A New Paradigm in Elderly Care

Seoul – July 20, 2021 – People & Technology, a leading AI IoT data services company in Korea, announced on July 15, 2021, its final agreement to participate as a co-research institution in the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s R&D initiative for elderly-friendly services, addressing the challenges of Korea’s aging population. The project is led by the Korea University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation (Anam Hospital), with People & Technology and six other private companies and research institutions collaborating. People & Technology will focus on integrating and analyzing environmental and biometric data collected from various devices.

Purpose of the Research Project

In response to the rapid aging of the population, the project aims to develop health management services and predictive models tailored to seniors with underlying health conditions. The solutions will be applied and verified across various local governments to ensure effectiveness. The initiative seeks to address limitations of current safety services, which rely primarily on basic sensors, by introducing predictive health models and automated data collection from medical devices and life logs. The ultimate goal is to deliver personalized AI-based elderly care services.

This effort aligns closely with the Korean New Deal 2.0, emphasizing the importance of leveraging IoT and AI technologies to address care challenges for vulnerable groups like the elderly and disabled.

Key Features and Applications of the Platform

1. Real-Life Use Case

The platform will analyze life logs using data collected from in-home AI voice devices, temperature/humidity/light sensors, and wearable medical devices. Examples include:

• Sleep Pattern Analysis: Monitoring room light patterns to detect irregular sleep habits.
• Health Condition Detection: Identifying signs of deteriorating health, such as increased coughing frequency.
• Environmental Safety Alerts: Detecting anomalies in living conditions, such as extreme heat, cold, or humidity, relative to the individual’s health needs.

These insights will enable proactive interventions, such as alerting care managers, local welfare offices, medical institutions, or emergency responders. AI voice assistants will also interact with seniors to gather additional information, such as sleep quality, pain levels, and emotional states, without requiring separate input tools.

2. Collaboration with Device Providers

People & Technology will collaborate with providers of AI voice devices, wearable medical devices, and environmental sensors. The company’s IndoorPlus+ SmartCare platform will be expanded into a smart elderly care platform compatible with all IoT/IoMT devices. The platform will handle the collection, analysis, processing, and distribution of personalized lifestyle data to relevant stakeholders.

3. Expertise in AI Voice Applications

Since 2017, People & Technology has contributed to the development of AI speaker services, including dialogue curation and SDK services, for major Korean telecommunications companies. This expertise will enable seamless integration with existing and upcoming AI speakers, addressing digital accessibility challenges for seniors.

Strategic Importance and Goals

This project is closely aligned with the Korean New Deal 2.0 policies focusing on Digital (digital healthcare services and non-contact platforms) and Human (protection of youth and vulnerable populations).

Since its inception, People & Technology has evolved from a location-based navigation service to a developer of IoMT platforms providing real-time biometric data monitoring for healthcare institutions. This project marks a significant milestone as the company transitions from a B2B focus to participating in a national initiative, contributing to Korea’s digital transformation into an era of hyper-connectivity, intelligence, and immersive technology.

The project, launched on April 1, 2021, is scheduled for completion by the end of 2024. Leveraging its accumulated expertise and technologies, People & Technology aims to play a pivotal role in developing the world’s first smart intelligent elderly care platform, setting new benchmarks in digital healthcare innovation.