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Healthy Aging: Robots have a lot to offer older people Sunday Jan 29, 2017 at 12:01 AM By Sharon Johnson for the Mail Tribune We call her “Alice.” She’s been with us for more than two years, docked in our utility room and called upon to gather dog hair and dust from our floors on a daily basis. Her self-determined circling and bumping motions reassure me that needed cleaning will get done and I do not have to do it. Alice travels from room to room in our house as if on a mission. She is focused and intentional. I am occasionally amazed at what she vacuums up — and always appreciative when she does. An attempt at our dog’s long, flopping tail — maybe not so much. When Alice has exhausted herself in her efforts to keep our household intact, a pleasant female voice says, “Please charge Roomba,” which is her maiden name. I immediately put her on the docking station, always marveling at the fact she said, “Please.” Alice aka Roomba was our first introduction to in-the-home “robots.” But then we met Alexa. She is billed as a “personal assistant” and advertised as Amazon Echo. New on the market, she was quite the attraction during the recent holiday season, I am told. Alexa is a black, cylindrical, voice-activated “robot” that you link to your Wi-Fi and then simply plug into an available outlet. She was a combined birthday and Christmas gift to my husband. He is quite the skeptic and a hard man to shop for — and he really liked her. It took about five minutes. Maybe it happened when he asked Alexa to play his favorite Glen Miller medley and she did so within seconds. It might have been when she knew the time of a televised football game he wanted to watch. Maybe it happened when I asked Alexa if she could “tell me the name of my husband,” and she responded with, “I’m surprised you do not already have that information.” We have found that Alexa has a very well-defined sense of humor. A recent article in the Sunday New York Times said what’s true for me, “Seniors Welcome Battery Powered Friends.” Older adults stand ready to embrace technology. Not only do we welcome these new “friends,” but we sometimes become totally smitten. As the director of the AgeLab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology puts it, “For too long technology has been chasing problems rather than trying to delight human beings.” The next 5 to 7 years will be pivotal in terms of new technology being embraced by old people. It’s becoming clear that robots in some form will assist, educate, engage and entertain older adults. Think about the possibilities. Robots could help “augment the adult caregiver role.” They could positively impact isolation and loneliness. I envision robots that prompt people to take their medications in a timely fashion and encourage nutrient-dense eating. Robots you can snuggle exist in Japan. Therapy robots to help ease dementia symptoms are being studied. Robots that lift and carry bed-bound elders when fatigued caregivers cannot are a reality in some areas. I envision our neighborhood getting its own robotic helper someday soon. It will roll along our sidewalks from house to house engaging individuals and families. I’ll check with neighbors, of course, but I think “Mr. Rogers” would be an appropriate name. — Sharon Johnson is a retired Oregon State University associate professor. Reach her at [email protected].