Gerontechnology Growing Old in a Technological Society

Aging does not occur in isolation but is a reflection of societal attitudes and resulting practical outcomes. Practical responses are principally the purview of engineering, technology, and the biomedical sciences, while the societal attitudes represent the ethical, philosophical, and social bases of the culture. Together they provide the inevitable link between the fields of gerontology and technology: Gerontechnology. The six sections of this groundbreaking book, Gerontechnology, detail this relationship. Part I describes the multi-faceted convergence of technology and aging, as well as the problems and challenges it presents. Part II serves as an introduction to both gerontologists and engineers to the age-related changes due to disease or senescence inherent in human aging and outlines potential areas of technological intervention. Part III addresses the problems and processes of invention, particularly ergonomics, which lead to the development of technologies specifically designed for the enhancement of the lives of the older population, while Part IV explores the range of sensory interventions currently available, particularly in the areas of vision and hearing, as well as describing those that hold greatest promise for future older populations. Automation through the employment of robots and advanced forms of transportation is the focus of Part V. The utilization of robots to increase the independence of older persons along with technological assistive mobility devices is given attention. The closing section, Part VI, includes a discussion of information processing communication and the effects of the constant and continuing interplay between technology and aging. This section also analyzes human experience from the perspective of the extraordinary framework for living provided by the growth of an aging population and the advanced technologies which have led to the conceptualization of Gerontechnology—the herald of a new age for human exploration.