How the 'smart age' could revolutionize old age

Chi Yunchang, a 60-year-old Shanghai resident, eats a meal while talking to Roby Mini, a robot tailor-made for the elderly market. Provided to China Daily

Cyber communities

Shanghai's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) for Aging Development prioritized the development of high-tech devices for the well-being of the elderly, and the city's civil affairs authority actively encourages the development of new technologies and concepts that can cater to the needs of the elderly.

More than 100,000 government-funded alarm systems have been installed in the homes of elderly resident who live alone, and the program will be expanded to more families to provide security for seniors, especially those of extremely advanced age, those who live alone or can no longer take care of themselves.

The plan also made provisions to equip communities with high-tech equipment to provide care and services for the elderly.

Lujiazui sub-district in the Pudong New Area of Shanghai is a pilot for one such development.

The silver-haired residents of Lujiazui don't need to visit a hospital to undergo electrocardiogram monitoring. Instead, they can go to the nearby community activity center where the test can be conducted while physicians at a nearby hospital check the results remotely.

There is also an intelligent health system, similar to Nintendo's Wii games platform and tailor-made for the elderly, that allows seniors to take physical exercise in front of the TV screen, playing simulated games of badminton, jogging and stretching.

Shi Yi, the community's director, said the system is very popular with the residents. "Usually, seniors read newspapers or play mahjong without speaking a word in activity centers like these. But now the games engage everybody, and they have great fun competing with each other," he said.

In Shanghai, only 3 percent of the elderly population lives in nursing homes, while the vast majority depends on families and communities for help. "We're trying to build a smart community to give the elderly modern solutions to management and services," Shi said.

A digital system is being planned that will include functions such as online calls and location positioning, and information related to senior residents, their relatives, neighbors and social workers will be stored to form a complete information network.

"A senior resident will receive help as soon as he or she makes a request on the terminal and we can find someone who can respond within the network," Shi said.

The community authorities also plan to install magnetic monitoring devices on doors and refrigerators in elderly residents' homes to record how many times the door is opened during a single day and to ensure the senior is eating regularly. "The devices will collect information and send the data to residents' children to see if any unusual activity has occurred," Shi said.