Feros Care takes residents on interactive virtual visit
When residents of Feros Village Wommin Bay (Kings Cliff) toured an ANZAC exhibition at Tweed Regional Museum last week they were accompanied by an interactive robot. This allowed residents with health or mobility issues back at the village to go on a virtual journey with them and be part of the event.
With the help of Wheel-I-Am, residents at the village were able to participate in a recent outing to the museum.
The robot, known as the Wheel-I-Am, is an iPad mounted on a miniature Segway base. It was operated by residents at Feros Village Wommin Bay (Kings Cliff), putting them in charge of their virtual tour of the museum, complete with imagery, audio and full interaction with the other people there.
Wheel-I-Am can be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world over the internet and using a secure connection. It uses a front facing camera with 360 degree mobility and receives real-time video and audio of social activities so that the residents at the village can participate in conversations, enabling them to feel like they are part of the occasion (even if they can’t physically attend).
Chief Executive Officer, Jennene Buckley, says this is just one of many initiatives Feros Care is trialling to address the issue of social isolation.
“Wheel-I-Am is yet another way of ensuring that our residents feel connected and are included. The reality is that some residents won’t be able to attend events due to health or mobility issues.”
“Feros Care is always looking at ways to enable people to participate, and with the help of Wheel-I-Am, residents at the village were able to talk with their friends while experiencing the ANZAC exhibition being held at the Museum from a virtual perspective,” Ms Buckley says.
“It’s important that when everyone has the opportunity to sit around the dinner table and reminisce about the great day out, even if they aren’t physically able to be there.”
“This takes video conferencing to a new level because on this occasion, the residents at the village could direct how the event unfolds, using a remote controlled Ipad from more than 25km away,” comments Ms Buckley.
The visit to the museum was the first virtual outing and there are plans to use the technology on a regular basis, allowing seniors to participate in outings without leaving home.
Ms Buckley said Wheel-I-Am will join the many other virtual technologies Feros Care has developed over the last three years that support clients in the community care and residential care settings to stay connected.
One of Feros Care’s flagship programs includes My Health Clinic At Home that enables people to have their health and vital signs monitored daily and from their own home, using a simple touch screen computer.
“This technology allows seniors in the community to connect to a telehealth nurse as well as linking into social programs, health talks, their GP and other health professionals, or to join in Feros organised games such as virtual bingo and scategories.
“Feros Care is always looking at ways to enrich the lives of seniors. Later this year we plan to launch Australia’s first virtual seniors centre which will revolutionise the way seniors can stay connected, meet friends and participate in the community, and all from the comfort of their lounge chair.”
“I would like to see technologies like “go pro” improve to enable voice and video streaming, so that our seniors really can go anywhere! How wonderful would it be for seniors to “go for a surf” each morning, using technology. I envisage them sitting on a wave (virtually) with our Business Analyst, watching the sets come in and catching the waves in with him,” Ms Buckley says.
