Smart Home For The Aged - Literature review Example

The present smart home designs have shifted their focus from automating the physical activities of the elderly to the disciplining of their minds. They have turned into persuasive agents that focus much of their attention on making the elderly self-sufficient from their home space. Smart homes for the elderly focus on the management of everyday activities. Even though efficient, the act of delegating the management of household tasks to intelligent technological agents is set to experience a few vulnerabilities.

Population aging is a common issue affecting most parts of the world. In fact, the generation of people aged 60 and above is expected to rise to surprising levels in the next few decades. The same age group makes up close to 11% of the total population in the world (Miller, 2012). The latest estimates indicate that over 22 percent of the population across the world will constitute those above 60 years of age by 2050 (Harper, 2003). The extraordinary pattern of expected changes has elicited a lot of concern in various countries due to a number of reasons.

One major reason is that the elderly generation produces and contributes little to the economy as compared to the working-age population. Thus, the rate of economic growth is expected to be slow since a greater population will consist of the older generation. Another reason for alarm is that a greater segment of the population consisting of the elderly will require much support from the smaller percentage of adults who are economically active. Lastly, the elderly population will impose a huge burden on the economy due to their large number.

The elderly need more medical care as compared to the younger generation and this can be expensive to the economy (Harper, 2003). However, the issue is of major concern to many countries across the world. The paper considers how the introduction of smart