Design and Development of a User-Friendly, Smart, and Assistive Kitchen for the Mauritian Elderly

The integration and adoption of smart home automation in common households are now no longer unusual. Smartphones, smart appliances, and smart sensors can now communicate with AI-embedded devices such as Amazon Alexa, and Google Nest, to execute a command, schedule a meeting, call someone, or check on someone in the house with minimum effort and costs. However, despite all these perks available in the smart home automation advancement world, there is still the absence of smart age-related system development for seniors, particularly those who are living independently and have a vague understanding of technology. In comparison to the different age groups, the proportions of seniors are generally higher. Throughout the world, 46% of senior citizens have struggles while performing their daily grinds such as cooking, and in Mauritius, a small island developing state located on the East coast of Madagascar, the expanding population of the elderly are not spared where the percentage of seniors is rising swiftly and is anticipated to rise from 19% of the total population in 2023 to 26% by 2040. Undoubtedly it would be a game-changer in Mauritius if the current devices could be examined and made to meet the needs of elders while carrying out their everyday activities, particularly cooking. Therefore, this paper presents a smart kitchen designed for the Mauritian elderly, using Amazon Alexa, a voice assistant that is used to communicate with the seniors in the Mauritian native language to execute given commands and ensure the security of the seniors through various design solutions.