Elderly Drone Experience Workshop: A New Tech-Enabled Ageing Experience
Event Recap: SAGE Hong Kong Island East District Elderly Centre Tello + Neo Experience Class
In July, we successfully held two drone experience workshops at the SAGE Hong Kong Island East District Elderly Centre, bringing a brand-new technology experience to two groups of seniors and allowing them to experience the joy of drone operation first-hand.
Workshop Content
The workshop was carefully designed with a combination of theory and practice:
- Introduction to Drone Technology and Applications: Introducing modern drone technology and its wide-ranging applications in society to seniors
- Safe Operation and Regulatory Awareness: Detailed explanation of Hong Kong drone regulations, ensuring seniors understand how to safely operate drones indoors
- Hands-on Experience:
- Using DJI Tello Talent for manual drone control experience
- Immersive flight experience through DJI Neo with motion controller and FPV goggles
- Multiple easy challenge courses designed for seniors, progressively guiding them to master control skills
Event Highlights
Our professional instructor team carefully prepared DJI Tello and DJI Neo as teaching tools, designing activities suited to seniors' abilities. Seniors not only learned about the basic structure, components and sensors of drones, but also experienced the joy of drone operation first-hand.
Notably, we introduced a cross-professional support team including academic tutors and experienced social workers, ensuring seniors received appropriate guidance and support during the learning process, creating a safe and fun learning environment.
Results
The seniors responded enthusiastically to the workshop and actively participated in all activities. Through hands-on operation, they not only overcame their fear of new technology but also experienced the fun of drone flight. The indoor flight environment ensured safe activities while allowing seniors to fully enjoy the novel experience that technology brings.
This workshop was not just a technology experience but also an opportunity for intergenerational connection, encouraging seniors to step out of their comfort zone, engage with modern technology, and enrich their later years.
Future Outlook
Building on the success of this event, we plan to organise more technology experience activities for seniors in the future, including more in-depth drone programming workshops, giving seniors the opportunity to further explore the wonders of technology and promote the popularisation and application of gerontechnology.