Editor's Pick
JUNE 29, 2009 12:53PM
Rate: 16
Meet St. Agnes of MIT (Globe file photo)
The brilliant young engineers at MIT's AgeLab have invented a bodysuit to mimic the infirmities that inflict the elderly called, um, aging. Agnes 2.0, or Saint Agnes of MIT is called Age Gain Now Empathy System, a catchy name if there ever was one.Agnes is a blue coverall adorned with MacGyver-like gadgets that are supposed to help the wearer, who is typically a 20-something, learn how these infirmities feel while pursuing real life experiences.
The goal of the AgeLab's experiments with St. Agnes is to help those 20 and 30 something product designers make better and more
Plenty of large corporations have donated millions in funding to the AgeLab in order to have St. Agnes help them in developing marketing and product strategies to target the growing aging population. By 2030 almost 20% of the American population will be St. Agne's age, so they say.
It probably wasn't interesting enough to merely ask the elderly about their shopping experiences. After all, the corporations do not want to hear that their products are just too expensive or taste like crap. They just want to know where to best place them so that they don't miss out on the stampede of aging boomers. Watch St. Agnes at the grocery here.
Too bad they didn't muster up an experienced 75 year-old brain in that St. Agnes suit of horrors to go along with the physical infirmities.
One 75 year old, on the condition of anonymity, said cake mix would not be on that shopping list, nor would she ever show up in the grocery store without lipstick and her hair done. She also said that not one of her girlfriends in her assisted living facility would ever wear a helmet, nor a blue coverall, even if she had just finished tuning the engine of her 1963 Plymouth Fury lll. Hot pink or lavender perhaps, but never blue.
Comments
Huh???
Slick--that's a typically clever MIT idea.
Yeah, who thinks of these things???? I've heard the grocery store is a great way for seniors to troll for dates. Rated
I agree with Rob St. Amant. You got to admire those MIT dudes and dudettes, even if their ideas are slightly "unconventional."
I'm waiting for Agnes 3.0, the bodysuit that mimics the infirmities of being 54. Perhaps this will give brand managers a better idea of how to reach people in their middle years, because right now I'd say they haven't got a clue. I am not apt to buy a dress that I see draped on the body of a 15-year-old, nor am I likely to drink booze, buy a car, or visit a vacation spot that features a bunch of twenty-somethings in its advertisements. I don't understand why marketing people consistently ignore the one demographic that is most likely to be able to afford the things they're selling. But maybe I should count my blessings.
Thanks, as always, for keeping us abreast of the news, L&P.
Thanks, as always, for keeping us abreast of the news, L&P.
"It probably wasn't interesting enough to merely ask the elderly about their shopping experiences. "
they probably just didn't have time ... have you ever talked to or been to the grocery store with a senior citizen? haha
they probably just didn't have time ... have you ever talked to or been to the grocery store with a senior citizen? haha
Give Gary Justis a crack at developing such a suit ;0)
I think she was my prom date. . .
Sheep - I know.
Rob - I kind of think so, but I have to make fun of them anyway for half a good job. It is my calling.
Ralph - especially if they are wearing blue coveralls, eh?!
Steve - it is the MacGyver in them I suspect.
LnL - hahahahaha. me too. And perimenopause too.
1Im - also hahahahaha. I have and I know!
Dorinda - now that would be something, wouldn't it?!
Roger - St. Agnes? That would be a lovely photo!
Rob - I kind of think so, but I have to make fun of them anyway for half a good job. It is my calling.
Ralph - especially if they are wearing blue coveralls, eh?!
Steve - it is the MacGyver in them I suspect.
LnL - hahahahaha. me too. And perimenopause too.
1Im - also hahahahaha. I have and I know!
Dorinda - now that would be something, wouldn't it?!
Roger - St. Agnes? That would be a lovely photo!
It is my calling.
You do an excellent job with it.
You do an excellent job with it.
At least they didn't put Depends in that shopping cart...cuz like, THAT would have been insensitive!
...I would like to know more about WHAT the suit actually does? When you bend over does it cause pain in your back? Does it diminish your hearing and eyesight and reflexes? Does it have orthopedic shoes that make it hard to walk? Do those gloves make you feel arthritis in your fingers?
And do you suddenly feel like eating dinner at 3pm?
...I would like to know more about WHAT the suit actually does? When you bend over does it cause pain in your back? Does it diminish your hearing and eyesight and reflexes? Does it have orthopedic shoes that make it hard to walk? Do those gloves make you feel arthritis in your fingers?
And do you suddenly feel like eating dinner at 3pm?
fins - click on the links: the words that are blue. It takes you to the article and the video that MIT did. It does do all that and more, but with 20 somethings in the suits!
Did they include a few electrodes so that those stiff joints hurt every once in a while? Hey, I hear that old age ain't for sissies.
Gee, wouldn't it be too bad if companies lose gobs of money with marketing based on the results they get with this silly suit?Don't tell them that a lot of mothers and mothers-in-law shop much as our daughters and daughters. And to think I used to date MIT boys! Did they learn nothing?
John - so true! I think they got as far as limited mobility, but they forgot to MacGyver the gadgets to actually cause pain (I think).
Hawley - kind of up there with the Harvard MBA oath of ethics...MIT pffft.
Hawley - kind of up there with the Harvard MBA oath of ethics...MIT pffft.
Please check out my senior pride post by clicking on my picture. Thank you.
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