The obvious question when you see a car in the middle of a laboratory (on the second floor of a building!) is, “How did you get the car into the lab?” But this was the MIT AgeLab, and I was talking with AgeLab Director (and Mass-ALFA Conference Keynote Speaker) Joseph Coughlin, so I needn’t have been worried.

“We took out the engine, removed the fenders, and dumped it into the elevator shaft,” Coughlin explained. “Then for some coffee and doughnuts, we had the staff remove the windows that make up one of the lab’s walls.” Once back together, the Volkswagen Bug, aptly named Miss Daisy, was fitted with cameras, simulators, and eye detection software to track how seniors drive. “We’re looking at how older adults drive, but the test vehicles and the research that we are doing can ultimately make people of any age a better driver,” Coughlin explained.

“We are looking at creating ageless services and systems that are appropriate and convenient for any age,” Coughlin said.  Sure, the ultimate goal is to redefine the aging processes, but Coughlin feels that if you make technology useful for any age, the stigma attached to products designed specifically for older adults disappears.

Take, for example, the AgeLab’s smart kitchen. Cabinets, counters, and trash cans interact with computers and each other to order depleted products before the homeowner even registers that she is running low. It isn’t hard to imagine such a system being useful for a busy stay-at-home mom or a college student on his own for the first time.  “We are looking at convenience that is cool and intellectual that can then become a system for an older adult,” Coughlin explained. The same technology that makes the smart kitchen so useful for a younger adult can also be used to track medication or predict a fall once as the homeowner ages.

“The AgeLab is a place where innovation, technology and behavior meet,” Coughlin explained. It is also a place where science meets a caring touch. Paro, a stuffed seal, is as cute and cuddly as they come. He is also a robot whose body is full of sensors. Paro sees, feels and was designed to crave attention. “Paro is being used as a therapeutic intervention for people with Alzheimer’s disease who may be dealing with sundowning or becoming aggravated in the evening. Paro has brought together residents who may otherwise be suffering in isolation,” Coughlin said.

Coughlin will be a keynote speaker at Mass-ALFA’s Annual Conference and Trade Show where he will be taking about innovation, decision making, and the future of technology for older adults. Learn more about Mass-ALFA’s Conference and register today!

Meet Paro