Since the rise of AI again, there has been almost no AI at all, from exploring alien creatures and going down to grassroots pig raising. Naturally, in the global ageing crisis, AI+ pensions have also been put on the agenda.
Compared with other AI+ content, the elderly population has more distinctive features. For its part, the gradual decline in physical function makes it more demanding for the life support function of technology products, and it must also take into account the medical needs that may arise at any time. In addition, especially in China, in addition to the convenience of living activities, the empty nester needs more emotional.
Developers naturally do not ignore this type of problem when designing products. So, what products are AI+ pensions hatched today? Did they really meet the actual needs of the elderly? What obstacles need to be overcome on the road to full-scale AI+ support for the elderly?
With these questions, we discuss together this topic that is not new in the AI field.
From food and clothing to health: basic forms of old-age products
It must be said that after the AI empowered the pension industry, a large number of products with distinctive characteristics have mushroomed. Especially in Japan, if the age of 60 is the standard, its old age population already exceeds one-third of the total population, and the entire society is under tremendous pressure to support the elderly. As a result, Japan has also become the country with the largest number of AI + pension products.
To sort out current AI products related to pensions, we can roughly classify them into three types.
Daily assistant type: For some elderly people with mobility problems, many things are difficult or even impossible to complete independently. Caregivers do these things. On the one hand, they have a lot of work. On the other hand, the old people feel helpless because of trouble. Based on this, Japan developed a Robear, such as its name "machine bear", it can hold the elderly and help them stand up and sit down. And a Georgia Institute of Technology in the United States used robots to control the touch of the human skin to control contact strength, successfully wearing the dress to the human body.
The medical care model: The biggest problem faced by the elderly comes from health threats, especially cardiovascular diseases. The exploration of AI in medical treatment has also made physical examination an important position. In this regard, a research team from Waterloo recently discovered that by combining wearable sensors and artificial intelligence, it is possible to evaluate data on changes in aerobic responses, which in the future will likely predict whether a person is experiencing respiratory or cardiovascular disease. The onset of the disease. In addition, a Japanese Remeo can remind the elderly to take medicine.
- Emotional companionship: Compared to the solution of life problems, the lonely emotional state of the elderly, especially the empty nester, deserves more attention. Domestically, there have been reports of suicide among empty nesters. In this regard, a robot named Paro can give full play to its own characteristics. Many sensors are installed on the body so that they can make some emotional reactions when interacting with people. And it turns out that it does have an effect on reducing loneliness in the elderly. In addition, the smart speakers in the AI market can also use the advantage of language interaction to chat with the elderly.
It can be seen that as AI pension products become more diverse, people will have more choices when faced with products. As demand increases, more products are already on the way to the battlefield.
Details may be the key to success or failure
For the elderly, the technology may be very dazzling to bring a lot of convenience, but unlike the rough young people, the old people can not afford to toss, what they need most is to take care of the details of life.
Although general robots can achieve a certain level of care, there is no uniqueness for developers to see. Who can quickly grasp the details of both rigid and difficult to solve, perhaps who can take the lead in the AI pension field.
Well, the real battlefield of AI pension may be here.
The most inconvenient thing for elderly people who suffer from stroke or other diseases that need to stay in bed for a long time is "convenience", which often causes psychological problems for the elderly. Starting from this level, a company in China has developed a robot that can distinguish the excretion behavior of the elderly and record the number of excretions, and can automatically clean. This program not only provides convenience for the elderly, but more importantly, it is a comfort to the elderly's privacy and emotions.
Another example is the robots mentioned above. The robot developed by the Georgia Institute of Technology does not rely on visual abilities to accomplish tasks. Instead, it uses haptics to sense the intensity of the process of simulating skin contact. Through a large amount of video learning, it mastered the essentials of action in one day: supporting the body, undressing, and then wearing it on the person.
Of course, this technology is not yet mature, and the mastery of robots needs improvement. However, after a great deal of study and training, it is not impossible to complete a perfect dressing task. It is worth noting that clothing itself is a very warmth. By training robots to dress, it can provide life support and bring spiritual comfort and warmth to the elderly.
In the family scene, the detail design has more room to display. The simplest and most effective method is the application of various sensors. Z-works, for example, provides smart sensors that provide three protective procedures for the elderly: the door sensor senses the automatic opening and closing of the door when the elderly approaches, the bedside sensor monitors heart rate, breathing, lighting, etc., and provides indoor temperature, humidity, and any occurrence of Sensors that acted, such as falling tables, broken bowls, etc. The use of these sensors will, to a large extent, provide the elderly with daily behavioral analysis and care in a family setting.
In addition, there are many functions, such as assisted meals, which are small things for young people but are very important to the elderly. Of course, it should be noted that all AI pension products are for convenience. The product concept is on the one hand, and the most important thing is the performance of the floor landing. Turning "convenience" into "more inconvenient" may hurt the business.
How far is the full AI pension?
Although the use of black technology provided by AI in retirement can indeed solve many problems and at least save manpower, do we really need “a comprehensive AI pension”? Will it mean a bit of technical push?
The problem of aging population in China is already a commonplace. According to relevant statistics, as of the end of 2016, the elderly population over 60 years of age in China accounted for 16.7% of the total population, reaching more than 230 million; and those aged over 65 also exceeded 150 million, accounting for 10.8% of the total population. It is predicted that by 2050, the elderly population in China will reach 480 million.
This is actually quite a staggering number. The causes of aging in China are manifold, the long-term effects of family planning on the age structure of the population, and the continued decline in the fertility rate. Such a large ageing population will undoubtedly need more people to take care of and the demand for nursing workers will continue to rise. With the surging demand for pensions, AI naturally becomes an obvious way to solve problems.
That is to say, there is no problem of technical forcing, and the promotion of pension AI is still the foreseeable market demand.
From the perspective of AI products, it is still necessary to go through a series of cost-reduction studies to get closer to the more common elderly population in order to achieve a comprehensive AI pension. At present, these old-age pension products are often tens of thousands, and it is difficult for ordinary pension families to afford them. It is difficult for welfare-oriented pension institutions to become interested in these products. Those who are able to pay for them are mainly high-income families and some more commercialized retirement service institutions. Of course, if they can afford such nursing homes, the family income will still be higher than the average person.
Therefore, under the premise of not lacking in demand-driven demand, full-scale AI pensions will reduce the cost of research and development to help them increase their penetration rate, and the government's increased investment in welfare pension institutions will also be an indispensable part.
Demand + Technology + Business Institutions + Government Welfare Inputs, or perhaps a comprehensive AI pension will no longer be far off. It may no longer need children or caregivers to realize the old-minded, old-fashioned enjoyment, and AI will become the best companion for humanity in the next year.