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United States shoppers seeking Japanese Age Tech gadgets in find slim pickings in 2023 #ad.
Some interesting home conveniences for seniors surface, but the real futuristic Age Tech remains 13-hours ahead in Japan.
So JapanGov, run by the Japanese Government, published a PDF titled “Unique Age Tech & Services in Japan” available on The Economist’s and JapanGov’s collaborative media project: “Age-tech for an elderly-friendly society”.
But what’s under those 8 categories and 12 subcategories?
Independence
Mobility
Caregiver Support
Monitoring Services
Training
Other
I wanted to add to the conversation by unbundling each one, and letting you know what these buzzwords mean.
What is Age Tech? What are examples of Japan’s Age Tech products? Also… I live in Small Town, Michigan. Can I get me some Age Tech gadgets for my dad and me to party with?
These are the ways I’m wishing for the elder care community today. I want Age Tech to be more than a trendy idea in Michigan. Oh boy, if my trip to the Meijer Pharmacy could pick me up one of these quirky futuristic examples of Japanese elder care technology.
It’s called Age Tech. Let’s look at concrete examples. Let’s see what’s available for a rural Michigander adult son and family going the long haul with a 70+ daddio partying with Parkinson’s and dementia.
DFree is the first wearable device to manage urinary incontinence. You can buy a DFree in the US for $399 with full US support.
The Helppad is a pad use on the bed, which gathers data about bed wetting in terms of amount over time. I think Helppad is only available in Japan.
I couldn’t find a thing about a "swetty" toilet, but a “swetty” toilet doesn’t sound nice any day.
The Omutsu Tech is a type of adult underwear which senses wetness and alerts a software system caregivers are able to track and monitor. I think the Omatsu Tech is another Age Tech product you can only get in Japan.
Symax is a toilet with an app connected to it that lets you performe future toilet magic of some kind. Probably Symax is only available in Japan’s App Store.
Toto’s bedside flush-toilet is a full sized toilet that’s mobile, so you can move it wherever in your home is most convenient to have a toilet - usually by the bed or chair. While Toto is a designer toilet brand well available to buy online in places like Amazon.
The Delisofter is a portable food cooker that cooks meat, vegetables, and grains to be especially tender and easily swallowed. It’s a product by the well-known Panasonic brand, but search as you try - as of 2023, it’s only available in Japan.
The ReHEARTTEK is a verifiable baby bottle for the elderly, with a clear plastic cow udder to suckle from. Sorry to say, in the USA no such nipple suckling bottle for the elderly is available for purchase. But you can find alternative sippy cups and assistive cups.
The Novenine SMASH doesn’t exist, so don’t worry about it (a smart toothbrush with an app).
Mirai speakers (sound fun is a speaker especially designed to make human voices (dialogues in tv shows and movies) to become extra clear for people with light to moderate hearing loss. I’m happy to report that MIRAI is available in the USA.
Universal Sound Design also doesn’t exist, and I don’t know what a decoration chip does for hearing aids.
RODEM is a concept scooter simplifying getting out of bed and around the house, with a horseback style ride that keeps you level with household surfaces. The RODEM is priced in Yen, so likely only available in Japan.
WHILL power chairs are hand powered and foldable, lightweight, and maneuverable. WHILL US retailers are ready to sell you a Model F now.
The RT.WORKS robot assisted walker looks like a standard U-shaped walker from Drive, but it’s got a battery powered engine for accelerating uphill, braking downhill, and more. RT.WORKS have an English website, so you can probably buy one for around $300, but it’ll likely ship from Japan for expensive!
The Cogy wheelchair is designed for people who still believe. The traditional wheelchair is passive to be pushed, but the Cogy encourages activity with forward-propelling pedals installed to exercise and rehabilitate legs. You can buy online using Yen, so Cogy is another one intended for the Japanese market.
Choisoko is a rideshare company whose core service is helping homebound elderly get out of the house and home essentials delivery, so this one’s not local. But it could be. Uber for the elderly. Grubhub for the elderly. Plus Walgreens order online prescriptions all wrapped up into one.
The INNOPHYS Muscle Suit is a wearable exoskeleton from shoulders to above the knees. Built for able bodied people and the elderly alike, it helps you lift things up, and straighten out your back with less strain, because your exoskeleton sends force in the same direction. Unfortunately there are currently no retailers in the United States.
The Cyberdyne HAL is a cyborg assistive limb that helps you walk simply by thinking in your head “I want to walk”. Such miracle innovation is available only through direct sales, so it looks like a business to business website, meaning you can’t buy just one.
Panasonic’s Resyone Plus is hybrid wheelchair and bed robot system that enables a wheelchair-bound person to lie into a full-sized comfortable bed. The Resyone Plus has not made it to North America.
Japan’s France Bed brand has created a side-lifting bed that gently tilts the body to more easily roll out of bed. Pricing is not made available on the France Bed website, but there is a Japanese telephone number where you can directly contact sales.
I have no clue how ExaWizards claims to solve future social issues using AI. Ever since the Moomintrolls, the Japanese and Fins have been curious about each-other.
Welmo is a software system designed with AI to assess the care needs of the elderly. The Fins have adopted this software into their own government social welfare systems, so don’t expect a bill up on Capitol Hill anytime soon.
RehaPlan all-Japanese language services looks like a similar gig. ZEST and Care-wing remain a complete mystery.
HED-ned is a Japan-only senior health and safety monitoring service which installs a wearable watch among other in-home IoT devices to detect unusual activity and health patterns, with assistance who can communicate with the elder who may need assistance. In the United States, Alexa Together is a viable option for this type of remote monitoring system.
Paramount Beds designs and manufactures hospital and in-home assistive beds, with a complete Paramount Bed United States division in full operation.
Many IoT monitoring devices and batteries to power them. My family uses Alexa Regular.
The Mimamorai Project looks like an app where people can send nice messages to grandma or grandpa, but I can’t read Japanese, so I won’t be downloading this app.
NeU’s Active Brain CLUB comes with an electronic headband and an app, that works with your brain in some colorful way. You can download the app on the App Store or Google Play, but it might only have a Japanese version.
CogEvo is a Japanese-only iPad app that trains and evaluates cognitive function in older adults.
The mediVR is a science experiment using a VR headset (again) to train and check cognitive function. Lots of people in the US are doing similar research (VR for dementia, etc).
Moff went missing, but D.R.E. TriRings is gym-style exercise equipment designed for aging adults.
Hacosco makes japanese-only apps for seniors to use their brains among other apps.
Ory is a fun little robot that talks to elderly folks and helps their relatives and friends get in touch, like Alexa in the United States.
Cocolomi became void, and the OQTA Dove Clock makes it delightful for family and friends to drip lovely messages to an elderly loved one, through an adorable white IoT Dove Clock device that you can buy on Japan’s Amazon if you’re willing to pay shipping (but I just use my Alexa Skill to do that).
BOCCO is the family robot designed to keep family close, and you can “pledge for” a BOCCO on Kickstarter in the United States. (For those of you who don’t know, on Kickstarter you fund a project to it it off the ground, but it might fail if too few people fun the project.)
I couldn’t find more information about MAGO, but my daddio’s never particularly liked manga.
PARO is a fake fish cat stuffed animal robot intended for people with dementia to hug like a cuddle pet that you don’t have to pick up after. I’m going bonkers right now because one of the recurring beings in my Big Poppa’s dementia hallucinations is a person or dog names “Pero” or “Pedro”, I’m not sure which. When I found out this dementia plush toy was named “Paro”, I witnessed a similarity in naming that I cannot call a coincidence. I’m saying, we all know dementia patients are on “a different level”, is this evidence dementia patients are in some ways “on the same wavelength”?!
Lovot is an adorable penguin-like robot that scoots around on wheels to delight with curious antics. As of 2023, it’s still “Coming Soon”.
Aibo (available for purchase in the USA now) is another robotic puppy who cheers up his/her owner without food to nourish or doodles to dispel.
Qoobo is a cat-size fluff with a motorized wagging tail made for elderly folks who love pets but aren’t prepared to take care of one.
Embrace is on-demand medical advice from an app. This one’s just for Japan, and demonstrates how making services lighter and more accessible is the ongoing trend in the elder care tech industry. Why pay $1,200 for a US ambulance one time, when you could prevent the health problem by chatting with your neighborhood doctor on an app? Kuraseru looks like an enterprise-level Japanese-only medical cloud service connecting patients to doctors and health data online.
UPDATE October 3, 2023 - This post contained a screenshot from a third party website, but this screenshot is now removed to better comply with webmaster best practice.
