start-up experience from taiwan

© GRC, YZU. All Rights Reserved. 1

Gerontechnology Conference – Lingnan University, Hong Kong

Gerontechnology Landscape and Opportunities

– Start-up experience from Taiwan

CEO

Yeh-Liang Hsu, 徐業良Distinguished Professor, Mechanical Engineering Department

Director, Gerontechnology Research CenterYuan Ze University, Taiwan 元智大學

Editor-in-Chief, Gerontechnology2021/04/15

© GRC, YZU. All Rights Reserved.

Aging boom, baby bust – How technology can help?

• Taiwan became an aged society in 2018, and is expected to become a super aged society by 2025.

• Age 65+: 16.21% (3.82M) @2021/02

The time is NOW: Implement existing technological products in daily applications, rather than developing new technologies.

• Total fertility rate 1.05 @2019 • Aging index: 129.36 @2021/02 • Taiwan had experienced a population

decline in 2020 (-41,885, -0.18%), for the first time ever.

• Life expectancy at age 65: Male 18.6 / female 22.2 @ 2019

• Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) hit a record high 8.4 @ 2018

Not only long term care: Use technology to enhance the physical and cognitive wellness of older adults to prolong their independent, healthy life expectancy.

🡺 Use technology to support caregivers, to reduce their care burden and improve quality of care, and to provide the economic drive to society and industry

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3G’s for the aged society: Gerontology, Geriatrics, Gerontechnology•First International Congress on Gerontechnology, 1991•International Society for Gerontechnology (ISG), 1997

“Design technology and environment for independent living and social participation of older persons in good health, comfort and safety”

•Scope of Gerontechnology: Health, Housing, Mobility, Communication, Leisure, Work

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A design approach to gerontechnology:Creativity 🡺Prototypes 🡺Products 🡺Sales

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Est. 2003

The time is NOW: From R&D to products for daily applications


What exactly do people do in Gerontechnology?

• My (unscientific) classification of the 115 papers published in Gerontechnology from 2017~2021, average 240.9 downloads per paper (data collected 2021/04/14)

1. Monitoring of vital signs / behavior patterns, and platforms for health management⬥ 24 papers (20.9%), 222.9 downloads

2. Technology assistance for everyday lives for older adults and caregivers⬥ 21 papers (18.3%), 259.0 downloads

3. Platforms for social communication and participation of older adults and caregivers⬥ 16 papers (13.9%), 219.8 downloads

4. Technology interventions for enhancing physical and cognitive ability⬥ 19 papers (16.5%), 232.5 downloads

5. Robots for senior care⬥ 7 papers (6.1%), 188.6 downloads

6. General issues: design methodology, education, culture, business, policy, etc.⬥ 28 papers (24.3%), 255.8 downloads

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Ambient intelligence: Everyday environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of human

“Smart” technology? Precision aged care, precision healthy aging


Smart technology for precision aged care – starting from the bed

• WhizPad is a comfortable mattress made by temperature-sensitive pressure-relieve foam to prevent from pressure ulcers.

6Taipei Veteran Hospital

• Motion sensing with 30 sensing areas.• Machine Learning to capture the intention of the patient leaving

bed to prevent hospital falls by the three-stage leave bed alert. • Edge AI: Neural Network model deployed on chip• Cloud AI: Living pattern recognition, sleep quality

The most attractive feature to the caregivers: WhizPad is powered by two AAA batteries

伯伯啊！您下來有甚麼事情嗎？

Sir, do you need anything?


Smart technologies that belong to the home (not high end technologies…)

• Bluetooth, mobile device, mattress, floor mat, chair cushion…

• Flexible solution (not total solution)

Edge AI: event identification

Cloud AI: pattern recognition

3rd Party service cloud

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How technology can be accepted as a natural part of older adults’ everyday lives in the homes?

NB-IoT: the last mile to the homes


Physical activity + cognitive activity + fun technology

Mother Hsu’s new problem

• Play comes first: Serious game design• Bring the “gerontechnology gym” to the older adults

to create peer encouragement.

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Smart technology for precision healthy aging… What is the added value?

• Gamification: video, music, lighting, stories, games, companion, competition – more fun and motivation!

• Performance can be recorded for future references – not just a happy day…

• Customized game menu for each older adult.

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API

AWS IoTAWS DB

Data analysisEvent decision

Cloud

Cloud

Cloud

WhizToys

服務商(長者居家照護服務機構、樂齡活動與健康促進機構)

開發商

BLE Open API


The future world needs transdisciplinary talents

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Yeh-Liang Hsu, [email protected]

Thank you

Transdisciplinary learningReal world problems and experience

“Design” is our common language!

• Start-up company founded in April 2016, at the age of 53…

• 8 co-founders are students graduated from the research center

start-up experience from taiwan

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