SHONG KONG (AFP) – Track sleep quality online, grab an object with a robotic hand, or count calories in a meal. In China, with a growing aging population, technology is supporting the daily lives of the elderly.
Hundreds of retirees attended an exhibition in Shanghai this week. All sorts of innovations designed to make everyday life easier were showcased at the booths.
In 2022, according to official statistics, out of a population of 1.4 billion, people over the age of 65 comprised about 215 million people.
The population has increased steadily for 60 years, but has recorded a decline since 2020. The situation raises fears of a sharp reduction in the active population and further pressure on the health system as the country has an increasingly aging population.
As families usually have only one child, it is difficult for them to take care of their aging parents exclusively. Exhibitors at the fair are aware of this and are proposing to use technology as a solution. However, the use of this tool represents a real revolution in a country where tradition prefers family members to take care of their elders at home.
Save costs
Yu, 64, watches closely as a company demonstrates an automatic stair-climbing chair and equipment to transfer a person from a bed to a wheelchair.
“Nowadays there are fewer young people and more old people. These intelligent products can provide better services to the elderly,” he says.
She herself says she has already bought smart chairs and beds for elderly members of her family, including a 90-year-old cousin she cares for.
Elsewhere, Shenzhen-based Innopro, in southern China, uses connected clocks, motion detectors and temperature-measuring devices to ensure constant, high-tech monitoring of households.
Its clients include nursing homes and local authorities. “For companies, the hope is to save labor costs because controls have to be put in place [a cada residente] Every night,” Innopro employee Jin Guohui explains to AFP.
“With this device, we reduce your size [carga de] Work,” he adds, showing a small white box with a SIM card that measures each person’s habits.
Generational differences
Eihoo Health Management, another company that runs dining halls for seniors, offers food on a plate that comes with chips and allows you to identify what is being served.
When you pay, the device reads information from the chip and provides a complete nutrition report with calorie counts and a breakdown of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, making it easy to monitor your health.
Regular users can set up payment cards that track their weight, nutritional habits and health data.
In a student booth at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, a robotic arm is on display that helps people with limited mobility perform daily tasks such as feeding themselves or turning doorknobs.
There are “clear differences” between the elderly in today’s China and those of previous generations, agrees Shi Wenjun, 73, who attended the exhibition.
“We are all single-child parents” and “our children are approaching 50, they have their jobs, their families. As we get older, we will choose the care structures proposed by the government for the elderly,” he says.
