Liverpool 5G brings ‘Hug Vest’ to Rowan Garth Care Village

Liverpool 5G has brought the ‘Hug Vest’ use case to Rowan Garth Care Village.

The Liverpool 5G team, along with makers CuteCircuit, brought and demonstrated the shirt for care home staff and resident’s family members.

Hug Vest is a special shirt worn by a resident in a care home, with haptic technology linked to an app used by friends or family inside or outside the care home. When a resident is wearing the shirt, their loved one can ‘hug’ them via the app, and the shirt vibrates so the resident feels the sensation being sent to them. The device can be paired with music, and lights up, providing a full sensory experience which can reduce isolation and feelings of loneliness.

Care home staff and family members commented how lightweight, flexible and comfortable the device was to wear. Activities Co-ordinator Sarah was particularly excited by the opportunities for one-to-one engagement the devices provided, advising that the device enabled activities to be adapted to residents’ individual needs.

Used on the L5G Create 5G network, the device requires a level of connectivity similar to simultaneously streaming HD video and audio, which 3G and 4G struggle to support. The network is provided free to the care home as part of the Liverpool 5G Create: Connecting Health and Social Care project.