As baby boomers are settling down in their retirement houses, there are still no flying cars to be seen in the sky yet. Thankfully, there has been not a single alien attack, and the world didn’t come to an end. So, the future seems bright. However, science has made a lot of progress, developing impressive technology and making everyone’s lives a little more convenient. A number of innovative gadgets and machines were invented, and some of these can be life-changing for seniors. Here are some of the best technologies about to bring in a sea of change.
Self-driving Cars
One of the biggest challenges seniors face as they age is losing their independence. Health issues often limit their mobility. Sometimes, they can’t even drive their own car. Thankfully, several automobile and tech companies are testing self-driving cars, some of which include Google and Uber. Though they are still in the experimental stage, chances are that we might see them on the road in a few years. This will be one of the best things that can happen to seniors. Imagine having the independence to go to the grocery all by yourself without having to worry about driving your car or catching a ride?
Smart Homes
Smart homes are not a dream anymore. However, researchers are working on its various aspects which will make living a lot easier for older adults. Voice recognition will make things so easy that seniors will only have to tell the Roomba to vacuum the room, and it will do so without human intervention. You don’t even have to program or set it manually. This is especially good for seniors who find it difficult in operating smartphones or read small texts from the phone or computer.
Robots As Nurse
Taking care of seniors in their old age is one of the biggest challenges faced by their children. In this day and age, it is almost impossible to sacrifice jobs and take care of your parents instead. As much as we love our parents, we need to earn money, too. Thus, robot nurses will be a huge help for people who can not stay without a caregiver. Human caregivers can be highly expensive. So, technology has come up with robots that will be monitored by humans. This will make the job a lot easier for the human caregiver because he or she can monitor several robots in one go. All they need to do is keep an eye on the video monitor that will tell them about the exact status of the senior. Even if the caregiver is sitting on the other side of the world, he will be able to alert or instruct the robot in case of an emergency.
Shirts That Perform CPR
Performing CPR right after a heart attack can save lives, but not everyone knows how to do it properly. Hence, the Massachusetts Institute Of Technology has the idea of making a shirt that can sense and apply CPR right after a heart attack. Though it will take time, there are shirts with sensors available in the market already. They are being used by athletes now, but the shirt with CPR is a brilliant idea, and we hope to hear more about it soon.
Shoes That Saves You From A Fall
Though nobody is making such shoes yet, researchers have spoken about the possibility of having such shoes in the near future. They have found that vibrating shoe soles can reduce the chance of falling by 70%. It increases the stability and balance of the wearer. Lack of balance and fall is one of the major problems for seniors. They are more prone to breaking bones easily which leads to further complications like being bed-ridden for a long time.
There are a number of robots that have already been made to make life easier for seniors. Japan has come up with several of them. For example, they have a robot that can teach workout moves to seniors and Kabochan has won several hearts already. The little doll-like robot is meant to hold conversations with seniors and help them revive their dwindling cognitive skills. Science and technology is a blessing for all of us, but it is especially nice to see our parents benefitting from all kinds of new innovations. Hopefully, life would be much smoother for them 10 years from now.