Four University Research Programs about Technology for Older Adults

From the universities and their affiliates – research about older adults.  Since this website was launched in 2008, periodic looks at who is doing what in the area of research on aging have repeatedly revealed little in the way of commercialization determination or practicality of offerings.  But funding is found – and several of these programs seem driven to reward innovation that can be commercialized – or they are funded by organizations that want and need results.  Here are four from a recent scan -- there are more, of course, and if you know one that is more robust, please send it along or provide a comment:

• MIT AgeLab Research. In general, unlike AARP, MIT AgeLab is a research entity with partnerships from corporate sponsors, versus incubating near-term or current in-market or startup offerings. Futurist Joseph Coughlin was recently elected to the all-volunteer AARP Board. While MIT AgeLab has poured a great deal of energy into cars (and self-driving cars in Boston, no less!), they are not the original source of research about that space. In addition, the AgeLab undertook a research project with the Age Suit (AGNES) which, considering its use in "retail, public transportation, home, community, automobile, workplace."

• Georgia Tech. There are multiple programs at Georgia Tech that explore various aspects of aging. Several of these were featured in the White House Report on Aging, including a home assistant robot, packaging guidelines, and work from the Aware Home Research Initiative that promotes the home as a center for social connectivity.  The entire report (beyond just the Georgia Tech items) was published this past spring by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology – called Independence, Connection and Technology in Older Age.  Georgia Tech is one of the three founders of the CREATE initiative, partnered with University of Florida and Florida State University.  Georgia Tech also runs HomeLab, which has, among other projects, conducted testing of older adults’ experience with technology. Georgia Tech runs TechSage and research on Cognitive Aging (one report suggesting that music impairs visual memory in older adults).

• Stanford University. Stanford features the Stanford Center on Longevity -- including the topic categories of mind (for example, intergenerational relationships), mobility (and the result of a 2015 design challenge), and financial security (including a framework for the taxonomy of fraud). In the School of Medicine’s Healthy Aging research – there are a number of studies, including one about the role of IVR and prompting individuals to be healthier, and a current study with NIH on Memory and Aging.

• Canada, Ontario: CC-ABHI, University of Toronto. The Canadian Centre for Brain Health & Innovation (CC-ABHI) was created as part of an influx of $100 million for funding for research and innovation related to health and well-being of older adults. The program features published key performance indicators for success. Also headquartered within Baycrest, a health system affiliated with the University of Toronto, is the Rotman Research Institute, which includes an Innovation, Technology and Design Laboratory and a commercialization incubator and a project to envision the nursing home of the future. In June, CC-ABHI opened its LaunchPad Studio, not unlike the AARP Hatchery, to create a space for welcoming and hosting innovators.  CC-ABHI is also partnered with the University of Toronto Institute for Life Course & Aging.  Current projects include Evaluating Community Care for Older Adults.