If you search the web, you will find stories of how Alexa has been used to help the elderly. She can remind them to take medication, turn lights off and on, call someone for help, and schedule a ride to the doctor. This has intrigued the Front Porch Center for Innovation and Wellbeing which researches aging-related technology. They set up a study in February 2017 to see how voice assistance might help older adults. The participants were aged 79 to 100, with most in their eighties. The official pilot study included 12 homes, but the interest in participating was so high, they created a second unofficial group. Front Porch offered a series of 7 workshops that covered topics on how to use Alexa and enable specific skills.
They found the results encouraging. In their final report, Front Porch said that 75% used their smart devices at least once a day. 100% felt the Alexa overall made their life easier. And 71% felt more connected to family, friends, and the community.
Here are some comments from the participants. This first one relates to how easy it is to use voice to do things. “To look at it from a human standpoint, what do we use to get messages across? to communicate?—it’s your voice. Yes, we have learned how to write, how to type, how to use a computer, but the voice is the first and will be there forever, and that’s what the Alexa offers us—it’s a natural thing.” Another comment shares how Alexa opened her world. “I thought it was primarily an item that would help you do things like turn on lights, this is far exceeding what I was expecting; you have opened the whole world; it’s not just a vehicle to accomplish something, but you can do anything that you want to do.” And this last comment references how using Alexa helps someone with physically difficulties. “I have a genetic tremor. So entering data is a pain in the butt. The ability to speak a command and get something to happen is a wonderful thing.”
After this pilot study, 100% of the participants said that Alexa made their lives easier. The possibilities here are amazing!
