November 12, 2021
I like talking about software and its applications for accessibility. Last week I blogged about the virtual reality based metaverse. Today, I happened to discover a cross between the two in the form of VR applications that are designed for an elderly target audience. Here are some excerpts from one use case of the technology.
Maplewood Senior Living
“By slipping on a virtual reality headset programmed with vivid, 360-degree scenes of nature, wildlife, and familiar places such as a user’s childhood home, residents in senior care settings can gain an exciting new outlook” according to an article by Health Tech Magazine. The key takeaways from their findings include the fact that 9 in 10 elderly adults felt relaxed and rated their well being higher after using VR. One resident even described the experience as ‘magical’.
The VR locations involve the use of real world footage, creating a sense of travel to the actual locations. Especially with the recent times of isolation, the VR program at Maplewood gives residents the ability to ‘travel’ with their friends, as everyone using the VR headsets can interact with each other within the virtual reality experience.
Rendever
The tech company Rendever specializes in the senior-living targeted VR used at Maplewood. They state 3 broad mission statements on their main page: Relive, Reconnect, Reinspire. The concept seems pretty straightforward; giving senior citizens a way to share new experiences with one another, a method to revisit old locations and memories from their past experiences, and a new way to connect to the world when not normally possible in a senior living residence. Overall, the purpose of their technology is to increase the mental wellbeing of senior citizens, and based on the results at Maplewood, it appears to be working.
My thoughts
The concept reminds me of the Black Mirror episode San Junipero, in which the main character travels to a vacation city which is really a simulation; meanwhile, it is revealed that the main character is aging and approaching the end of her life due to illness. However, the technology presented in Black Mirror’s imagining of the virtual realm involved the transfer of one’s consciousness from living body to some server farm (shown at the end of the episode) versus sharing a more(?) real experience with a VR headset. Maybe it is up for debate what ‘real’ means in Virtual Reality, but in my opinion the mission of Rendever is an excellent use of technology to improve the well being of our communities. While far out from the often dystopian depictions in Black Mirror, the effects of VR on our current elderly populations are proving to be overwhelmingly positive.
