Senior Momentum

Can design and technology deliver a golden age of aging?

by Juanita Dugdale

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Ri-Man is one of a new generation of humanoid robotic helpers. The robot is equipped with tactile sensors that measure position and magnitude of contact force.

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One of life's cruel ironies is that half of society is always dying to grow up while the other half begrudgingly grows ready to die. The halves used to balance out, with an ample labor pool of young people around to look after the elderly, who, likely as not, expired soon after retirement. But today it's impossible to escape the sobering news that seniors will not only double in number within two decades, they will also live much longer. In 2011, the first members of the baby boom generation will turn 65. If they survive another 20 years, which is highly possible, the ranks of what demographers call the "oldest old" will swell to epic proportions. Considering that today's seniors already compete for care, aging boomers face a radically compromised lifestyle—and society as a whole will suffer—unless we quickly develop economical ways to bridge the care gap.

Scared by the scenario? Then consider this for relief: The next decades may prove to be the first time in history when it will be really interesting, if not downright cool, to grow old, especially for technophiles. Since 2000, the global race to develop high-tech solutions for problems challenging the elderly has accelerated, particularly where critical shortages of caregivers already exist, as in Asia.

Japan, for instance, which leads industrialized nations in both the lowest birthrate and the largest population over the age of 65, is betting that innovative technologies and futuristic robotics can back up the dwindling labor supply. In 2004, Sanyo Electric's human washing machine received fanfare after testing well with elderly patients who appreciated its warm, sudsy massage just as much as one delivered by a living attendant.

Other Japanese products emphasize cuddliness and character. Paro is a robotic baby seal claimed by its inventor (AIST, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology) to soothe anxious nursing-home patients as effectively as traditional pet therapy, without the allergens. Japanese cultural acceptance of lovable gadgetry has also inspired research in humanoid robots for assistance and companionship. Ri-Man by Riken is an interactive robot resembling a giant soft toy that's able to lift an incapacitated patient, sense smells, follow sounds, and track faces. Android research has produced two notable mechanical talking heads on static bodies: Repliee Q2, modeled after an actual female news broadcaster, and a male crafted to resemble its inventor, Hiroshi Ishiguro, director of Osaka University's Intelligent Robotics Laboratory. Watching footage of Ishiguro's automated twin recoil from a poke in the face is fascinating yet repellent, as is its response—"Don't touch! Don't touch!"

Advanced product research is under way in this country as well, supported by organizations such as the Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST), a Washington, D.C.–based coalition of more than 400 public and private members that lobbies for greater industry visibility and influence. While some projects in development target seniors' special needs, others emphasize more universal application across generations (see sidebar, p. 87, on GE's new kitchen appliances). Otherwise, hints of our technological future already proliferate. Two million affordable iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaners now propel their way around living rooms to the delight of couch potatoes and those with impaired mobility. Considering that the MIT roboticists who created Roomba also developed the PackBot Tactical Mobile Robot now deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, there's hope they'll eventually program the vacuum to do stairs.

A plethora of new technologies used in hospitals also benefits seniors. To relieve overtaxed nurses of nonessential tasks, Aethon developed Tug, a robotic indoor transport system that hooks up to a tracking device called Homer. In 2006, ABC News broadcast a box-like Tug whirling down a hospital hall, startling people as it passed by on the way to deliver supplies. One woman, realizing the Tug was self-propelled, suggested making it look more like a robot out of science fiction: "Put a head and a neck on him, you know, with some glowing eyes."