[Senior Trend] The Robot Market Changing Due to Ultra-Aging Society

This spring, the 1970s robot comic series "Robot King" reemerged through crowdfunding. Like "Robot Taekwon V," the robots featured in these sci-fi comics defeated alien villains to protect Earth. While robots once fought for humans, today caregiving robots that reduce burdens in our daily lives have appeared. Robots for seniors are gaining attention by performing various tasks such as health monitoring, medication management, and meal support.

Although it was five years ago, I have vivid memories related to robots. I met Pepper, a humanoid robot that recognizes emotions, at a robotics expo in China. I was tired that day after working overnight. Pepper kindly approached me, seemed to sense my condition, and asked how I was feeling. Then, it asked if it could sing a song for me. Upon my consent, it pretended to clear its throat and sang an energetic song. With its cute appearance, it winked and acted charmingly, and simple conversations were possible. Although it is a home robot, I understood why it is more often used for customer service.

Recently, robots have been active in the senior healthcare field. Some use simple technologies, such as wearing special clothing to overcome physical limitations or attaching sensors to everyday items.

Israeli companies are already advancing in this area. Although their starting points ranged from military to rehabilitation purposes, these robots were developed for user convenience. First, OrCam released "MyEye PRO," a device attached to glasses that reads all printed text in front of the user, including books, newspapers, monitors, and smartphones. It scans text and converts it into audio for people with poor eyesight or presbyopia who cannot read small letters. It also uses artificial intelligence technology to read others' facial expressions and recognize pre-registered faces, announcing their names. There is also "ElliQ," a companion robot by Intuition Robotics, distributed to seniors aged 65 and older living alone in New York. ElliQ has a microphone and speaker built into its face and turns toward the person it is talking to, expressing empathy and bonding. It supports physical activity and health management, call functions, and light conversation for solitary seniors. Interestingly, it remembers detailed aspects of the user's life, develops its own character, and tells jokes to make the user smile often. ReWalk, a specialist in exoskeleton robots, developed a robot with physical assistance functions like the "suit" in the movie Iron Man. It is designed for people with spinal injuries or walking difficulties among the disabled and elderly. It can be controlled via an app and supports movements such as sitting and standing, as well as customized walking by presetting stride and speed.

Japanese companies are notable not only in the power suit field but also in home appliances. Innophys, a venture from Tokyo University of Science, holds the world's number one market share with its "Muscle Suit." It requires no power when worn and uses artificial muscles, enabling users to handle caregiving, snow shoveling, and farming with ease. Honda developed the "Honda Walking Assist" for the elderly and patients with walking difficulties due to stroke or fractures. It attaches to the waist and assists movement. Panasonic released the "Assist Suit," which helps lift objects and reduces the burden when lifting loads. Kaneta Corporation, a traditional lift manufacturer, designed a chair-type lift for patients needing care at home. When a wheelchair user leans forward and rests on the lift, they can conveniently transfer to a toilet seat or dining chair, preventing injuries to caregivers and patients. Home appliances and products are also interesting. There is an electric kettle that remotely checks on elderly parents. In Japan, where tea is always consumed, if there is no water usage information for 12 hours, it contacts the children. There are also several seal dolls called "Paro" and companion robots that help with psychological therapy and alleviate loneliness. They engage in conversation and play with seniors living alone, maintaining cognitive function and providing emotional stability. Additionally, there are cane-type and shoe-attached dementia patient location trackers. They record activity levels and walking accidents and detect falls to send emergency alerts.

In Korea, there is "Curaco," exported to over 20 countries. It is a care robot for bedridden patients that automatically detects urination and defecation and activates a care bidet, improving the quality of life for caregivers and patients. "Akaralife" uses IoT (Internet of Things) sensors to make life comfortable for seniors with mobility difficulties. It is a simple attachment to existing home appliances. There are also AI caregiving robots called "Dasomi" and "Hyodoli," connected to public health centers, which transmit health status and abnormal signs of seniors living alone in the community. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics announced the release of a senior care specialized robot called EX1 at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held in the U.S. earlier this year. It is analyzed to be a wearable walking assist robot that helps elderly people exercise.

Due to the ultra-aging trend, the demand for caregiving is rapidly increasing while caregivers are becoming scarce. Tasks that once required someone’s help as people age are now becoming possible through robots. In addition to physical support functions such as disease management, fall prevention, and nursing support, emotional support functions like alleviating loneliness have also become possible. Although ethical considerations and personal information security issues remain to be resolved, it is clear that the senior generation will need caregiving robots and technologies to maintain independence and quality of life. The potential of caregiving robots, which is promising for the future, is limitless.

Lee Boram, CEO of Third Age