How robots could help the elderly live longer and fuller lives

The Breakthrough

Scientists at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom are working on an international project that will test the ability of mobile service robots that may soon help elderly people remain independent. ENRICHME or Enabling Robot and assisted living environment for Independent Care and Health Monitoring of the Elderly aims to provide service robots that are smart home integrated to provide 24/7 feedback to health professionals. This aims to let people with mild cognitive impairments to live on their own, while the service robots will assist with activities such as social visits and exercise.

The Implications

The ENRICHME project will provide caregivers including other professional staff the technology to identify varying trends in cognitive impairments while also providing them with the ability to detect possible emergencies. This is an exciting opportunity that may lead to the potential benefits that assistive technology has to offer in the near future. Right now, the researchers at the University of Lincoln are looking to accomplish a large-scale evaluation to test the effectiveness of their robots