Robots revolutionise home care for aged and vulnerable

“This is a medication reminder... Have you taken your medication?”

- HARRIETTE BOUCHER

Every day, Tara is asked that question, not by a nurse, friend or family member, but by a little white robot that lives at her house.

She is also asked whether she has drunk enough water, is reminded that she has a call with her carer, and if she were to become unresponsive, the robot would notify somebody for help.

Tara, who has significant vision impairments and learning disabilities, is one of nearly 1,000 Britons who are receiving their home care from Genie, a voice-activated robot.

She has had the robot for around a year, and now rarely forgets the daily tasks and essential activities she used to struggle to remember.

Throughout her house, she has signs telling her to do all the things she needs to do. But her limited vision and routine exposure have meant these often aren't followed.

The robot, on the other hand, “is nice and loud”, she says. A pilot scheme of the technology saw a 96 per cent success rate in ensuring patients took the right medication at the right time.