Robots and senior citizens could end up as very good buddies in the near future, thanks to the Singapore government’s “Digital Inclusion” initiative. One segment of this initiative will see the Singapore government work alongside Ngee Ann Polytechnic, having introduced the RoboCoach. The RoboCoach is a robot exercise instructor that will specifically cater for the elderly.
Majority of the participants of the RoboCoach program happen to be aged at least threescore years and ten – that would be 70-years old or more in biblical language, where they will all sit on chairs while following the RoboCoach’s instructions carefully in a series of upper-body exercise demonstrations, which will be accompanied by popular oldies such as ABBA’s “Mama Mia.”
Chey Chor Khoon, executive director of Lions Befrienders, shared that “the novelty of having a robot conduct their exercises is refreshing to our seniors. You can see that those who participate in the program are more enthusiastic about exercise.” Lion Befrienders happens to be the very first senior activity center to carry out tests with the RoboCoach program alongside elderly participants. Will we see a future where robotic nurses provide care for the elderly also in Singapore, in the same vein as that of Japan? Only time will tell.