Ageing is just a suit away!

Researchers create a suit to help people understand what it might be like to move about as a senior citizen.

What does it actually feel like to be a 75-year-old? A group of researchers at MIT’s Agelab have created a suit to help people understand what it might be like to move about as a senior citizen.

Called AGNES (Age Gain Now Empathy System), the suit replicates what it potentially feels like to be in a 75-year-old body, replicating dexterity, flexibility, motor, and visual elements into a suit that can be worn by people of all ages.

Braces on the suit mimic joint stiffness and make it hard to walk, leg straps impede the speed of your movement and a helmet forces your head to move forward, mimicking the curved spine of an older adult. Yellow goggles and earplugs are the final touch on the outfit, making it difficult to read and hear some things.

The idea behind the technology is to help those creating public transportation and retail outlets for senior citizens some of the challenges these people face.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2012.