The Technologies of Caring

 With the social trends and changes such as population aging, increase in single-person households, and non-face-to-face era, the need for care is increasing in our society. In Korea, the term ‘caring economy’ was selected as one of the top 10 keywords this year. Today, we will learn about ‘caring’ skills that apply to all of our lives.

Movement to prevent lonely deaths

  This is a management system for seniors living alone using door and electric rice cookers invented by software startup VEAT. There is a steady increase in the number of cases where elderly people living alone are left for dead because they are unable to get care missing golden moments. This invention is attracting attention as an effective solution to prevent lonely deaths.

wipsglobal.com
KR10-2578700, 'Management system for the elderly living along using a door'

  The "Management System for the Elderly Living Alone" is an SNS-based patent that attaches sensors to various types of doors installed in rooms, electric rice cookers, furniture, refrigerators, etc., and periodically checks the daily life reactions that occur from movements when the doors are opened and closed. It consists of the four elements below.

  As the non-face-to-face system began in earnest with the pandemic, deaths of loneliness among the elderly and the underprivileged, as well as among the younger generation, have recently emerged. It is said that this is a time when digital care that can provide care without face-to-face contact is truly needed. I feel reassured that with VEAT's technology, I can look into places that cannot be seen before my eyes and reach out with a caring hand.

Hearty AI that becomes your companion

  The caring is not limited to the body and saving lives. Since humans are social animals, they also need care that can provide psychological stability and a sense of connection. As AI technology has become a mega trend, robots that comfort tired minds and emotional deficiencies are appearing. Representative examples include AI speakers and Ballie, the intelligent pet robot introduced by Samsung Electronics at CES 2024 in January.

  The AI caring technology I’m introducing now is a customized conversation connection service provided by 1thefull Platform Limited, a convergence life care solution platform company that cares for the elderly through robots equipped with artificial intelligence. The robot with this technology is equipped with a chatbot on the server, which takes care of the emotions of elderly people and single-person households who do not have companions and plays a role in relieving depression. This invention connects a conversation brokerage server and a user terminal through the following steps and provide an environment where users of the terminal can communicate with each other.

wipsglobal.com
KR10-2359228, 'Method for customized conversation connection service'

  In other words, the robot conducts the customized conversations based on various conditions such as personal tendencies, living environment, and conscious and unconscious tendencies. As AI companion robot technology develops further, it is expected that smooth communication will be possible on a wider range of topics in the future. I hope this will make single-person households to feel comfortable and happy.

Dasom, 1theful Platform AI Robot 
(source: https://1thefull.com)

Automatic defecation disposal device that delicately cares for patients

  The industry and occupation that is attracting attention in the era of care is the nursing field. Korea has entered an aging society with 18.9% of the elderly population as of 2023. Considering these trends and phenomena, the demand for nursing medical devices for seniors is expected to increase further in the future. The technology I’m introducing is the automatic defecation disposal device technology from Curaco, a company that manufactures medical care robots. This technology, which was invented for the elderly and patients who have difficulty moving their bodies freely, was released as a product called Carebidet and is said to be attracting a lot of attention in Japan.

Automatic toilet disposal device 'Carebidet' set
(source: https://www.curaco.co.kr)

  This invention prevents the foul odor of excrement from being discharged outside the main body and at the same time suppresses the generation of noise through the air outlet. The automatic excrement disposal device consists of (1) the fixture equipped with feces receiving part, and (2) a main body that performs control to vacuum-suction, store, and clean the excrement from the fixture.

wipsglobal.com
KR10-1214454, 'Automatic excrement treating apparatus'

  Here, the fixture is connected to the excrement suction line and cleaning air supply line. The fixture consists of a waste storage part and a filter part to purify the air, a waste suction part to discharge air to the outside, an air inlet through which air flows in from the waste suction part, an air outlet to discharge the inflowed air to the outside, and an air outlet provided to filter the discharged air.

  These excrement disposal devices have air filtration elements installed in the air flow path that are discharged to the outside to remove odors from the discharged air. Additionally, noise from the outlet can also be blocked. With this kind of technology, I think it would be possible to maintain a comfortable indoor environment even after nursing. Furthermore, it is said to have the effect of relieving the patient's shame by immediately processing urine and feces and cleaning and drying through the bidet function.

 

  So far, we have learned about several technologies for caring. Caring is something we all need at some point, so these technology makes us grateful and reassuring. I hope that caring technologies that take care of the human body and mind and solve social problems in various forms and functions will continue to develop in the future.