This can be, for example, using voice control of your digital devices. This is what Jesper Vangkilde, head of communications at Google Denmark, says.
– For many – and perhaps especially the elderly – it is more intuitive to look up and talk than it is to sit and grease with a small screen. Therefore, it is actually quite easy to work with speech technology and search with the voice, says Jesper Vangkilde and continues:
– It can be to get answers to questions, find recipes or play music. All sorts of things that you can ask a voice-controlled speaker for. One can also use it to control the home. For example, to turn the light on and off instead of having to get up and walk across the living room.
He adds that there may well be a barrier in terms of getting started using it. And there it may be a good idea to get help from children or grandchildren or take a course where one can be helped.
– But once the elderly are up and running, we experience that for many it is easier that way, he says.
There are also a number of functions that can make it easier to see what is going on on the screen, says Birgitte Østergård Sørensen, who is business manager in the field of welfare technology at the Danish Technological Institute.
– Many universal smartphones have a lot of aids built-in. You can adjust the text size so that it becomes larger, you can have the text read aloud, and you can dictate what it should write, Birgitte Østergård Sørensen mentions.
In the slightly more high-tech department, you can also use the phone for help if you have greater vision challenges. You can actually use an app where there is a seer at the other end, says Jesper Vangkilde.
Using your camera in the phone, the helper can see what is in front of you and guide you to, for example, get the right washing program started.
If you want to boost your physique, there are many apps for home training, and there are also special programs for the elderly. Here you can get both guidance and help with motivation, says Birgitte Østergård Sørensen.
If you train on an exercise bike, you can also wear virtual reality glasses and thus see different landscapes while stepping on the pedals.
– Then you can get the experience of cycling in all possible places, even though you may not have the same opportunity to get out of the home, she says.
If you are afraid of falling, digital devices can also help.
– There are many technologies – including a portable fall sensor, so you have an alarm button at hand. Sensors can also be set up, for example in the bathroom, where the floor can be slippery.
– Some units can also automatically notify, for example, nursing staff if they sense that you are wavering or falling, Birgitte Østergård Sørensen explains.
/ ritzau focused /
Source: The Nordic Page