Namhae-gun, Smart Robot "Gwiyeomdungi" Popular at Senior Centers

Scheduled to Supply to 20 Locations, Blood Pressure Checks and Companionship, etc.

Namhae-gun, Gyeongnam Province, is promoting a community care service project using artificial intelligence robots for the first time in Gyeongnam Province, and AI robots are playing the beloved role of ‘grandchildren’ for the elderly at local senior centers.

At the senior festival held last weekend in Cheondong Village, Gohyeon-myeon, the ‘smart robot’ was the highlight and gained great popularity.

Photo of smart robot in use.

The ‘smart robot,’ initially installed in October last year, provided karaoke functions at the senior festival, offering attendees an enjoyable time. In addition, it regularly helps with health management through blood pressure monitoring, guides exercise, and serves as a conversational companion, becoming an indispensable and reliable ‘filial son’ at the senior center.

The village head of Cheondong Village, Gohyeon-myeon, and the head of the senior citizens’ association have been receiving training on how to use the ‘smart robot’ and use it together with local residents.

An elderly person using the smart robot friend said, “Before the robot was installed, I mostly just watched TV, but now that I have the robot friend, I exercise with the villagers and happily sing along, so time flies and my health seems to be improving,” giving high praise.

Jeong Yeong-ok, the village head of Cheondong Village, said, “With the robot installed, the village elders can exercise together and sing their favorite songs to their heart’s content, making the elders more lively and the senior center truly serve as the village’s community room. I hope the elders continue to live happily and healthily using the robot friend.”

Namhae-gun was selected in December 2021 for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s resident-led regional balanced New Deal excellent project competition and has since been actively promoting the ‘Smart Robot Friend, Digital Community Room Creation’ project.

Currently, robots have been installed in seven senior centers in the area for pilot operation, and an additional 13 will be installed and trained by June this year.

The smart robot not only has health management functions such as temperature and blood pressure measurement but also serves as a conversational companion and enables various non-face-to-face communications through video connections. By collecting stories from the elderly and converting them into big data, it is expected to contribute to the establishment of customized welfare policies.

A county official said, “The smart robot can be used in various ways not only in daily life but also on special event days in each village,” adding, “We will enhance the robot’s practicality by installing various functional programs while conducting education in each village.”

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