By Suzanne Bearne
Business reporter.
Road Worlds For Seniors is an image source.
The image caption is.
Kenneth Judd won a silver medal in the global competition by cycling 2, 347 miles in 26 days.
Kenneth Judd is a cyclist and he is 99 years old.
A centenarian won a silver medal in a global cycling competition that had more than 5,000 entrants.
Mr Judd pedalled 2,348 miles over 26 days to win second place. It's an average of more than 90 miles per 24 hours, a distance that many of us of a younger age couldn't cycle in one day.
Mr Judd was able to enjoy quiet country lanes in his native Yorkshire while he was on his bike. He was using a high-tech exercise bike at the care home.
The worldwide event is called Road Worlds For Seniors. Older people and people with dementia can participate in a bike ride.
The bikes are connected to a computer that is linked to a TV or monitor. The user sees themselves moving through the scenery on the screen when they cycle.
Road Worlds For Seniors is an image source.
The image caption is.
There are entrants at a care home.
For a number of years, this sort of technology has been available in gyms and for home cyclists, but now it's for older people and people with dementia.
The idea is to show users a video of the roads and streets that they lived in as a child or young adult so that they can get both physical and mental exercise.
Music therapists have compiled a number of accompanying song playlists to help inspire them to keep peddling.
British Cycling supports the Road Worlds For Seniors event. The system records the distances of the winners of the competition, which took place from 6 September to 1 October.
Mr Judd entered the event for the second time. He was a pilot in World War Two and came seventh in the 2020 competition, and he has been training on a bike for this year's race.
He worked out how much time he would have to work each day.
I did the cycling when no one else was around, late at night or early in the morning. The staff at night was good at giving me drinks, but my tea was cold as I focused on cycling.
You have to concentrate on your speed and how far you're going. I sometimes watched Yorkshire and other areas of the Lakes.
The image is from Paul David Drabble.
The image caption is.
A competitor is being cheered on.
Senior cyclists are encouraged to remember their childhoods, which is the main factor behind the growing popularity of Motiview.
She says it's good for their mind, body and soul. It sparks happy memories with them.
More technological innovation is emerging to help older people deal with complex issues such as loneliness, safety and illness, or simply to keep fit, because not all older people need to rely on technology.
According to the United Nations, by the year 2050, 16% of the global population will be 65 or older, up from the current 9%.
At the UK's National Innovation Centre for Aging (Nica) at the University ofNewcastle, they are currently road-testing a robot that can carry groceries.
It can hold up to 23 kilogrammes and can move at up to 10 km/h. It uses an artificial intelligence software system and video cameras to follow its owner around, a few feet behind.
The image is from Piaggio.
The image caption is.
The robot follows its owner.
The director of the Nica says it's slightly different to the traditional idea of a robot. It doesn't say anything. It's like a faithful dog, it follows you.
People start talking to you like a puppy. It's an ice-breaker. The research shows that elderly people walk more with the robot, as it follows them and allows them to do things like go shopping.
New Tech Economy explores how technological innovation will shape the new economic landscape.
Video calls were used to keep in touch with family and friends during the Pandemic. Even the most tech-literate of us sometimes had trouble using the applications.
No Isolation makes a video screen device that makes it easier for elderly people to receive video calls.
Once set up, signed up relatives of the person can video call them from their mobile phones or computers. After a 10-second timer, it connects to the call if the Komp is turned on. If the owner isn't talking, they can simply turn off the machine.
The machine shows photos that relatives send.
No Isolation is the image source.
The image caption is.
The machine connects to an incoming call.
Three years ago, a professor at the University of Oxford bought a car for her mother-in-law. Ms Greenhalgh says that her family wanted to keep in touch with her.
She only has to turn it on and see the photos of the grandchildren. There's no way to remember touch screen or passwords.
Ms Greenhalgh says that the machine would be more beneficial if it was connected to the user's doctor in the future. You have to use the connected mobile phone app to make a video call on a Komp.
The charity director at Age UK cautions that while technology can help elderly people, it shouldn't be seen as a substitute for human contact and assistance.
She says that even the best tech is not a substitute for the help and support older people need. "As tech becomes more sophisticated we can expect its role to increase, but we shouldn't kid ourselves that it can replace for the human touch, or a chat and a laugh with another human being."
Mr Judd is taking a break from cycling for the winter at his care home.
He says he won't look at the bikes again. I will consider taking it up again in the spring of next year.
Will Smale is the editor of the New Tech Economy series.
People are old.
Exercise.
There is dementia.
There is a bike
There are care homes.
Elderly care.
