Facial recognition technology shows its potential
Car manufacturer Volvo is investing in Australian company Seeing Machines with a view to including its facial recognition system into cars to alert drivers when their eye and facial movements are showing signs of fatigue. At the moment this technology is pushing the boundaries in terms of a pointer to the future of telecare devices. Interesting video and other illustrative material on the Seeing Machines website. Volvo story.
New home-centric robuter to assist people (France)
Maybe it has lost something in translation from the French, but the web page featuring this development is in danger of alienating poeple who work with two groups of potential stakeholders. It says “The prototype demonstrated at Microsoft’s Innovation Day in Brussels shows how service robots can help elderly and handicapped people staying at home.”
Disabilities declining amongst older people (US)
This item challenges the assumption that as the numbers of older people in the population increases, so does the number of people acquiring impairments. Dr. Richard Suzman, the director of the behavioral and social research program at the National Institute on Aging is quoted as saying that “the drop in disabilities, which has averaged about 1.5 percent a year since 1984, might not continue. But if it does it’s like the reverse of compound interest. You could end up with a flat number – not a flat percentage – of disabled elderly between 1990 and 2030, despite a huge increase in the size of the elderly population.” Press report.