Seocho-gu, Customized AI Robots and Smart Education for Seniors

Establishment of IT-Only Training Center for Seniors, Providing Various Educational and Experiential Opportunities through AI Robots That Assist Daily Life... Training IT Supporters and Offering Customized Digital Education at Over 160 Senior Welfare Facilities

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] As the COVID-19 pandemic has prolonged recently, the elderly are facing the contactless era defenselessly. From banking services to food purchases, there is hardly anything that has not shifted to non-face-to-face methods, but the inconvenience experienced by the digitally vulnerable elderly has led to social isolation, emerging as a social issue.

Seocho-gu (Mayor Cho Eun-hee) utilized the humanoid AI robot ‘Alpha Mini’ and collected and accumulated various data from May to July by targeting 20 elderly individuals to equip functions that can assist the elderly in their daily lives.

Based on this, starting in September, a total of 20 AI robots will be used to provide smart care such as safety checks for elderly living alone and alleviation of loneliness, as well as smart education within elderly welfare facilities including dementia prevention, coding, and artificial intelligence utilization.

Furthermore, along with the existing five IT experience zones in elderly welfare facilities, a new IT-exclusive education center will be established at the Seocho Central Senior Welfare Center, featuring an AI Robot Zone, VR Experience Zone, and a one-person media room, with operations scheduled to begin on the partial opening day of the facility on the 18th.

Among these, the ‘AI Robot Zone’ will operate the humanoid AI robot ‘Alpha Mini’ together with the robot ‘Silbot,’ equipped with cognitive function improvement programs, and the AI robot ‘Bomi,’ which can conduct one-on-one cognitive training programs through more than 20 types of games, expected to help prevent dementia through customized cognitive training for the elderly.

Additionally, from September, the district plans to sequentially conduct a total of 125 digital education courses, including the latest IT convergence education (AI artificial intelligence, IoT utilization, drones, UCC & YouTube, VR sports, 3D printers, etc.) at seven elderly welfare institutions. To provide on-site education, 20 IT supporters will be trained to visit over 160 senior centers directly and offer customized digital education necessary for daily life, such as smartphone and kiosk training.

Meanwhile, the district has signed agreements with the National Information Society Agency, Seoul Senior Welfare Center Association, and Seoul Lifelong Education Promotion Institute to provide the kiosk education system ‘Seocho ToktokC’ free of charge to over 60 elderly education institutions nationwide. These continuous efforts toward a ‘society without digital exclusion’ were recognized, and the district received the Minister of Science and ICT Award for Information Culture Merit in June.

Seocho-gu Mayor Cho Eun-hee said, “We will serve the elderly more meticulously through smart administration using AI robots so that no elderly person is left out in the rapidly changing contactless environment.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.