The Future Of 8-bit microcontrollers in-home elderly care

What is the right technology solution for a huge global need? Statistically speaking, our world faces a looming crisis that, while it doesn’t hit the headlines often, will eventually affect every single person on our planet, and in crucial ways. The crisis? Our aging population – and an avalanche of need that could likely fall upon the shoulders of us all.

Not enough money, nowhere near enough elderly care facilities, and a changing world that leaves many elderly people with nowhere to turn. These are the symptoms of a population of adults over age 65 that is growing at three times the rate of the population of family members that are available to care for them. Observing the growth rate of the world’s fast-aging population suggests that those who experience middle age in the year 2050 will be three times more likely than they are now to be responsible for the care of many of the projected two billion-plus elderly. These are stark numbers, and yet these numbers are increasing at an alarming rate; they suggest that many elderly will require some level of assistance but have no one around to help.
 

As we get older, several natural tendencies may occur: Folks are not as active as they once were; they may often be sedentary, sitting and reading or watching television more than they did before. These are not bad things, certainly, but we’ve already learned that prolonged periods without physical movement can result in insufficient exercise, which can subsequently lead to other types of health problems. Often, people become more forgetful as they age, and even forgetting simple things such as taking the medicine, feeding the cat, or even scheduling a grocery delivery can ultimately lead to a lack of independence.
 

In addition, it’s not unrealistic to predict that a large percentage of people will reach a point in which they will prefer to “age in place.” People who have worked all of their lives to own their home simply want to stay in it as long as possible. However, they will need a little help to remain independent – help that can also lighten the demand for costly services. That’s where newemerging technologies can play a meaningful role. Many people, as they age, are facing challenges that are completely new to them, and they will simply need a little technological help ensure that their healthcare needs are met.
 

So just what is the solution that can not only assist overburdened caregivers, but even allow the aged to remain longer in their own homes and stay independent at managing their own healthcare needs?

Imagine a smart 8-bit microcontroller that can enable people to live independently, for much longer, and without requiring additional support from the healthcare systems that are currently in place. Indeed, an MCUcontrolled sensor installed in an aging parent’s home could detect patterns which, when they vary from the norm, could be set to alert a remote healthcare service to respond and/or intervene when needed. While privacy could be a concern in such a situation, safeguards could be built into such a monitoring system for assisted living in order to allow people to stay in their own homes longer. Isn’t that a far better alternative than being uprooted and moved to a care facility where you may not feel as comfortable?
 

Let’s look at a set of microcontroller-based sensors which could cover a gamut of situational needs for folks desiring to continue living in their own homes. For example, the safe monitoring process mentioned above could allow a caregiver to “check in” and observe simple lifestyle patterns that would help to make determinations and suggestions for ensuring a person’s quality of life.
 

Having a smart, scalable “independent living network” in place can assist with many everyday tasks by providing reminders or warnings which can inform a person that, for example, the tea on the stove is boiling over. Getting a little reminder about that doctor’s appointment scheduled for this afternoon can lead to better personal healthcare management. Many of these “technical helpers” merely require a microcontroller to process information based on the function(s) for which they are designed. By design, these technical helpers can be interconnected to provide a platform solution that can assist elderly living, with the end result being a person’s self-determined path to stay independent far longer.
 

Tomorrow’s need is already on us today, yet 8-bit microcontrollers will play a far larger role than many now imagine. The actions we take today will be the ones we ourselves will live with tomorrow, through creative solutions that leverage smart MCUs. As a result, we will protect not only our aging loved ones who can then enjoy a better quality of life, but we will also creatively leverage those wonderful microcontrollers so that we, like our parents, can live more independently in the future.
 

What is the right technology solution for a huge global need? Statistically speaking, our world faces a looming crisis that – while it doesn’t hit the headlines often – will eventually affect every single person on our planet, and affect us in crucial ways. The crisis? Our aging population – and an avalanche of need that could likely fall upon the shoulders of us all. 

About the Author 

Steve Darrough is Vice President of Marketing at IXYSZilog. Steve joined Zilog in 2008. Steve possesses more than twenty years of technical engineering and marketing management experience, leading branding and marketing programs. Prior to coming onboard with Zilog, Steve held marketing management and technical engineering roles at Intel Corporations for over 14 years where he had several teams driving new technologies directly relating to the current products initiatives. His teams drove worldwide programs in evangelizing new technologies and accelerate adoption. Steve has a Marketing Degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was born January 8, 1942 in Oxford, England. From an early age, he showed a passion for science and the sky. At age 21, while studying cosmology at Cambridge, Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Despite his debilitating illness, he has done ground-breaking work in physics and cosmology and his several books strive to make science accessible to everyone.

Early Life

The eldest of Frank and Isobel Hawking's four children, Stephen William Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo, which has long been a source of pride for the noted physicist. Stephen was born into a family of thinkers. At a time when few women thought of going to college, the Scottish born Isobel earned her way into Oxford University in the 1930s, making her one of the college's first female students. Frank Hawking, another Oxford graduate, was a respected medical researcher with a specialty in tropical diseases.

Stephen Hawking's birth came at an inopportune time for his parents, who didn't have much money. The political climate was also tense, as England was dealing with World War II and the onslaught of German bombs. In an effort to seek a safer place to have their first child, Frank moved his pregnant wife from their London home to Oxford. The Hawkings would go on to have two other children, Mary (1943) and Philippa (1947). A second son, Edward, was adopted in 1956.

The Hawkings, as one close family friend described them, were an "eccentric" bunch. Dinner was often eaten in silence, each of the Hawkings intently reading a book. The family car was an old London taxi and their home in St. Albans was a three-story fixer-upper that never quite got fixed. The Hawkings also kept bees in the basement, and made fireworks in the greenhouse.

In 1950, Stephen's father took work as the head of the Division of Parasitology at the National Institute of Medical Research, and spent the winter months in Africa doing research. He wanted his oldest child to go into medicine, but from an early age Stephen showed a passion for science and the sky. That was evident to his mother who, along with her children, often stretched out in the backyard on summer evenings to stare up at the stars. "Stephen always had a strong sense of wonder," she remembered. "And I could see that the stars would draw him."

Early in his academic life Stephen, while recognized as bright, was not an exceptional student. At one point in high school, his mother recalled, he was third from the bottom of his class. Instead, Stephen turned his mind loose on pursuits outside of school. He loved board games, and with a few close friends created new games of their own. At the age of 16 Stephen, along with several other buddies, constructed a computer out of recycled parts for solving rudimentary mathematical equations.

He was also on the go a lot. "Always on the move," said a family friend. "Hardly ever still." With his sister Mary, Stephen, who loved to climb, devised different entry routes into the family home. He remained active even after he entered Oxford University at the age of 17. He loved to dance, and also took an interest in rowing, becoming one of the Oxford rowing team's coxswain.

To his father's chagrin, Hawking finally said no to medicine, instead expressing a desire to study mathematics. But since Oxford didn't offer a mathematics degree, Hawking gravitated toward physics and, more specifically, cosmology.

By his own account, Hawking didn't put much time into his studies. He would later calculate that he averaged about an hour a day focusing on school. And yet, he didn't really have to do much more than that. In 1962, he graduated with honors and moved on to Cambridge University for a Ph.D. in cosmology.

http://www.biography.com/