ALFRED: walker for seniors of 2030; it follows you
Envisioning a new business that meets the needs, wants and desires of residential consumers in NorthAmerica, with automation and robotics based solutions and sustainable competitive advantages in 2030.
The assistive mode is used when one wants Alfred to walk beside them or hold onto it while walking.
The autonomous mode is for when the user wants the walker to go away and park itself to its charging dock.
Social impact potential
Mobility is essential to healthy aging as it satisfies the human need for physical movement and prevents muscle deterioration. The assistive walker, Alfred, offers confidence and independence for its users to freely venture inside and outside their homes to maintain a balanced lifestyle and fulfill social needs that enable mental stimulation. The confluence of a large aging population with rapid advancements in technology opens up opportunities to build sustainable societies and communities for healthy living in retirement years.
Activity restrictions can lead to physical deconditioning and ultimately lower the quality of life. Hence, Alfred not only provides the usability value of assistance, enabling increased physical movement, but also the emotional values of understanding its owner's needs and never leaving their side.
Alfred walks by your side, at your pace.
Most assistive mobility devices need to be carried by the user, making these experiences awkward and even dangerous. Alfred uses rangefinder laser scanners to study the gait of the users and move next to them autonomously, to be of support when needed but not getting in their way or requiring them to do extra work.
Alfred is always at your beck and call
Alfred provides the simple convenience of following the user and taking care of them as opposed to them having to care for their walker. It works on voice commands which makes the human-machine interaction easier to adopt and more natural for the aging population who might get confused with a new interface and unfamiliar buttons.
When the user wants to chat with their friends and family in a social setting, Alfred doesn't stand in the way. It goes away and parks itself when not needed at their command. The user can call it back to themselves whenever they need support, like to get off the couch or to take a walk.
Alfred allows you to take a break whenever and wherever you want
Seniors can experience fatigue after short walks, wanting to rest into a seat to take breaks while out on a stroll, which is the current motivation for using rollators. Hence, Alfred's design integrates collapsible seats to serve
that function.
Alfred provides you support where there is none
Alfred is a stair climbing walker. According to a Pew Research report, 61% of the people 65 and above desire to age in place. Baby Boomers, currently between 50-64 years, resonated with this trend and most of them would want to continue living in their homes after retirement. Most houses have stairs and are not always built with aging in mind. Alfred can reconfigure itself to be oriented on a staircase to function as a hand-rail support
while climbing.
Thank you!
