• The base price is 39,800 yen, with the dedicated app available for 1,980 yen per month. Sourcenext aims to sell one million units by the end of fiscal 2029

TOKYO/KOBE: Technology companies in Japan are increasingly offering cutting-edge products for nursing care and welfare, aiming to reduce home care burdens and invigorate seniors who have difficulty going out as the country’s population is graying.

Sourcenext Corp. has teamed up with Tellus You Care Inc. to start selling the US startup’s device to provide safety for aging people living alone.

Using millimeter-wave radar, a technology used in self-driving vehicles, the device can measure sleep habits, heart rate and breathing rate, simply by attaching it to the wall of a bedroom.

With a smartphone app linked with the device, people can check the condition of aging family members living alone, detecting abnormalities such as not waking up as usual.

The base price is 39,800 yen, with the dedicated app available for 1,980 yen per month. Sourcenext aims to sell one million units by the end of fiscal 2029.

A Japanese unit of Meta Corp. is working with Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, and Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, on a project to use virtual reality for welfare.

On Aug. 1, a workshop was held at an elderly nursing home in Kobe, where residents experienced a virtual tour of sightseeing spots with a 360-degree view using a goggle-type virtual reality gadget. A resident who wore such a device for the first time said: “I’ve been there. It brought back memories.” Another resident said it was too confusing.

Although the use of virtual reality for welfare is still under study, it could help seniors rehabilitate themselves as they move their necks and eyes naturally while enjoying themselves, said Kenta Toshima, a researcher at the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology who is involved in the project.

JIJI Press