How technology will transform retirement...

How technology will transform retirement

http://www.businessspectator.com.au...logy/how-technology-will-transform-retirement

The next-generation retiree will have an unprecedented array of technologies and tech-enabled services to invent a new future for working part time, remaining social, having fun, living at home, staying healthy and arranging care.

Many of the solutions will be driven by the “Internet of Things”
Now the Internet of Things is promising to help retirees—and the family members who are often their primary source of care—stay on top of their health. Machines might keep track of details a retiree might find hard to remember during an appointment, or might not think to be concerned about.

An intelligent coffee maker might communicate wirelessly with a smart toothbrush, and together they would learn what time their owners typically wake. Sleep late or wake early, and the gadgets will alert a physician that the retiree has broken with routine. A tricked-out bathroom, meanwhile, will feature a mirror that scans owners’ faces to detect warning signs of cardiovascular disease and risks of heart attack or stroke.

Devices would also monitor physical data that can be a burden for retirees to record and report. A smart toilet, for one, might report to a distant call center its owner’s weight, blood-glucose level and other vitals.

Clothes will also go high-tech. Smart materials and sensors woven into underwear will detect retirees’ activity level and vitals such as heart rate. Eventually, these clothes will have features that will reduce the chance of injury by cushioning the impact should the retiree fall. But before that happens, sensors in the carpet will detect that a retiree’s walk has become a shuffle and alert family or physician.

Robots will put in an appearance here, too, to spare retirees and families the burden of daily worry and traveling to constant doctors’ appointments. Operated by a remote nurse, a robot will roll through the home to check in on retirees, review vitals and even have a chat before returning to sleep mode in a corner.