Alexa, please take grandma for a walk.

Siri, please check grandpa’s blood pressure and give him the evening dose of medicines.

While are phrases you wish you’d be able to say to your respective assistants, the reality is that you need assistance for the elders in your family.

By 2050, almost 1 out of 4 humans will be 60 years or older (almost a double the number today). With a current population of 106 million, the elderly population is expected to multiply by 3 times in the 60+age group and 5 times in the 80 +age group. The absence of proper healthcare systems and specialized medical services to treat the older population will definitely pose social and financial challenges for the country. Training someone to attend to the needs of the elderly in your homes is and will soon become a necessity.

You’re of course busy with work, home, a social life etc. and while you’d like to provide the best healthcare, personal and psychological care for the elder ones in your family, there is one ingredient missing- time, energy and the right resources to manage it all.

What if assistive robots take this responsibility off your plate?

What if they become your programmed assistants trained and fed with the right information to execute elderly care?

Charlie is Angel

With a massive shift in work and life styles of most young and middle-aged people (who are primary care givers for the elderly), the need for smart solutions to successfully manage elderly healthcare in India has almost become mandatory. Charlie by Achala Health Services, India’s first assistive robot for the elderly, has arrived like an angel to revolutionize elderly healthcare management, with a strong troupe backing it up. From providing customized AI-enabled healthcare solutions that mimic human interaction to simplifying social interactions and providing mental and psychological support, Charlie the robot is all set to become the modern version of Munnabhai (from the film Lage Raho Munnabhai).

Geriatrics is often an ignored field for study and research in India. Despite the growing population of the elderly, the following challenges continue to cripple this population:

• Lack of primary care and nutritional needs
• Counselling and psychological safety services
• Provision of assisted devices
• Social security and pension
• Lack of community training
• Lack of geriatric centres in states
• Poor long term palliative care
• Affordability and financial support
• Elderly abuse in society
• Lack of family support or migrated family members

Furthermore, the geriatric population often suffers from a combination of mental, cognitive, physical and chronic health issues. And the increased use of phones and screens has reduced the qualitative time that youngsters and children spent with their elders making it a psychological problem. Therefore social and technological innovation in this sector will not only improve the quality of life for the elderly, but also help provide the necessary emotional support for them.

Physical and Psychological Safety through AI and IoT

The assistive robotics market (worldwide) is expected to grow from USD 4.1 billion in 2019 to USD 11.2 billion by 2024, at a CAGR of 22.3%. This marks promise for Charlie and with dynamic technical specifications, its use case can be further strengthened to provide the necessary care. Currently, Charlie comes to the rescue with the solutions mentioned below:

• NLP-enabled interface- with trained algorithms providing human-like interactions and engagements
• AI embracing psychiatry- and working in close collaboration to assess data and eventually adapt to the user’s cognitive ability thereby providing personalized care
• Encompassing feelings- and adapting to different personality needs, moods and choices of the user
• Dynamic navigation- and in-depth cameras for object recognition and obstacle avoidance
• Multi-language voice assistance- to make it easy for communication and to build more familiarity and friendliness
• Physical Health reminders and checks- including pulse, blood pressure checks etc. along with 24/7 doctor facilities in addition to medical pill dispenser and reminders
• Socio-emotional support- enabling video conference chats with friends and family members, medical advice and cognitive games
• Safety and security- through smart homes, and engaging environments

The above can be applied to different settings including homes, healthcare centres, day-care centres, old-age homes etc. Just like the name suggests, they shall act as assistants to the primary healthcare providers and help in execution of key responsibilities.

Hello, Charlie; ‘Chalo’, Charlie

For decades together, India has taken pride in its value systems and culture of being proactive with respect to providing and caring for the elderly. Most religious texts mention the young and grown-up child to be the hero and primary caregiver of their parent.

With an increase in the number of young people leaving home, migrating or temporarily stepping out for better opportunities, using robotics to learn and pick up preferences for the elderly and customizing healthcare for this population is the only smart solution.

I can already hear some of saying, “Hello Charlie, please prepare the quarterly, annual report for daadi’s medical and healthcare challenges.”

‘Chalo Charlie, kaam pe lago’(Let’s get to work, Charlie)

Image by Stefan Dr. Schulz from Pixabay