Airbag for the elderly unveiled

Japan’s ageing crisis has left the country with a unique catalogue of problems, among them a spiraling pensions shortfall and a surprising rise in crimes committed by the elderly. Nasty falls, however, may be things of the past — thanks to the invention of the human airbag.

Simply strap the 2½lb (1.1kg) pouch around the waist and the wearer is armed with the cutting edge of protection. Sensors detect movement and have been programmed to know when things have gone wrong — a slip on something wet, a stumble on an uneven paving stone or a fall down stairs.
Within a tenth of a second, the airbags inflate to the size of three footballs as they are blasted into action with 15 liters of compressed gas, offering a soft slab of padding on the most vulnerable parts of the body in a fall: the back of the head and the bottom. The price tag on the device — about £700 — offers a hint at just how big the "silver yen" has become as a business proposition. The people most likely to pay for them are not the pensioners, but their guilt-ridden children, whose work commitments prevent them from checking up on their parents more regularly.

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Other gadgets for the elderly
Liquid level indicator Device fitted to cups or jugs that beeps when liquid is an inch from the top of the container
Bed occupancy sensor sends a warning to a monitoring center if a bed is left unoccupied for a certain period, indicating a possible fall
Dolls that weigh as much as a baby and tell owners they love them, and welcome them back to the house — very popular with elderly women
Brain training game Nintendo gadget successful with elderly Japanese who use the mathematical and spelling puzzles to keep them mentally agile
Light-up slippers Footwear with miniature pressure-activated lights designed to prevent night-time falls