The Digital Pickwick Club: A Nursing Home of the Future

Social companion robots, chatbots, telemedicine, digital tattoos, gamification – the necessary accessories of a nursing home of the future. Do you shake your head in disagreement thinking that’s science fiction and not the natural habitat of your grandma? Our short story of Dickens’ 21st-century reconstruction, the digital Pickwick Club will convince you otherwise. From Santa Fé to Sapporo: An artist with a robot companion 24 May, 2054. In Santa Fe, New Mexico, the smart alarm tells Amy gently that it’s time for her to get up. It’s somewhere between 5.30 and 6 a.m., wakeup adjusted to her very own circadian rhythm. The 76-year-old loves the early mornings, that’s when she gets the most creative. Before retirement, she had a small art gallery in San Francisco but moved when the tech scene overtook the city, and rental prices went crazy. Now, she lives in a hacienda-style house with a porch, two cats and her social companion robot, Liz. At first, the tech-phobic grey-haired dame with tie-dyed cloths from her hippie era and thousands of bracelets on her arms and ankles, couldn’t get over the fact that technology would create unnatural vibes around her, so she refused her children’s Christmas gift. However, after she spent two hours trapped on the floor of her bathroom after she fell, Amy realized she needed company – and Liz takes care of her every need. She reminds her to take her medication, keeps her agenda, makes sure she doesn’t forget her calls or fee...
Source: The Medical Futurist - Category: Information Technology Authors: Tags: Medical Professionals Medical Science Fiction Patients AI artificial intelligence chatbot digital elderly elderly care future nursing home robot sci-fi short story smart home smartphone social companion robot technology Source Type: blogs