Asia turns to tech to help watch over a growing elderly population

Asian countries are turning to tech-based solutions to care for their ageing population and elders

When an elderly man with dementia started wandering off from his Singapore home, often walking miles before being found, his carers were at a loss over how to keep track of him – until a tech firm suggested fitting him with a wearable GPS tag.

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Carers also placed motion sensors in the 74-year-old's flat and a CCTV camera at its doorway so they could monitor him from a distance. The public housing building has a further six CCTVs in the common areas to watch over its senior residents.

"We have more peace of mind since we installed these, as we can more easily watch over them and get to them quickly in case they have a fall or wander off," said a volunteer carer who asked not to be named, as she is not authorised to speak to the media.

Similar monitoring technologies are becoming increasingly common in Singapore and other Asian nations with rapidly ageing populations.

Backers say it helps keep vulnerable older people safe, while technology experts say it is intrusive and opens the door to data breaches.

"The issue with a lot of tech for seniors is that they are installed to 'keep an eye' on them, so they may feel they are being watched, and the control they have over their privacy is being taken away," said Han Ei Chew, a senior research fellow at the National University of Singapore.