The use of AI and robotics to help elderly people manage and create a better and safer quality of life

Since early 2000, we have robots available to help humans in a commercial way. Elderly people who are often on their own could find their use helpful. This is the case for example in Japan. Let’s look at how these intelligent robots could help while creating a very large amount of data to ensure better healthcare, better monitoring and safer environment.

What is AI and robotics:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a computer program designed for tasks normally requiring human intelligence (a human’s ability to learn). AI is now being mixed with data management. AI would make the robot decide which activity to prioritize. Even though the first robots where so-called independents, it was actually microprograms with higher priorities that would decide which action to perform.

Things have evolved. Now AI is about predictive analytics and behavior analysis (of course all the work around robotics uses AI as well and you can see real time operating systems working to make robots more independent and performing more complex tasks). AI and data together are the assurance of great quality of data, great analysis and very precise tasks like we have never seen before.

It is important to realize the difference between robotics and AI. Robotics are machines that use AI to operate. An intelligent robot can move and perform actions. AI is based on real time operating systems and ensures the robots perform as expected.

What can robots do?

Legs of disable man in the robotic exoskeleton walking through the corridor of the rehabilitation clinic. Doctor helping him.

Intelligent robots can move around a house and check on a person. It can entertain, call a number in case of an emergency, record a conversation, have a limited conversation, protect and prevent in case of burglary. Robots can be a companion while ensuring great privacy. Robots could save lives.

Today you could see an intelligent robot being used in a home and scanning its environment and if somethings is different, being able to assess and decide whether to call an emergency number or to fix the problem.

While doing so, the robot will create a lot of data. We could have limitless potential with this data: video data, voice data, IoT (Internet of Things) data and data collected with connected objects such as glucometer, thermometer, scales…

At any point, thanks to telemedicine and data collected, a remotely based doctor could intervene and save a patient’s life. This will ensure patients stay at home and enjoy a better quality of life while being closely monitored.

The more the intelligent robot will be used, the more accurate its data will be. Predictive analytics would then allow as well to predict glycemia issues (in case of diabetes for example), potential stroke (when blood pressure is high) or fainting (when blood pressure is low). These are just example, but all diseases could be monitored.

Senior care and future technology as an old Alzheimer patient or elderly dementia homecare as a supportive caregiver robot assistant providing end of life aging support with 3D Illustration elements concept.

Health professionals will be able to diagnose better and to prevent potential diseases or problems. They could prevent a problem from occurring and when the analysis predicts an issue, the phone could ring and ask the patient to check his/her blood pressure or glycemia level for example. The data available not only will cover your past information, your parent’s and grandparent’s information but also all research data available from researcher and universities. Diagnostic will be much more precise and life expectancy will then increase.

Technology had to evolve to allow for all these changes. First, we have seen Big Data appearing. Big Data is the base of it all. It is how this huge quantity of data is organized and how it is structured to come out and give analytics of such a massive amount of data. The Big Data databases are structured in such a way that the information comes out crossed analyzed and crystal clear to do all types of analytics. But Big Data databases need to sit on cloud technologies to make data available on demand without direct active management by the user. All resources especially storage (for data) and computing power are available to all (provided you have a good partner).

In conclusion, we now see great potential with intelligent robots and data. New technologies such as AI, Connected Objects (IoT – Internet of Things), robots and all type of bots, Data Management Platform, Ecommerce platforms, Social Media Platforms and cloud technologies are allowing precise and optimize analysis and information. Companies can predict better what you wish and serve you better ensuring you do not wait long to get your products, solution or services.

Man will never stop innovating. This path we are on is limitless.

However, we need to be careful because with new technology comes new responsibility. Anything that has to do with data privacy and data ownership needs to be strictly monitored. Everybody is allowed data privacy and data ownership needs to be respected. Let’s enjoy the power of technology and the ease in everybody’s life but let’s be careful about the other side and how it could damage our lives.

All this is available today and very well protected. With leading edge IBM cloud engineering, companies can benefit from state of the art set up and cost-effective technologies. Get your free 12K cloud credits at