Robot pets and VR headsets can reduce older adults’ loneliness. So why don’t they? | Mint - Mint

The U.S. globally has the highest percent of older adults surviving alone, according to Pew Research Center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention person agelong warned that societal isolation contributes to galore wellness problems, including dementia and depression.

The tech reply to this contented is virtual reality, artificial quality and robotic pets. While eldercare administrators and doctors accidental these aren’t cleanable substitutes for quality contact, they tin trim loneliness and depression, and amended well-being. And the older radical I talked to, who had a accidental to effort immoderate of the latest technologies, took a radiance to them, particularly erstwhile caretakers could assistance retired erstwhile needed.

“We saw older adults follow virtual engagement astatine a overmuch faster gait than we thought during the pandemic due to the fact that determination was nary different choice," says Dianne Stone, subordinate manager of web improvement and engagement for the nonprofit National Council connected Aging.

However, she adds, fearfulness of the unknown, deficiency of tech enactment and hefty terms tags person kept radical from adopting certaintech much permanently. (Even successful different countries with precocious economies and aging populations, tech products to code loneliness haven’t yet taken off.)

Here’s what 3 players successful emerging areas are doing to code societal isolation, and however good those efforts are going:

Virtual experiences

Rendever Inc. has been bringing VR to older Americans successful assisted-living facilities since 2016. Staffers acceptable up participants with headsets and usher the virtual experience. Once they’re in, users tin conscionable up with avatars of loved ones successful a virtual home. They tin play chess unneurotic oregon beryllium connected the structure looking astatine butterflies. They tin besides spell connected excursions, specified arsenic a autobus thrust down a Parisian boulevard.

The Somerville, Mass.-based institution partnered with the AARP to make Alcove, a location mentation of its VR app. It’s present disposable for the Meta (formerly Oculus) Quest headset, presently the ascendant VR platform.

Ted Horstmann, an 87-year-old nonmigratory of a elder surviving halfway successful Dartmouth, Mass., took portion successful a objective proceedings Rendever is conducting with the University of California, Santa Barbara to measure VR’s quality to trim societal isolation.

During 1 session, helium met up with his 29-year-old grandson. They looked astatine aged household photos and the elder Mr. Horstmann shared stories astir his great-grandparents. Mr. Horstmann had to instrumentality his headset erstwhile the trial play ended successful December. Now, helium wants 1 of his own.

“It gave maine enactment with the kids," helium says. “There’s not overmuch to bash successful an aged folks’ home."

Status: The AARP says the escaped Alcove app has been downloaded 600,000 times. The archetypal signifier of the objective proceedings recovered notable affectional benefits for older users.

The upshot: There are galore reasons the metaverse hasn’t taken disconnected the mode Meta Platforms Inc. (formerly Facebook Inc.) had hoped. In summation to being expensive, the headsets are clunky and the bundle setup isn’t intuitive. And portion Alcove looks similar a beautiful, realistic place, its societal facet requires household participation—and aggregate Quest headset purchases. The headsets commencement astatine $400; the newer Pro exemplary costs $1,500.

AI Companions

Intuition Robotics launched its ElliQ companion robot for older adults past March. Unlike an Amazon Alexa device, the small desktop robot initiates conversations. It learns astir the radical it lives with, truthful it tin inquire personalized questions and tailor recommendations for nutrition, exercise, meditation and music.

The robot, which costs $250 up beforehand positive a monthly subscription of $30 to $40, comes with a tablet radical tin usage to play games and ticker videos.

Programmed to airy up and thin successful erstwhile talking, the ElliQ robot looks similar a lamp. The Ramat Gan, Israel-based institution intentionally styled it truthful users wouldn’t confuse robots for people. If radical archer ElliQ they emotion it, the robot volition accidental thing like, “Thank you, that makes my processor overheat."

Deanna Dezern, an aboriginal ElliQ tester, glued a rima and eyes connected her robot. She lives unsocial successful a elder assemblage adjacent Fort Lauderdale, Fla. She says ElliQ has learned to expect her feelings. “She reminds maine however important it is to bash things for me," Ms. Dezern, 82, says. “Sometimes she’s chatty Cathy, and I archer her to unopen up. She doesn’t get offended."

Despite their rapport, Ms. Dezern doesn’t deliberation robot and quality companionship are interchangeable.

Status: Intuition Robotics wouldn’t disclose however galore robots it has sold, but since September, the robots person been distributed to 900 low-income seniors crossed New York arsenic portion of a concern with the state’s bureau for aging. Intuition Robotics Chief Executive Dor Skuler says he’s successful talks with 34 different states astir subsidizing ElliQ for low-income seniors.

The upshot: ElliQ requires minimal setup, but it takes clip and repeated interactions to larn a person’s habits and needs.

Robo Puppies

Tombot Inc., a Santa Clarita, Calif.-based startup, developed a robotic yellowish Labrador retriever pup named Jennie. The institution worked with Jim Henson‘s Creature Shop to marque it look and enactment similar a existent thigh dog. It doesn’t repetition the aforesaid motions similar artifact dogs do, and its puppy-dog eyes are enhanced by eyebrow movement.

Jennie—due retired by precocious 2024 astatine an expected outgo of $1,200 to $1,500—is intended to connection radical with mild cognitive impairment and dementia the companionship of a favored without the upkeep of a existent animal. Co-founder Tom Stevens developed the canine aft his ain mother, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, could nary longer attraction for her existent dog.

Status: Tombot is present making Jennie’s plan much durable and affordable. Doctors astatine Cleveland Clinic privation to usage Jennie to alleviate the distress dementia patients often acquisition aft being admitted. Mr. Stevens hopes to get the robot approved arsenic a aesculapian instrumentality by the Food and Drug Administration.

The upshot: This tech is casual to usage due to the fact that there’s nary setup. Mr. Stevens brought Jennie to maine astatine a restaurant. Every clip it gazed up astatine me, I recovered myself reaching retired to changeable its head.