China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Smart home tech brings benefits to senior citizens
Affordable AI improves lives of elderly people at Puleyuan facility in nation’s capital
Smart home technology doesn’t just mean using apps and automation. For example, you can now be sitting at the office and simply tell your smart home to turn on the lamps at sunset, or wake up and order the curtains to rise as you do.
And gadgets that support voice demands aren’t just for tech-savvy young people, either.
Consider, for example, the Puleyuan Nursing Home in South Beijing, where air conditioners, curtains, lighting, TV sets and other electronic devices in the suites are interconnected and controlled by smart speaker Tmall Genie.
The gadget, developed by tech titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, started as a speaker capable of streaming whatever music or audio programmes it was asked to play, but has quickly demonstrated the ability to do more.
Rooms are equipped with sensors that can detect human presence, as well as the humidity and temperature, which ensures the safety of the environment for the residents.
At night, it can also sense wake-up movements and automatically turn on the lights, thus reducing the workload of the night shift nursing staff.
The pilot project to revamp and upgrade nursing homes is the first of its kind nationwide.
It is also the result of recent advancements in internet of things technology and speech recognition, an important part of artificial intelligence, said Chen Lijuan, head of Alibaba AI Lab.
In July, the country unveiled a national development plan to build a 1 trillion yuan ($151 billion) AI core industry by 2030. This is supposed to stimulate as much as 10 trillion yuan in related businesses.
Yan Shuai, head of the nursing home, said such applica- tions would help improve the work efficiency of the nursing staff and significantly enhance the quality of life for the older generation.
“Besides, the idea of a voicecontrolled home will make nursing homes an even more attractive choice for the elderly, and they are totally affordable,” he said.
A Tmall Genie costs 499 yuan and other sensors are priced at around 100 yuan. Residents don’t have to pay extra for these services.
“More than one million Chinese families are using Tmall Genie,” said Nie Zaiqing, an AI research senior director at Alibaba. “In the next stage, we will cooperate with more partners to develop internet of things products for senior people and children.”
China will have 400 million people aged 60 or more before 2033, and that group is expected to represent one-third of the entire population by 2050, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Meanwhile, the senior care market is forecast to explode to 106 trillion yuan by 2050, accounting for one-third of the gross domestic product by then.