We all get lonely. It is a fact of life that at one time or another, we can feel isolated from our friends and loved ones.
That can only increase in our later years.
An estimated 14 million Americans over the age of 65 live alone and that is only projected to increase over the next decade. Studies have shown that long-term loneliness can even be as damaging to an individual’s health as smoking.
These are just some of the reasons why a pilot scheme, organised by the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA) will distribute robot companions to the homes of more than 800 older adults. These robots aren’t a live-in helper, or even able to help with physical tasks at all.
They are named ElliQ and are designed to provide companionship as a more “proactive” version of Siri or Alexa – Able to remember key details about the user’s life and able to shape it’s character to the users own. For example ElliQ will tell more jokes if the user tends to laugh a lot.
Accompanied by a separate touchscreen tablet, it is also able to display pictures, additional information and help the user conduct video calls. Having been in development for years with Israeli firm Intuition Robotics.
New York State’s adoption of the companion is only one of dozens of home trials designed to hone and improve ElliQ’s functionality. Studies suggest that social robots do appear to have the potential to improve the well-being of older adults, but critics warn that widespread usage of these machines could have the potential to dehumanize users and may reflect the low value that society places on older adults.
Ultimately, loneliness in our elderly is a problem that needs to be focused on, and will be there with or without companions such as these, so any attempt to change this can only positively change someone’s life.
Read more here - https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/25/23140936/ny-state-distribute-home-robot-companions-nysofa-elliq
