will be able to sign on to a secure Web site and check how a senior is recovering from surgery or responding to a new prescription, for example. The technology will also act as an early warning system for caregivers, Makedon says, alerting them to an unexplained change in someone’s gait, for example, which might indicate a higher risk of falling and a need for a walker. Cost will be the biggest barrier to getting such technology out of labs and into homes, says the Center for Aging Services Technologies’ Lauren Shaham, as government programs and private insurers generally do not cover such preventative technology.
View Full Article