technology
Matiu Bush, winner of the Senior Living Innovation Challenge. Photo: QUT
Innovations in senior living
The Senior Living Innovation Challenge aims to uncover innovative products and services to help seniors live fulfilling and vibrant lives.
Laurie Buys interviewed by Dallas Bastian
A social networking site for individual streets has been recognised by a group dedicated to challenging notions of ageing and unearthing ideas that could change the lives of seniors.
Called‘ One Good Street’, the online platform gives neighbours the opportunity to offer assistance, knowledge and skills to older citizens and their carers through a supported platform.
Matiu Bush, the brains behind the idea, recently took out the $ 20,000 Senior Living Innovation Challenge at an awards ceremony. Bush, who leads Bolton Clarke’ s design innovation team, says the platform includes a feature that allows older people with similar interests who are feeling isolated to connect with each other within their local area. They are encouraged to spend one day or more in each other’ s company.
“ From starting an Air Con Club to help older residents during the heat, to sharing aged care equipment through tool libraries, to casserole clubs that provide nutrition and connection, One Good Street inspires and empowers neighbours to make a real difference in the lives of older people,” he says.
Created by Senior Living Innovation – a partnership between QUT’ s Institute for Future Environments and industry organisations Bolton Clark, Aveo, BallyCara and IRT Group – the challenge aims to uncover innovative products and services to help seniors live fulfilling and vibrant lives.
Other ideas shortlisted in the competition included a telescopic robotic arm that can be controlled by an elderly
person or carer via Bluetooth, and an app designed to help prevent falls.
Professor Laurie Buys of the Institute for Future Environments says the entries demonstrate critical new thinking in housing, digital and social media, robotics and support services.
“ Australians have one of the longest life expectancies in the world, and Baby Boomers are driving a radical rethink of our attitude towards ageing,” she says.
“ While society and governments have often viewed it as a problem to manage, Baby Boomers expect to remain active and to play a valuable part within their community.”
Aged Care Insite spoke with Buys about the winning entry and some of the other ideas put forward, and learned more about Senior Living Innovation.
ACI: What was it about Matiu’ s idea that stood out in the eyes of the judges? LB: I can’ t speak for the judges, but for me what stood out was that his idea was innovative and simple but leveraged off current community resources, current community connections, and brought those together into one place where the connections could be made, and to leverage the benefits for older people into the community.
It also had the side effect of being a really great connector for people in the neighbourhood, which is what we all want to do. We all want to be connected to those around us and be able to engage with one another. I think his idea really harnessed that and gave us a way of doing that through a common platform, a social media platform. Everyone thought it was just a wonderful way of connecting people.
What impact might it have on the lives of seniors living in the community? Potentially it could have quite a significant impact on people in general and older people specifically. One of the ideas that he used in his presentation centred on having‘ air conditioning
34 agedcareinsite. com. au