Ninety-four-year old Lea is able to stay home thanks to the care she receives from a robot. Often described as a kind of Skype on wheels, it’s part of a European project entitled Giraffplus, which connects elderly people with the world outside. These remote-controlled machines are being tested as substitutes for round-the-clock carers to face the needs of a rapidly ageing society. <br /><br />“I know that if something happens to me, say, I fall or I faint, I can send an SOS by remote control. I press a green button and the video turns on. A doctor or a therapist appears and asks me how I’m doing. I can see them and they can see me and they can treat me from home,” says Lea. <br /><br />The “Giraff” robot, which lends its name to the project, can be tailored to each patient’s needs. It uses a Skype-like interface to allow relatives or caregivers to pay the elderly person virtual visits in their home. <br /><br />“The idea is to incorporate sensors that can help monitor different kinds of situations, to help prevent dangerous scenarios inside a home like gas or water leaks for example, but also to monitor any symptoms of illness in the patient,” says Giraffplus technical manager, Gabriella Cortellessa. <br /><br />Lea, who has been using the robot for half a year, often writes about it on her blog, and has even given it a nickname – ‘Mr Robin’. It may not be everyone’s idea of the ideal companion, but for many elderly people such a device could give them the chance to stay in their own homes rather than be forced to move into a nursing home. <br /><br />Giraffplus is expected to be in commercial production by the end of 2015.
