New Feature: Tasks and Routines including Joy the Senior AI Companion

We are very excited about our latest feature, "Tasks and Routines." This new feature enables caregivers to set up automated tasks for their loved ones, executed by the ONSCREEN device and/or Joy, the AI Companion.

The process involves choosing from a range of task types, such as text or image reminders, AI companion visits, video recording check-ins, and telehealth appointments, to cater to different aspects of the senior's daily life.

To manage these tasks effectively, the feature offers options for setting task recurrence (daily, weekly, or one-time) and selecting specific times for each task. This ensures that the activities are aligned with the senior's routine and preferences.

Here's a thorough writeup about how to use this new feature.

Overall, this feature is designed to assist seniors in maintaining their daily activities, offering them support and care through a user-friendly interface.  But while the technical aspects of this feature are quite interesting, this blog post is all about the benefits of this powerful new feature.

Benefits of "Tasks and Routines"

We developed this new feature to provide numerous benefits to seniors, enhancing their daily lives in several ways:

1. Enhanced Independence and Confidence: By setting up routine tasks like medication reminders or meal checks, seniors can maintain a level of independence in their daily activities. This boosts their confidence and self-reliance, as they can manage their day-to-day life with less direct assistance.
   
   
2. Improved Health and Well-being: Regular check-ins and health-related reminders (like medication checks or telehealth appointments) ensure that seniors stay on top of their health needs. This consistent monitoring can lead to better health outcomes and peace of mind for both seniors and their caregivers.
   
   
3. Social Connection and Engagement: Features like AI companion visits and regularly scheduled Zoom events help combat loneliness and keep seniors engaged with their family and friends. These interactions can greatly enhance their emotional well-being, providing a sense of connectedness and belonging.

Caregivers are often exhausted, balancing life with their own children and life's responsibilities, and caring for their aging parents.  This new feature also brings numerous benefits for caregivers:

1. Peace of Mind: Knowing that scheduled tasks and reminders are in place reduces worry about seniors missing important activities or medications.
   
   
2. Time Efficiency: Automating routine reminders saves caregivers time, allowing them to focus on other important tasks or personal time.
   
   
3. Enhanced Communication: The feature enables regular interaction, ensuring caregivers stay informed about the senior's well-being and activities.
   
   
4. Customized Care: Allows personalization of tasks based on the senior's unique needs, ensuring they receive care that's specific to them.
   
   
5. Monitoring and Tracking: Provides a way to monitor task completion and activity, offering insights into the senior's daily routine and health status.

Example of Use

So how would this work, practically?  Imagine this scenario:

Mary Greenwood, an 85-year-old living alone, often forgets to take her medicine or loses motivation to do her stretches and daily activities. Let's explore how specific tasks and routines integrate into Mary's day, offering her support, independence, and joy.

1. Medication Reminders: Mary's TV gently chimes every morning, displaying a friendly reminder for her first medication. The screen shows a clear message, "Time for your heart medication, Mary!" Throughout the day, similar reminders pop up, ensuring she never misses a dose.
   
   
2. Stretching Routine: Each morning, after her first medication, a YouTube video starts and guides Mary through her stretching routine. The screen displays gentle stretching exercises, tailored for seniors, guiding her through a 15-minute session.
   
   
   
   
3. Gardening Time: Every Saturday, Mary's TV reminds her it's gardening time. A cheerful message appears, "Let's tend to your garden, Mary!".
   
   
4. Weekly Nurse Check-In via Telehealth: Mary has a chronic health condition, and her medical provider wants to check in with Mary every week.  The new "Tasks and Reminders" feature makes this fully automated, joining Mary to her telehealth session via TV right on schedule, every time.

These examples illustrate how ONSCREEN's reminders and tasks can be integrated into Mary's daily life, providing assistance and enhancing her independence and enjoyment.

AI Powered Tasks & Reminders

The AI Companion Tasks within ONSCREEN's system represent a breakthrough in senior care technology. This feature offers personalized interactions through AI-driven check-ins, addressing various aspects of a senior's daily routine. It includes medication checks, ensuring adherence to health regimes, as well as meal check-ins, to ensure proper nutrition. By integrating these checks into daily life, seniors are supported in maintaining their health and independence, while caregivers are provided with important updates on medication compliance. This innovative approach not only assists in health management but also fosters a sense of security and reliability in the care process.

The AI Companion also features well-being assessment abilities. These automated tasks include the AI companion asking about the senior's pain levels and overall happiness. Such interactions provide a quick but essential health and emotional assessment, crucial for seniors living alone. They offer caregivers a deeper understanding of the senior's emotional state and physical comfort, enabling timely interventions if necessary. This aspect of the AI Companion Tasks ensures a holistic approach to care, considering both the physical and emotional well-being of seniors.  These data points can also be graphed over time, showing long term trends of a seniors emotional well-being and pain levels.

Finally, AI Companion Tasks also include friendly, general check-ins, where the AI engages in casual conversations with the senior. These interactions are not just about health or routine but are geared towards providing companionship. Such conversations can revolve around the senior's interests or any topic they wish to discuss, making them feel heard and connected. This feature is particularly valuable in mitigating feelings of loneliness and isolation, enhancing the senior's overall quality of life.

Conclusion

We invite you to experience the transformative impact of our new "Tasks and Routines" feature on ONSCREEN. This innovative tool is designed to enrich the lives of seniors and offer caregivers peace of mind and efficiency in their care routines. Try it out and see the difference it can make in the daily life of your loved one. For any questions, guidance, or feedback, our support team is always here to assist you. Reach out to us and let us enhance your caregiving experience together.

For more information, please visit our Support Site.