An industrial design professor and her graduate class have developed adorable and lifelike robotic pets, designed to help care for older people.
DOGS AND CATS are long-treasured household pets, making their way as an undeniable members of the family across households and cultures. Aside from the joy they bring to families’ lives, numerous studies show that owning pets makes owners much happier and improves their health, along with helping decrease blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Owning Fido or Whiskers is a great idea for the elderly. But in some care homes and other places, sadly, residents aren’t allowed to have pets. But there could be a solution to this.
The future is wild! Could you see a little guy like this sharing your life in the future?
Enter Claudia Rebola, of the University of Cincinnati. She is an expert on inclusive design and technology for the elderly. Rebola assembled a bunch of graduate students plus some boffins from the Engineering and Applied Science department. With her team, she set out to improve an existing line of robotic dogs. By giving them a more lifelike appearance and adding more senior-friendly features. These features include the ability to check one’s vital signs, and other expanded capabilities that allow these robotic pets to care for their elderly owners.
Begining of the Project
The project started in 2017 when Rebola won a grant for a project called ARIES (Affordable Robotic Intelligence for Elderly Support). With researchers, a hospital, and industry partner Hasbro, a toymaker, she began the project. The team received a $1.3-million grant to re-envision Hasbro’s Joy For All Companion Pets. Now owned by Ageless Innovation, a company composed of former Hasbro executives.
Rebola and her team are planning to redesign these pets in appearance and in function. Based on feedback from pilot studies and focus groups with senior living residents and caregivers in retirement communities. Some features in the works include detecting and preventing falls, providing psychosocial support, and enabling reminders.
Some of their feedback has already led to significant developments. Users wanted more realistic features, from its fur to its movements. Rebola and her team modelled the new prototype after the Yorkshire terrier, replacing the cartoonish, stuffed-animal design of its predecessor. The team also sourced high-quality faux fur to mimic actual fur, making the robot more pettable. They redesigned its body for more fluid and flexible movements.
Rebola’s team hopes to have a product ready for market next year. So let’s watch this space! ■
Anticipate Life is now offering an amazing new service to make sure your final wishes are safe.
There are a lot of things that can’t go in a Will. But if you are no longer around, how will people know about these things? Well, now there is a place online where you can leave all the details, so your family will know exactly what to do. A new start-up, called Anticipate Life, has created an amazing service that could save your family a lot of heartaches when a loved one passes.
Anticipate Life Founders Lea Russell and Paul Kamarudin
Anticipate Life – Solving a Problem
A LOT OF US HAVE BEEN THERE – a relative dies and we do not know what their funeral wishes are. We do not know the contact details of their friends who might want to come to the funeral. We don’t know what to do with their beloved cat. But now, there is a new service that can remedy this.
Anticipate Life is an online record of what your family needs what you plan to leave behind when you pass away. These are things that fall outside of what you can put in a Will.
This truly thoughtful tech start-up was founded by Leanne Russell and Paul Kamarudin. Says Leanne, “After witnessing first-hand the confusion, family conflict and lengthy red tape that can occur when a loved one dies without leaving clear instructions and information, we decided there had to be a better way. We soon realised it wasn’t just our funerals that needed pre-planning, but all those aspects of our lives not listed in our Will; those everyday aspects that would take time and a certain amount of sleuthing on our family’s part to sort out after our death.”
Bernadette and Max Fulton say that Anticipate Life is a fantastic adjunct to a Will.
Online Wishes
Storing your wishes online has advantages. It cannot be lost if you move to a new home, and everyone knows where it is. Anyone who sees it after you pass will have read-only access – they won’t be able to change anything. You can also update it easily as you progress through different stages of your life.
Says Leanne, “When Paul’s mum passed, two brothers didn’t talk for 18 months because they couldn’t agree on what her favourite poem was for her funeral. The conflict could so easily have been avoided.”
Paul says knowing they are following their loved one’s wishes can be a real comfort for those left behind. “Communicating end-of-life and after-death wishes is not only respectful, but it also ultimately relieves stress and conflict at what is already a difficult time.”
Leanne and Paul worked with Gold Coast-based lawyers Bernadette and Max Fulton to develop Anticipate Life. Says Bernadette, “Sadly, we have seen many families torn apart after a death because the Will doesn’t typically provide total clarity about the deceased’s visions for their funeral. It may lack detailed financial distribution instructions or who is to inherit special or valuable items. Anticipate Life is a fantastic adjunct to a Will, allowing people to be very clear and detailed in their wishes, and to easily keep their wishes updated.”
Anticipate Life took two years to develop. User data is safeguarded by global gold-standard infrastructure and robust encryption and privacy protocols – meaning it is as safe as Gmail. In terms of your information, only you can change what is stored in the online locker. Once the subscriber has passed away, only then can their Executor or Nominee access the read-only information.
Online security is great. But the best part is emotional security – knowing that everyone is clear on your wishes. ■
Instructions You Should put In Your Digital Locker
■ Funeral plans. Your Will needs to go through probate before it can be released to your loved ones and your estate can be settled. This can take ages. If funeral plans are in your Will, your family may not see them in time and not know what to do.
■ Pets. Make sure your family know what is happening to your pet. Is it going to a charity like AWLQ? Are friends or family going to take it? What are the dietary needs and medications? Who is the vet?
■ Your Digital Estate. This has become a big deal. This is stuff you cannot put in your Will but your family will need to know. If you use services like GPay or Apple Pay these accounts will need to be shut down. Who gets your cryptocurrency? How do families access it? Online accounts like Netflix will need to be deactivated. Plus you may want people to memorialise your social media accounts like Facebook. Your family will need to know how to get into your laptop, into your phone, and into your email account. Access to digital photos may be very important to your loved ones, as well as your music collection on your computer. For this Anticipate Life recommends a password manager, like LastPass or 1Password.
■ Gifts with conditions. “Give this ring to Elizabeth when she graduates from university.”
■ Everything that auto-renews via your bank account needs to be cancelled. Mortgages, loans, utilities, charity subscriptions, any other subscriptions, club memberships, child support, insurance policies. Make a list of all of your memberships so the family will know what to cancel.
■ Someone may owe you money, in a casual or formal arrangement. This is where you could forgive the debt or let relatives know who owes what to you.
■ You may have love letters or final words that you want to hand on to your family. This is something you can now store digitally in your Anticipate Life locker. You can also include emotional items, like a recipe from grandma that was handed down, that you want to pass on.
■ Lists of contacts. Who is coming to your funeral? A list of everyone who needs to be notified and their contact details is great here. Plus people you want to be called, like that old lover from Paris, and your school friends.
■ Write your obituary or eulogy. This will save your family from having to do it at an upsetting time.
■ A list of things that aren’t as important or valuable enough to be included in your Will. Go through your stuff and make an inventory. Then list who is getting it. Things like televisions, jewellery, collectibles, vehicles, art and antiques, computers or laptops, power tools.
■ Name your favourite charity, so people who want to donate in your memory know what to do.
■ Have your organ donation wishes made clear. Organ donation is time-sensitive, so this needs to be accessed quickly.
Subscriptions start from just $5 per month. Find out more by visiting www.anticipate.life.
ou and your loved ones can find information quickly when needed with an easy-to-use web application.
At SkinEnergy, we change lives by changing skin. Every skin tells a unique story. That’s why we begin every treatment journey with our famous professional skin analysis. After discovering your true health, we develop tailored and transformative treatment programs to achieve your individual goals.
DMK home enzyme
PIGMENTATION
There are different names for pigmentation spots (sun spots, age spots, liver spots). Also, when it comes to combatting unwanted pigmentation, it is important to understand the underlying cause and the different types that are present. The condition requires a unique treatment plan.
pigmentation
We are currently offering a 6-Month Skin Gym Membership. Sign up for the Goodbye Pigment pack. This will target pigmentation and uneven tone. we find these are very common concerns for many of our clients. The treatment plan begins with an in-depth skin health assessment and lifestyle consultation using our state-of-the-art skin diagnostic tools. You will learn about the internal and external factors contributing to pigmentation, and how we can work together to remove and prevent it from occurring in the future.
The course will be a combination of IPL, LED, Skin Needling and a Peel each month (therapist[1]chosen and customised to your unique skin needs) plus a DMK starter skincare pack on your first visit to keep you achieving incredible results at home. Hence, you can enjoy two in-clinic treatments a month at an incredibly affordable $145 a fortnight, which is direct debited, so you can set it and forget it!
CRYOPEN THERAPY
Cryopen therapy is a procedure that involves using nitrous oxide gas under high pressure on the face. The gas is very cold which helps to freeze and destroy any benign lesions.
Photo of Cryotherapy
The cryo pen will get rid of:
■ Tags
■ Solar Keratosis (rough, scaly patches on sun‑exposed areas such as the head) and face, and
■ Milia (small white bumps that appear on the skin)
The Cryo Pen also gets rid of:
■ Cherry angioma or commonly known as red moles
■ Viral verrucae (warts)
Also,
■ Solar lentigo (sun spots)
■ Any other pigmentation
RADIO FREQUENCY
This is a procedure commonly used for the treatment of skin laxity. Therefore, the goal is to induce thermal damage to thus stimulate neocollagenesis (wound repair) in deep layers. Clinical studies have shown this to be an incredibly safe procedure. The treatment induces a powerful, natural healing response that stimulates skin tightening, cell regeneration and collagen production. Targeting fine lines, wrinkles, loose skin, stretch marks and open pores, Fractional RF offers visible results.
radio frequency
IPL (INTENSE PULSE LIGHT)
IPL skin rejuvenation works by stimulating collagen growth. It also helps to reduce excessive capillaries in the skin and reduce inflammation. It does this by using wavelengths of light. The body’s natural processes then work on the results of the interaction between the light and the tissue to make it look better.
INJECTABLES
Anti-wrinkle injections are the non-surgical way to fill lines and smooth wrinkles with dramatic results. The injections boost volume and hydration to your face and lips, restoring a more youthful appearance. They can be used to shape lips and lift cheeks, fill and firm deep folds and lines. Evidently, the condition and appearance of our skin because it is the key to our overall wellbeing. Is it time you gave your skin some TLC? ■
Injectables
Gay Wardle
Gay Wardle is Australia’s leading industry expert in skin analysis, anatomy and physiology. She has completed a Bachelor of Health Science in Dermal Therapies. Moreover, she has lectured at universities both in Sydney and Brisbane. She is highly experienced in the use of IPL and LED light therapy in beauty and advises therapists on how to develop dermatology treatment programs that utilise the benefits of modern-day beauty technologies.
Australia’s leading beauty equipment and product manufacturers regularly seek her advice for the development. Delivery of their salon training and education programs. Gay regularly travels the world to attend skin symposiums and medical conferences to ensure she remains up to date with the latest treatment techniques. In 2015, she was awarded Educator of the Year at the Australian Beauty Industry Awards. Her work as an educator and practitioner was celebrated in 2014 when she was inducted into the ABIA Hall of Fame in addition to the Reed Exhibition Hall of Fame.
This semi-permanent treatment saves you precious time before going out, it won’t rub off or run during exercise or when swimming. It’s also a fabulous alternative if you struggle to apply makeup without your glasses on, or if you’ve got shaking hands and tremors. Your makeup will remain intact, regardless.
Age is no barrier when it comes to cosmetic tattooing. There are some fascinating new techniques. We can create naturally soft and hyper-realistic eyebrows. We can create a thicker/fuller looking lash line. Soft, shaded lips have never been easier. This means that you can wake up every day looking fresh-faced, sporting that youthful glow. And best of all, no one would ever know!
While permanent makeup has been around for many years, it has definitely come a long way. It’s no longer a luxury but an absolute necessity! Good cosmetic tattooing is a complete game[1]changer and when done well, it will literally change your life!
The new cosmetic tattooing techniques today are so much softer, sophisticated and able to provide a truly enhanced but natural look. These advances have broadened the appeal to a much wider age demographic. Natural, beautiful brows are so much easier to create these days with the new feather-stroke and powder ombre techniques. These allow us to achieve a lovely 3D effect of simulated hairs rather than the old block techniques. These new techniques let us create a beautiful shape that can give the illusion of a more youthful, slightly lifted eyebrow – the key is to enhance one’s features without looking artificial.
So Why the Need for Semi-Permanent Make-Up?
Over time, our eyebrows disappear with age. They can also go grey and look like they are fading away! Eyebrows are important. They frame your eyes and give your face a natural lift. So what is a 50+ gal to do? Bring life back to your face! As we age, it is inevitable that facial features shift and alter. Changes in bone structure, hair loss, fat distribution, muscle drooping and skin wrinkling all happen. However, cosmetic tattooing techniques are evolving, and you can look fabulous thanks to advances in this fascinating beauty space.
INJECTABLES
One of the questions I ask in my clinic is, “Do you get injectables? Are you planning to do so in the future?” They can be incredibly complementary and can aid in softening any facial asymmetries. They might relax that one eyebrow that likes to pull up. Or, they might add extra volume to a person’s face. Knowing about injectables is also important in determining the placement of any cosmetic tattooing.
BROWS
I’m a huge powder brow fan. This means that the tattoo heals to resemble a soft ‘powdery’ brow – almost identical to when you use makeup to fill in a sparse brow. This technique not only ages well, but it suits almost 100% of skin types. As it ages, it fades away with no hard lines or harsh colours.
LIPS
Another two treatments that work really well together are fillers and lip tattooing. Lips start slowly losing thickness from the age of 16! And over the following decades, our lips become smaller and flatter so in conjunction with injectables we can reverse this aging-lip look completely. Injectables keep ageing in the face at bay, as well as in the lips. And, they keep things ‘symmetrical’ – this applies to muscle relaxants as well. With lip-filler, it’s recommended to have this done 14 days before a cosmetic tattooing procedure to let any bruising, or discomfort subside. Have your eyebrows tattooed BEFORE having any injectables. This will allow the tattooist to see what their facial muscles do, and how the brows look in their natural resting state.
EYELINER
Many of the smaller liners or lash enhancements are no problem to do before, or after a client has had injectables or filler. However, if we are talking ‘wings or wedges’ then have the tattooing done when they are in their most natural state. If you have had a Blepharoplasty (eyelid lift) within the past 12 months, you must let this heal properly from the inside out and settle fully before having any tattooing around your eyes. The procedure does stretch the skin quite tightly.
By Katherine McCann of Facebox HQ, A Bespoke Cosmetic Clinic In Ashmore Plaza.
A NEW, REFRESHED YOU
You can take years off your appearance and refresh your look with cosmetic tattooing. Cosmetic tattooing is a constantly advancing industry and can do amazing things for your look. Now, you can wake up looking your most beautiful self without any effort. Beauty technology? We love you. ■
See Faceboxofficial.com for further info on any cosmetic tattooing procedures.
KATHERINE MCCANN is an advanced cosmetic tattooist and educator, and the founder of FaceBox. She is known for her ultra-realistic and natural tattooing style. She is an industry advisor, editorial journalist, award-winning cosmetic tattooist and educator. Katherine holds postgraduate qualifications in HR, behavioural science and strategic business development. She works with APAN as a strategic business and governance advisor and with Australian educational providers as a trainer. She also has a passion for working with women with injuries, scarring and disfigurement. Katherine is a ‘go to guru’ by many of her cosmetic tattooing colleagues and is a huge advocate for ongoing education, confidence building, mentorship and technical skill refinement.
Tweed Mall has a rainbow of fashion and accessory stores. Here are some of our favourite finds!
BLACK PEPPER
Add that floral touch to any look with this Hopewell Top. Crafted from a lightweight and soft cotton blend, it’s perfect for any activity this weekend.
Black pepper
KATIES
This gorgeous fur puffer jacket from Katies is perfect for those night walks along the beach.
Katies Puffer Jacket
MILLERS WOMEN
Step out in style in this Millers Volume Roll Neck. With full-length sleeves, this is perfect for cooler days this season.
NONI B
We love this Liz Jordan wrap button jumper. Perfect for those winter firepit get-togethers!
Noni B
RIVERS
This Rivers hooded polar fleece shirt is perfect for weekend camping trips. It has an extra layer whilst being on trend with this season’s checks.
Rivers
TARGET
This is so cool! Meet the puffer dinosaur jacket. This will keep the kids warm and toasty this winter.
Target
ROCKMAN’S
This snuggle jacket is the absolute cutest! We will take 10!
Rockmans
SUSSAN
How can anyone go wrong with these velour joggers? Cute, comfy and stylish! Nice!
Sussan
TUMMY CONTROL SWIMWEAR
We adore this painted flower beaded one piece with a striking low backline. It is chlorine resistant with 20% Xtra Life Lycra.
Tummy Control Swimwear
BARE TRAPS
We love these almond pumps with ankle straps. An elegant style for all occasions.
Bare Traps
LUSCIOUS JEWELLERY
We are in love with this unique, quality gemstone jewellery and one-off pieces set in sterling silver.
Luscious Jewellery
PROUDS
This Guess Gents gold tone watch is seriously bling. We love that it is water resistant so you can jump into the surf with it.
Prouds
SOLE INTEGRITY
The Arcopedico Boot comes in a range of colours and patterns. They are crafted from Lytech, a super durable and flexible textile. They are water-resistant and machine washable and improve circulation, so great for diabetic feet.
LOOT HOMEWARES
This woven bag with a rope handle is the cutest find ever.
TWEED KITCHENWARE
This is a great find! The Scanpan Spectrum Santoku Knife has a sharp blade made of high-quality carbon stainless steel and features a non-stick coating. Perfect for cutting sushi and pizza!
Tweed kitchenware
MARGIE’S BOUTIQUE
This classic lace underwire Berlei bra has traditional styling and a reinforced lower cup, which provides added uplift and support up to size 24.
Head into Tweed Mall to check out the current prices, discounts and offers for the items featured above.
Tweed Mall is only a short stroll from Coolangatta Beach, right next to the Twins Towns Services Club and the Jack Evans Boat Harbour. There are over 900 car parking spaces, and a bus stop on Wharf Street.
Address: Cnr Wharf Street & Bay Street Tweed Heads
Nursing homes/care centres used to be a beige world of sitting down in front of the TV and eating boiled cabbage at mealtimes. But not anymore. The team at Silver Magazine did the tour of Odyssey Lifestyle Care Community at Robina, and we were ridiculously impressed. Here are all the things you can look forward to.
Odyssey Community
RÓISÍN MURPHY REPORTS.
I and my colleague from Silver Magazine walked into the Care Community at Robina, the first thing we noticed was the high ceilings. The architecture is beautiful in the reception area, and the décor is super-stylish. As we moved through the building, we realised that there were a lot of beautiful spaces. It was a great first impression.
INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAM
As we were shown through to the restaurant/café area, we were delighted to see little kids from a pre-school nearby playing with the residents. There were board games happening, drawing was going on, there were rides on walkers. Both the littlies and the residents were having a really good time. The intergenerational program runs every two weeks and the residents love it. Also, the kids were lapping up the adult attention they were getting. Don’t get me wrong, they were playing those board games to win, the competitive spirit was fierce.
But they were loving the adult company. We have all seen documentaries where they show experiments with the generations from the opposite ends of the age spectrum…but seeing it in practice is just something else. We humans should have been doing this all along. Older people and little kids are such a natural fit. The older people have the time to lavish lots of attention, and the kids were thriving on it. Everyone in the room was having a really great time. What a win‑win. It felt happy.
High Tea at Odyssey Community
FOOD AT THE COMMUNITY
I and my colleague got even happier a minute after that when we were invited to sample the coffee and cake. Even though I say coffee and cake. I mean café‑style coffee was so good I snuck back and got another one. There were cakes such as mini danish and a choc caramel slice so tasty I saw my skinny sugar-avoiding colleague take two. This isn’t the image that comes to mind from a caring community. This is what you picture at a beachfront café that is full of trendy people with thousand-dollar prams and $250 boardies.
Odyssey residents are enjoying a wine and cheese afternoon with good company and great views!
The more formal restaurant and casual café area feel like an actual nice restaurant and café. You wouldn’t know you were in a caring community. And here is the best bit. Residents can eat chef[1]prepared food for just $15 a day. For this, they get two a la carte meals (lunch and dinner) and which can be chosen from a menu. That works out at just $7.50 for lunch and $7.50 for dinner. Not only that, residents can have family and friends meet them in the restaurant. Just make a booking and pay at reception. So if residents don’t want to cook for say, a mother’s day celebration, they can still have everyone over for a meal. Let the lunch parties roll on!
COMMUNITY LIFESTYLE
After we sample the food, we are taken to meet the Lifestyle Coordinator, Alison. Alison definitely has a fun job. She gets to take the residents out on seriously cool day trips. They flit around the Gold Coast and surrounds. In the days before we got there, residents told us they went to Yatala pie shop to get pies, which they thought was hilarious fun. They go to art galleries, they go on river cruises, they go up to Mount Tamborine, wine tasting.
FUN AND ENTERTAINMENT
They also go on shopping trips to surrounding shopping centres. But there’s cool stuff at home too. The residents do exercises in the morning. They have hand pampering sessions and get their nails done. They get facials as well. There are entertainers visiting all the time, anything from pianists, to harpists, to karaoke. Next on the activities planner is a wine-tasting session in the wine cellar on site. Everything about this place is wrapped in a little bit of luxury and sophistication. The top floor – storey seven – is a sky garden, where Odyssey held an experimental wine tasting night recently. The terrace had never been so busy. I think we are all ready to move in.
Chefs prepare all of the meals fresh daily, catering for a full range of dietary requirements.
STYLE
The display apartments look like something out of a home magazine. They are styled beautifully, and the layout is incredibly well-thought-out. This isn’t twee granny taste. This is sophisticated, stylish, and clean, with excellent storage spaces. There are designer appliances and finishes, and sensitive accessibility design. But the overall look is one of a modern and minimal haven. Residents can furnish their apartments however they want, from the interior décor to the colour scheme.
The Odyssey model is built around a resort-style environment. There will be 148 luxury apartments, a leisure centre, restaurant, piano lounges and several sky gardens.
TECH
When you take the tour of Odyssey you’ll understand just how cool the tech is (seriously do the tour, even to get an idea of what is out there on the market). The use of tech is now so impressive, I am sure we are all ready for the robots to take over.
The most impressive bit of the kit is the smart TV that comes with the apartment. The technology is provided by HSC Technology Group – it is a Set‑Top‑Box connected to the resident’s television, much like those you experience in high-end hotels.
Residents can use the TV to see things like weekly activities, and the restaurant menu.
Residents can use the TV to see things like weekly activities, and the restaurant menu. They can access social media on it, Google to their heart’s content, play audiobooks, play games. The TVs have cameras so that residents can use them to video call their friends and relatives. Residents have been using the TV during Covid to have a doctor’s consultation, without having to leave home. And of course, there’s Netflix and normal TV too!
There’s another tech that is very impressive. Odyssey has a sensor system that can map a person’s usual use of their apartment. If anything drastically changes, an alert is set off. They do this with just infrared sensors, rather than cameras so that the resident’s privacy is preserved. For example, if a person is on the floor in an unusual position, or if anything else is wrong, the sensors will detect this. The tech installed in Odyssey has the sole aim of being preventative rather than reactive.
EXTRAS
There are other really thoughtful extras at Odyssey. One of these is the transition room. This is a room, which looks exactly like a luxury hotel room. It is downstairs very close to the nurses’ office. If a resident goes through a bout of illness or has returned from a hospital stay, and they don’t feel confident to stay in their apartment, they can use this room until they are confident enough to return to their usual life. They are not charged to use this room and can use it for as long as it takes, maybe a couple of days, maybe a week. This room can also be used by a family member of a resident in some situations.
THE FINAL WORD
There are some new ways of thinking at Odyssey that make it really different to other offerings. The best part about it is that once you have moved in, you never have to move again if you don’t want to. Every level of care can be provided in every apartment.
When people move in, they may feel fit and active. It is hard for residents to picture at this stage that they might need help to shower or do other tasks. Then suddenly, a higher level of care is needed, and it is at this stage that nobody wants to be moving. The ideal scenario is while you’re still fit and well, you settle in, you make friends, and you feel at home by the time you need a high level of care.
At Odyssey, there’s the retirement village vibe, with lots of opportunities for friendship and company, plus a lifestyle care community. This is especially good for couples where one partner can still go out and do their own thing, knowing that Odyssey can look after the other resident.
Residents can also have a pet join them, invite grandkids for sleepovers and couples stay together. Residents can come and go as they like, and have visitors. It is a perfect balance.
Odyssey, from what we have seen here at Silver Magazine, is the best of both worlds between retirement and aged care. The peace of mind that this is your last move is an excellent selling point. I think we are all ready to move in and grab a spot in those wine tastings. An Mt Tamborine Cab Sav? Don’t mind if I do! ■
