May 25, 2009
Satellite navigation gadgets will soon be able to help pensioners find their way around supermarkets.
Scientists are working on device which works like a car navigation system to help elderly shoppers baffled by changing layouts in aisles.
It is part of government-funded research at three centres - Newcastle, Aberdeen and Nottingham universities - into new ways of using digital technology to help the elderly and disabled, reports the Daily Telegraph.
Other ideas include a kitchen packed with an array of hidden sensors, projectors and electronics that can help Alzheimer's patients live independently.
The sat nav shopping device is likely to use both a global positioning system and the latest mobile phone location coordinates.
Newcastle University is already testing a gadget for dementia patients so they can be tracked if they get lost.
Professor Paul Watson, of Newcastle University, said: "Many older people lack the confidence to maintain 'normal' walking habits. This is often due to worries about getting lost in unfamiliar, new or changing environments."
The gadgets will be designed to be worn "unobtrusively", he said.
