Project aim
The Industrial Transformation Research Hub aims to address the growing challenges of older people living in their own home or residential care.
The multi-disciplinary research team will develop and invent new personalised medical technologies and repurpose devices, analytics and integrated platforms to come up with better health solutions and cost savings to enhance mental, physical and social wellbeing.
Ageing Society
In our rapidly ageing society, a critical need exists for effective, affordable, scalable and safe in-home and in-residential care solutions leveraging a range of current and emerging sensor, interaction and integration technologies – a “smart home” focused on assisted living.
A digitally enhanced living environment will leverage smart technologies to maintain and increase autonomy of people, allowing them to live longer in their own homes or with less personalised residential care. Costs for community care will be reduced by leveraging affordable technologies and reducing mundane human carer task demands.
By 2050, it is estimated that the proportion of people over the age of 80 will have risen from 3.9% to 9.1% of the population of OECD countries. A large proportion of these people will need help to manage chronic illnesses such as dementia, heart disease, diabetes, limited physical movement and many others, as well as support with their daily living tasks.
Hospitals and current health systems typically focus on acute episodes of illness and are not well equipped to provide adequately for daily living care support. Similarly, there is a growing need to better support physically and mentally challenged individuals who are living within the community with disability or chronic disease, both in terms of rehabilitation and long-term enhanced living.
In addition to the ARC funds, the hub will benefit from just over $2 million from its partner organisations as well as considerable in-kind contributions.