BROOKVILLE — To help combat social isolation and depression among older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, the Jefferson County Area Agency on Aging, in partnership with award-winning robotic pet manufacturer Ageless Innovation and the Pennsylvania LINK Program, is distributing up to 50 robotic Joy for All Companion Pets to those most at-risk for social isolation.
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Robotic puppies are being taken into care homes in a bid to give residents the emotional attachment to a pet, without the real-life issues that come with owning the real thing.
Robotic pets controlled by artificial intelligence can alleviate loneliness in older adults – including those with dementia, research suggests.
Pets can be a great companion and truly are a part of the family. But for lots of reasons, not everyone can have an actual pet. So how about a robotic one?
Following robotic versions of cats and golden retriever puppies designed to provide companionship to seniors without all of the cleanup and demands of pet ownership, Ageless Innovation’s Joy For All line is introducing a new animatronic bird designed to perch on a walker to help motivate older adults to embrace their mobility aids.
The idea for the Walker Squawker (yes, that’s what it’s actually called) is credited to 93-year-old Rita Melone who, after 90 years of getting around on her own, found it challenging to adapt to a walker, and to remember to actually use it whenever she got up. But instead of constant reminders from a nurse or other caregiver which could create negative associations to a mobility aid, the Walker Squawker seems like a fun and innocuous way to passively encourage walker use because its animated movements are designed to emulate a real bird— a species which, as far as we know, doesn’t spend a lot of its time judging humanity.