Technology in senior living communities is growing both at center stage and behind the scenes. Think digital signage in lobbies and “tech tables” in community rooms. Additionally, the need for bigger storage space for computer servers and beefed-up electrical systems is growing.

This is happening in large part because communities are integrating technology into their built environments to satisfy the wants and needs of incoming baby boomers.

“At a minimum, boomers expect to have the same comfort in their new environment as just about anyone else—dependable, secure internet and Wi-Fi; ample charging stations; and smart devices to aid in their daily life,” says Stephanie Truong, architect at SmithGroup (San Francisco).

Matching technology solutions to community types

Additionally, the technologies used in a specific community should vary by the type of residents being served. “Memory care communities are interested in such technology as virtual reality, which can be deployed to help stimulate homebound residents,” she says.


“Independent living communities, by contrast, function much more like multifamily housing with value-adds like home-monitoring devices, such as Amazon’s Ring and Google’s Nest, and ease-of-access devices, such as Google Home or Amazon Alexa, which allow people to turn on lights or the TV, play music, or search the internet with their voice.”

Taken together, these changes are affecting the built environment in senior living communities in an ever-increasing number of ways.

Digital screens can support communication between residents and staff

One technology trend making an impact is the use of digital screens to improve communications between residents and staff, says Erin Partridge, experiential researcher-in-residence at Elder Care Alliance (ECA). The alliance is a nonprofit network of five senior living communities based in Oakland, Calif.

For example, devices such as large-screen LEDs are being installed in reception areas, lobbies, and other public spaces. Here, they provide timely information on schedules for classes and social events. “This is largely replacing paper bulletins, which often get outdated pretty quickly, much to the frustration of the residents,” she says.

Community lounges are also becoming home to tech tables, which accommodate or support a variety of devices, says Grant Warner, a principal at D2 Architecture (Dallas).

For the Ventana by Buckner, a continuing care retirement community in Dallas, D2 and IDA (Nashville, Tenn.) incorporated a custom tech table in the lounge of the independent living wing.

“Wi-Fi and hard plugs are available but in one piece of furniture to encourage interaction between residents, by having them all in one place and sitting face-to-face,” he says.

Role of social robots in senior living

Other technologies, such as social robots, are also being introduced at senior living communities to foster resident engagement.

One example is Jibo, which interacts with residents and can tell jokes or encourage healthy behaviors such as getting up and dancing. Jibo, a voice-activated “social robot” born in the labs of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is a tabletop device that resembles a miniature snowman, and the ECA staff take it around to meet with residents on a regular basis.

“We wondered if Jibo would ‘suck the residents in’ and become the sole focal point of the room, as often happens with a tech device,” says Erin Partridge, ECA’s experiential researcher-in-residence. “Instead, as residents interacted with Jibo, they would be elbowing each other at his responses and talking about what he said—the robot really does stimulate human interaction.”

Alexis Burck, senior living studio leader at SmithGroup, agrees that digital companions, including interactive “friends” such as Jibo and robotic pets, are a valuable addition. He expects they will become increasingly popular in communities.

“They provide seniors with accessible and constant companionship, while also serving as a monitoring system that increases safety, as staff can be wired into data the robot is collecting,” she says.

Health-based tech interventions

Technology is also being employed to support residents’ health and wellness. Peninsula Health Care District’s The Trousdale assisted living and memory care building in Burlingame, Calif., incorporates workout equipment with interactive video displays into the fitness room. The technology offers workout routines or entertainment programming in large, easy-to-read formats.

“Residents can get the audio for that system via headphones; in the future, that may evolve into wearable fitness devices that track users’ daily activity,” says Alexis Burck, senior living studio leader at SmithGroup.

Similar to state-of-the-art workout facilities, Warner says he’s seen the installation of tech-driven recreational options at senior living communities. These include a golf-simulator booth, where the user drives a ball and its projected flight is simulated on a screen that depicts a golf hole.

“They don’t take up much space and are often found in commercial gyms, so many residents would be comfortable using them,” he says.

Building in the right infrastructure

All this added technology means senior living communities need to modify or update their back-of-house IT infrastructure and electrical systems. In turn, this will affect space needs and layouts.

For instance, SmithGroup’s Truong notes that many senior communities are upgrading their IT infrastructures by laying conduit within existing joint trenches to accommodate future cable installations. This could also translate into the enlargement of such trenches in both new-build and renovation projects, she adds.

More space will also be needed for larger server rooms to support growing technology systems.

Truong says that it’s important for designers to ensure that more low-voltage electrical outlets are available, especially in resident rooms. Such systems carry 50 volts (versus the 124 carried to typical wall plugs) and have traditionally been used for doorbells, alarm systems, and thermostats—but today help run home-monitoring devices.

Addressing cyber security

Furthermore, keeping digital systems at senior living complexes safe from hackers is vitally important.

“As mobile devices and hackers alike become more sophisticated, user protection is paramount,” says Truong. “Communities should take network security seriously and invest in it if they are providing, and paying for, resident internet access.”

She points to such relatively recent security measures as user-behavior analytics. These systems track personal behavior patterns in device use and send out an alert when something deviates from the usual patterns.

“This kind of tracking has the potential to identify security threats to individual users and the community network,” Truong says.

Planning for 5G

Looming on the horizon for tech consumers of all stripes is 5G technology, the fifth-generation wireless technology for digital cellular networks that’s now being deployed on a limited basis.

On the plus side, 5G is expected to result in such things as faster, higher-quality downloads for streaming video and improved cellular service in remote or rural regions. But D2’s Warner adds that one of the vulnerabilities of the 5G revolution is that many of the new apps it makes possible may pose a security risk.

Specifically, many 5G apps will be on what he calls the “wrong side” (i.e., the public side) of a device’s firewall protection, rather than on the individual gadget’s side of that protection, which has traditionally been the case.

“While there’s no doubt that technology is enhancing the quality of life in senior living centers, I also think that designers, as an industry, need to approach 5G and other new technologies with some professional skepticism,” he says. “That would be best for everyone involved, especially the residents.”

Future growth

While she seconds Warner’s call for caution, ECA’s Partridge is also confident about technology’s future in senior living.

“When implemented in a way that takes both the needs and tech-related abilities of seniors into account, it can play a major role in improving their quality of life in senior living settings.”

Matthew Hall is a freelance writer/editor based in Cincinnati. He can be reached at matt.hall56@icloud.com.