How can smart home help “New elders” aging in place and building connectivity

Abstract

As one of the most prosperous industries of the Internet of Things, smart home has huge potential and a broad market in the future. And one of its most significant application fields is to help old adults aging in place. The elderly group needs smart home services more than the young group. Starting from the needs of the elderly in China, this study emphasizes the concept of Chinese “New elders”, and proposes that the core of the needs of the elderly is “connectivity”. The essence of the design and development of smart home for the elderly is to help the old adults building “connectivity” both physically and psychologically, and its purpose is to improve the quality of life of the elderly and help them achieve independence, safety and happiness in their old stage. This paper jumps out the research scopes that smart home for the elderly being limited to healthcare and security monitoring, explores the possibility of building comprehensive connectivity and all-around happiness for old adults in smart home. The old people connectivity needs are defined as “Physical connectivity” and “Psychological connectivity “, and are further divided into “Basic needs connectivity”, “Health management connectivity”, “Home environment connectivity”, “Positive emotion connectivity”, “Engagement connectivity”, “Relationship connectivity “, “Meaning connectivity “, and “Accomplishment connectivity”. The research also puts forward the architecture and summarizes four principles to build connectivity of the smart home for Chinese “New elders”. Its creative insights provide references and extend the possibility of the smart home researches in the field of aging in place.