The concept of "IT for the elderly." Interest of IBM and Apple in providing older tablets

In a previous publication, I completed a description of how our software will be purchased and used , making a standard tablet convenient for an elderly person. Now I’ll tell you about the place the Pony: Tablet for Seniors application occupies in our general concept of IT for Seniors, and how IBM and Apple suddenly appeared on this field.

FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE “PONY” WILL BE DIFFERENT

Older people are very different from each other in the level to which they can master modern digital tools. It depends on age, on diseases and ailments, on professional experience and, ultimately, on a person’s personality. Therefore, in the future, several versions of our "Pony" application should be developed, which differ quite significantly in "stuffing" and interfaces. This line of applications will begin with a modification that essentially differs little from standard shell applications for tablets (for more details, see below on “younger models”), and end with a version for the oldest people.

As I already wrote, you first need to enter the market with a modification of the Pony application for the oldest people. First of all, because they are the worst of them all: most likely, they see very poorly, hear very poorly and are inactive - for them, the program will be a chance to escape from weakness and sores. In addition, the version of "Pony" for the oldest will be in the line of programs as different as possible from what is currently on the market, and this will provide the most effective way to demonstrate the benefits of the application.

In parallel with marketing activities aimed at creating and consolidating our Pony application as a recognizable brand, it is necessary to actively introduce other modifications to the market that are designed for older people with different backgrounds, backgrounds, and capabilities.

For the "younger" models of the "Pony" application, which essentially differ little from the standard filling for tablets, the initial message of the application development is incorrect: "Older people can not cope." "Young pensioners" cope. This, however, will not be important by the time the Pony application becomes known. By this time, the Pony application in its younger versions will be just a convenient shell for tablets, competently “sharpened” for a certain age category, and will be able to position itself simply as, for example, “a good gift for a retired person”. In addition, future users themselves - working pensioners and middle-aged people, will become buyers of “younger” models.

I want to note that the target audience of the Pony application is not limited to older people, it also includes people with disabilities.

"PONY" IN THE FUTURE

It is clear that aging is a continuous process, and very soon people will become “very old" for whom the features and limitations of modern IT products will not present any difficulties. Does this mean that the idea of ​​our application for the elderly will soon lose its relevance? Not at all. Technological progress is also continuous, and by the time people who grew up on Microsoft, Apple, and Google products manufactured in the first decade and a half of the 21st century grow old, completely new technologies based on, possibly, completely different principles - 3D control and presentation of information; reality, supplemented not only visually, but also at the level of hearing, touch and smell; virtualization of household objects, etc. Thus, the “future old people” will find themselves in the same position as the “old people”: there will be a lot of new things,

Conclusion: the idea of ​​the application for the elderly will always be relevant. The application for the elderly as a solution should be developed constantly and continuously, in order to provide old people with tools at each time interval, allowing them to use modern innovations that make life easier and make it interesting and exciting.

“PONY” FOR EXPORT

This is a matter of the future, but it is already clear that our Pony application, which makes a standard tablet convenient and understandable for older people, will certainly be in demand in Russia, Europe and the USA. The possibility and necessity of entering the markets of other countries, including China and Japan, require a separate study.
Given the significantly different cultural and historical background, in the future we should talk about the need to develop the application in three main options: Russian, European and American.

Meanwhile,

at the end of April 2015, IBM and Apple announced the launch of a joint program with Japan Post to supply Japanese retirees with iPads with special software.

They said they would radically improve the quality of life for millions. According to them, they will not stop in Japan, this is only the first step on the path of caring for the elderly around the world.

They are not going to move fast, they will start by implementing on iPad the existing function of periodic control registration of those who live in solitude: a service that allows you to send the “I'm OK” signal.



The company did not disclose details about further plans and the cost of the product.

This initiative of IBM and Apple is great news for us: the participation of these giants confirms the importance of the topic, and at the same time we started earlier and are preparing a cheaper product for a much larger market.

“PONY” AS A PART OF THE GENERAL CONCEPT

As I wrote above, versions of the “Pony” will differ in both design and content. The first versions of the application are developed for the largest part of the target audience - the elderly. In the future, the application will make special settings for people with cognitive impairment: cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, dyslexia, autism, and intellectual disorders.

Modifications will be expanded by game and training modules. In particular, modules will be developed that support the education of hearing-impaired, visually impaired and deaf-blind children, as well as children with cognitive impairment in accordance with recognized methods.

Thus, many modules will be offered in the categories "Leisure", "Brainfitness", "Health monitoring", "Life", "Training", etc. The customer will be able to choose the set of modules that best suits the interests of the end user.

Remote filling of tablets with content and prompt informing of interested parties about important usage parameters will be supported, ranging from a simple message “Tablet is on” to measurements made by health monitoring modules.

Thus, the target comfortable IT environment for the elderly and people with disabilities looks like this:



I would also like to note that the solution developed for the Android tablet can be ported to other mobile platforms and devices. A cardinally larger number of people can be involved in the use of modern IT products and services if you offer them the optional “age” interfaces of existing browsers (IE, Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Yandex), VOIP applications (Skype, Hangouts) and operating systems.

In the next publication I will share our experience in promoting ideas and finding financing.

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Project on the Internet:
planeta.ru/campaigns/poni
www.facebook.com/ponytablet
vk.com/ponytablet