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Gerontechnologist
Develops technology specifically designed to improve the lives of elderly people — smart homes, health monitors, wearables.
Did you know?
Japanese researchers built ROBEAR, a nursing-care robot that can lift a patient from a bed into a wheelchair.
How subjects help
- Engineering: Build sensors that notice when someone falls at home and alert their family or carer.
- Biology: Understand how eyesight, hearing and grip change with age so devices still work well.
- Psychology: Find out why some older people avoid new gadgets and make technology feel friendly.
- Art & Design: Design buttons, screens and text that are big, clear and easy to use with shaky hands.
A famous name
Joseph Coughlin: Founded the MIT AgeLab in 1999 to design technology that improves the lives of older people.
Try it yourself: Design something easier to hold
- Put on an oven glove and try to pick up and use a spoon. This is a little like having stiff, sore hands.
- Make the handle thicker and softer by wrapping it with a sponge or towel and taping it.
- Try again with the glove on. Is it easier? What could be even better?
- Think of an older relative. What else at home could be redesigned to be easier for them to use?
Prosthetists and designers of technology for older people fit their designs to one person's body and needs, then test and adjust.
Also try: Map the helpers near you.
Known for it in
Japan, Germany, Netherlands, USA, Sweden