technology
John Vohradsky, head of IT & business excellence at IRT Group, and Winston Mitchell, IT project coordinator, in the Pod Zero. Photo: Supplied
No one in the driver’ s seat
An aged care provider will soon trial a driverless car to help residents get around their community.
John Vohradsky interviewed by Dallas Bastian
Residents of IRT Kangara Waters will soon be zipping around the Canberran facility in a driverless car.
The provider will trial Pod Zero, which has been designed to safely navigate private roads in residential aged care communities. Users will be able to hail Pod Zero and travel independently to appointments and social activities.
Launched at the 2017 Information Technology in Aged Care Conference on the Gold Coast, IRT Group hopes the car – the product of a partnership with UK tech firm RDM Autonomous – will improve residents’ independence and quality of life.
John Vohradsky, head of IT & business excellence at IRT Group, said Kangara Waters residents have been trained in how to hail the Pod Zero via an app on their phone or tablet.
“ Depending on the outcomes of the pilot, we may look to trial more driverless cars or make them a part of the service and experience offering at IRT communities,” Vohradsky said.
In an interview with Aged Care Insite, Vohradsky discussed how residents will get about using the car and the feasibility of widespread adoption in the aged care sector.
ACI: How will the Pod Zero operate in Kangara Waters? JV: Well, the reason we picked Kangara Waters is that it’ s a large physical site, so it’ s over a geographical area that requires a bit of walking and movement between the centre, and it’ s got a private road network, so it really lends itself to some sort of mass transit system that can move people around.
The site is about 150 lifestyle apartments with 100 care suites, and it has a centralised reception area where the Pod would be based and deployed from. So it works well as something you can hail, jump on, and it can take you continuously in a loop and keep residents moving in that area.
How much training is needed to hail the Pod Zero? Getting residents and staff familiar with tablets – that’ s really where the training has been. Once that familiarity is there, the app is simple. It knows who and where you are already, and it’ s just a simple‘ Where am I going and what time do I want to be picked up?’
Once you’ ve hailed the vehicle and it arrives, you basically go up – and you’ ve got a QR code on your screen – and you scan that. It’ s a personalised experience. The vehicle knows you may need a ramp, or may have a hearing difficulty or a sight impairment, so it can dim or take up lights and get you onto the vehicle safely. It also alerts staff to where you are, so we’ ve got residents’ safety being looked after as well.
What difference do you hope the Pod will make to residents? A lot of them have lost their licence due to age, or having to move into a facility and having nowhere to park and so on, so it can restore their independence. Social isolation is another area. It gets people interacting more and doing things, when normally they would say,“ Oh, it’ s too hard to walk down the road.”
Is this something you could see being used widely in Australia? Well, there are probably three big concerns. The first is the physical technology. It’ s not something you can readily buy at the moment, so the price is prohibitive. Next is the acceptance. Will residents trust it? Will they be comfortable using it, and will it do what they need? And finally, there’ s all the legislative stuff.
A recent NRMA report said there are at least 50 federal and state laws that need to be amended because current legislation assumes the driver of a vehicle is human. So what would happen for a speeding ticket, or an infringement, or in the case of an accident? Once these sorts of things are worked out, I think we will see these in that two- to five-year period.
And when will Pod Zero hit the road at Kangara Waters? We are looking for a 2018 trial. We are using their latest technology, and we are waiting for their latest app to be developed. We haven’ t set that date yet because we want to have the right technology at the right time and get the maximum learning experience we can. ■
36 agedcareinsite. com. au