The US, Canada, France, Japan, and Germany are just a few of the 34 countries where more than 20% of the population will be over 65 years old by 2030. Most older adults live either alone or with their partners. COVID-19 showed the importance of living arrangements for their physical and mental well-being. However, the growth in the number of caregivers and healthcare providers does not correspond. The use of technology, especially Artificial Intelligence with its productivity and availability benefits, gains importance to fix this supply-demand problem. The market for eldercare assistive devices is expected to be $1 trillion by 2025.
Voice-Enabled Interfaces for Eldercare
Big tech has started tapping into the age tech market with new offerings such as Alexa together by Amazon and Nest Hub Max by Google. Startups and investors have seen the market potential; US startups have focused on eldercare and home healthcare has received a $1.1 billion investment in 2020. Robots are also gaining popularity. In Japan, 60% of nursery homes adopted robots as of 2020.
Older Adults are concerned about privacy.
Products and services target various use cases, such as geriatrics, companionship, and communication, to help older adults. However, digital literacy and privacy are the biggest barriers to adopting new technologies. 83% of them are not confident about whether their online activities remain private or not.
Voice user interfaces enable easy access to technology to tackle digital literacy. A recent study concluded that voice interfaces enable easy access to digital technology for seniors, as most participants found voice interfaces easier to use than traditional computing devices. However, the study also found that challenges, such as device time-outs before completion of voice commands and dependencies on internet connectivity, hindered the experience and limited use for older adults. Considering the unethical practices and controversial history of Big Tech with voice data, the adoption of voice technologies in elder care has been limited.
Using cloud APIs for voice recognition cannot address adoption challenges. Device time-outs and unpredictable response times are inherent limitations of cloud computing.
Picovoice is the only ubiquitous on-device platform adding voice to anything on your terms. Training voice AI models on the Picovoice Console takes only a few seconds, shortening time-to-market and allowing continuous improvement based on end-user feedback. On-device voice data processing streamlines the user experience and offers intrinsic privacy by eliminating connectivity dependency.
Next Steps
To tap into this $1 trillion market, start building easy-to-use and private voice products with Picovoice! Check out this voice-enabled motion-detection camera. If you’re interested in building similar voice assistants to improve caregivers' or older adults’ quality of life, Start Free or consult AI Experts.
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