Meet and wear AGNES

Meet AGNES,or should I say let’s wear AGNES and we’ll see how it would be to have 70 years old.

This is the Age Gain Now Empathy System from the MIT AgeLab, the work of a multi-discipliynary team of researchers, bussines partners, universities and the aging community to design all aspects of work, play and life tomorrow.

This suit is created for the young designers to encrease empathy and it brings up a whole new level of the user testing approach, now we can test some needs that the ageing people have. The studies are showing that in 1900, life expectancy was under 50, but today, living well into one’s 70s, 80s or beyond is expected.

So, how shall we live the extra 30-years of lifespan, if only in Japan is expected that by 2050 the ratio people over 65 will outnumber people under 20 at a ratio of 10:6?

The design community has to come with new ideas in order to provide a long and happy life for the ever growing population of the planet. We have to deal with design issues that simply did not exist when the life expectancy was of just 50 years old.

Everyone knows that we get older day by day and we must be able to “do stuff” throughout the lifespan. We need fresh ideas and new technologies that rethink the way our products are designed, services are delivered orpolicies are impremented.

I’m gonna leave you with this in mind: Sarah Knauss at her 119th birthday, she enjoyed her long life because she “had her health and can do things.”

For further reading please visit: AgeLab

Originally published at taniaignat.tumblr.com.