SK Telecom completes MOU to offer 24/7 AI care for the elderly
SK Telecom this week, announced the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with Ariacare Korea and Happy Connect to recognize the importance of social connectedness and technology for elder care. The MOU signing ceremony took place in SK Telecom’s HQ, located in Jung-gu, Seoul. Guests included Lee Joon-ho, Vice President and Head of Social Value Group at SK Telecom, Yun Hyung-bo, Chief Executive Officer of Ariacare Korea, and Na Yang-won, Executive Director of Happy Connect.
Founded in August 2016, Ariacare Korea offers home and nursing care services for the elderly beneficiaries of long-term care insurance who have problems with living alone with disorders such as dementia or amnesia. Happy Connect is a social enterprise that was established in April 2013 and is currently operating joint projects with SK Telecom to aid the socially disadvantaged through the help of IT devices.
SK Telecom plans on working with two companies to develop differentiated ICT-based senior care services that offer the elderly with IT care at all times by merging SK Telecom’s AI Care and Ariacare Korea’s expertise and know-how in the home care industry.
SK Telecom will work with Happy Connect and begin providing AI Care to over 200 users of Ariacare Korea starting from next month. It will also offer a dedicated app that enables care workers to check the status of seniors around the clock.
Ariacare Korea is planning on creating one on one personalized senior care programs that work with AI Care. In addition to this, in-home caregivers to the elderly can help them benefit from the AI Care service by teaching them how to use the devices, alongside a built-in AI speaker NUGU. SK Telecom projects that include AI Care will provide 24/7 services – helping to fill in the gaps of time not covered by healthcare workers, for example, on the weekends or at night-time.
The MOU plays a fundamental role for SK Telecom as it expands its AI Care from business to government services, to business to business services with beneficiaries of long-term care insurance.