2023-10-31 04:30:13
Greater assets is the motto of the Smart Technologies company. A cover letter that clears up any interpretation regarding what its mission is: putting technological innovation at the service of dignified and quality aging. The data show that closing the gap between rampant digitalization and the progressive aging of the population is more than just a necessity. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), a third of the Spanish population will be over 65 years of age in 2050. Today, 28.6% of that age group does not use the Internet frequently.
Basic digital training for the elderly represents the first step, but the applied technology offers multiple developments for healthy aging. For example, new software promotes autonomy and cognitive development, avoids isolation and provides leisure and learning experiences. And in this sense, Castilla-La Mancha is the autonomous community that is best at knowing how to read and provide solutions to the aging figures in Spain. “In total, 7.6 million euros from the Next Generation Funds finance our ambitious digital autonomy plan,” confirms Juan Alfonso Ruiz Molina, Minister of the Treasury of the region.
The objective of the project is for nearly 8,000 devices to convert the centers dependent on the Department of Social Welfare into digital learning spaces.
The objective is for nearly 8,000 devices to convert the centers dependent on the Department of Social Welfare into digital learning spaces. The majority (157) are centers for the elderly, and the plan extends to another 32 for people with disabilities, two for minors and ten for various care. In addition to 756 computers and 5,670 digital tablets, 581 virtual reality glasses will arrive at the centers to transmit travel and other experiences to disabled people.
Devices in the plan include fourteen Iris-Bond eye tracking systems, essential for those who cannot use speech or other means to communicate. In parallel, the service of 29 technicians guarantees training and support in the use of all devices, solving doubts and incidents remotely and on site. The plan includes the Resiplus software that facilitates the management of the centers, freeing their employees from administrative burdens to concentrate on care.
Smart Technologies has positioned itself as an essential part of this digital revolution in the Spanish region. In addition to executing the plan as a whole, the company provides 419 interactive panels with software created to promote personal autonomy and active aging of residents with stimulating body and mind therapies. This technology trains caregivers and occupational therapists to be able to use the devices with residents.
“We are working to include artificial intelligence in social well-being”
“One of the future keys we are working on is including artificial intelligence in social well-being. It would be really helpful if the app a resident uses itself would provide data regarding their condition to the psychologist or occupational therapist. This can be achieved with artificial intelligence. Or know, through a webcam and having the necessary permissions, how many times that person has smiled. They are resources that are already applied in the educational field,” explains José Luis Castaño, Consultant – Iberia & LATAM at Smart Technologies.
A global center of innovation
Although the scope of the digital autonomy plan is unprecedented, the relationship between Smart Technologies and the Government of Castilla-La Mancha goes further. In the agreement signed by both institutions, the company extends its commitment to training center professionals in the use of new tools. In addition, it will expand its Center for Technology Applied to Education in Talavera de la Reina (Toledo). With a substantial investment in hiring programmers and developers, it will build a true Center for Technology Applied to Social Welfare. “With initiatives like this, more dynamic and satisfactory times await the elderly in the immediate future,” says Castaño.
Protocol signing between the Government of Castilla – La Mancha and the company Smart Technologies.
The new global center for technological solutions applied to the field of social services will involve an investment of 15 million euros and the creation of 50 highly qualified jobs. The center will be dedicated to the development of new hardware and software products applied to the field of social services, as well as to carry out training and education actions for professionals in the sector, fundamentally, those who carry out their work in nursing homes. . “The initiative will provide us with more innovative capacity and greater technological knowledge,” says Juan Alfonso Ruiz Molina.
For the government of Castilla-La Mancha, the fact that this company has once once more opted for this region to expand its business is due to the fact that “we have very clear objectives regarding where to go to be protagonists in the digital transformation,” he believes. Ruiz Molina. The new international center will be part of the digital ecosystem that is being built in Talavera from the launch in 2020 of the Regional Center for Digital Innovation, which already has one of the most important technological directories in Spain and which has allowed the promotion of a fifteen technological projects, generating 160 qualified jobs.
The optimism of the region is supported by the CMO of Smart Technologies, Jeff Lowe, who from Canada, the company’s native country, has assured that “with this project our objective is to improve the well-being of older people in Spain, with solutions that make their lives easier and allow them to enjoy a fuller life. We are proud to be able to offer the region’s seniors our interactive solutions to help them age actively, connecting easily with their environment, with their family and friends, gaining autonomy and enjoying the advantages of new technologies.”
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