Episode 3:9 Ravi Bala on Aging in Place as an Extension of Senior Housing

Covid-19 has been an accelerator for a wave of cool new technologies to hit senior living. Listen to Ravi discuss solutions for the aging population using robotics, passive monitoring. conversational AI—even a local biomarker technology that detects health issues from changes in your voice!

About Ravi

Ravi Bala is an AgeTech Evangelist and a startup mentor in AgeTech and Remote Monitoring. He is a Co-Founder and former Board Member at HealthSignals, LLC, a leader in technology solutions for better senior living. An innovator and an expert in mobile health, conversational AI and digital strategy, he has a successful track record of creating and managing teams of independent thinkers. He has a tenacious dedication to compassion and dignity in the workplace as a teacher, a mentor, coach, and advisor who works with many startup ventures.

Ravi is currently Chair of the Capital for Good and board member for Girls First Fund—a global effort to end child marriage—and is on the Advisory Board of CyberSeniors. He is also a mentor with the Silver Moonshots accelerator, a member of the Drexel University AgeWell Collaboratory, and has taught courses in Digital Strategy in multiple MBA programs in Philadelphia. His latest passion is changing the model of eldercare with the aid of Conversational AI, Robotics and Passive Monitoring.

Key Takeaways

• Senior living communities need to invest in a robust basic technology infrastructure, what Ravi calls the “digital plumbing.”
• Most people live and age at home. In the U.S., senior living communities attract 10 to 12 percent of the elder population. Negative perceptions and exorbitant costs contribute to low demand.
• Voice technologies are a natural way to interact with elders. Conversational AI dispenses medication and sends verification via digital photography.
• Amazon’s Care Hub is a free feature in the Alexa app that allows remote check-in with an Echo device in the elders’ home and Alexa app on the adult child’s phone.
• Radar detects activity such as whether a person is vertical or horizontal. Artificial intelligence determines activity out of the norm and sends a warning.