Voice-controlled virtual assistants for the older people with visual impairment

Compared with the other age groups, the elderly population in England and Wales suffer from the highest incidence of visual impairment, with almost 18 000 Certificates of Vision Impairment (CVI) registrations, which was 75% of the total figure in the over-65 age group between 2012–2013.¹ Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of visual impairment, with estimations suggesting a 2.4% prevalence of late AMD in the over-50 age group, equivalent to 513 000 cases in the UK. The proportion of late AMD increases with advancing age, rising to 4.8 and 12.2% at over-65 and over-80 age groups respectively.² Older people with visual impairment suffer from more physical and mental health co-morbidities compared to those with normal vision.³ This vulnerable group of population is also associated with higher rates of hospital admissions with falls.⁴ Psychologically, visually impaired elderly display higher prevalence of anxiety, depression, and have poorer quality of life.^{5, 6}

It has been shown that introducing the Internet to the elderly can help to promote psychological well-being, contributing to their sense of empowerment and independence, through accessing news, weather and entertainment, obtaining information on interests and health problems, or shopping online.^{7, 8} While high proportions of the working-age adults regularly surf the Internet, the older generation are less likely to do so. A recent survey in US found that Internet use among the elderly has steadily climbed over the past decade, with the ‘younger seniors’ (65−69-year-olds) almost twice as likely to use the Internet than the over-80s, at 82 and 44% respectively. Not surprisingly, however, Internet use is also positively correlated to higher household income and educational attainment.⁹

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