Better relationship for a better health
Welcome to MOBLEX. Our playground equipment helps aged care residents who want to build meaningful intergenerational relationships whilst maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. MOBLEX facilitates connection reducing loneliness and social isolation through regular playful physical exercise.
THE PROBLEM
Loneliness and social isolation
Research show that loneliness and social isolation are prominent issues among the Australian older population that tremendously affect their health and well-being (AIHW, 2019; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2020). It is important to note that living in residential aged care institution can exacerbate the feeling of loneliness and social isolation (Neves, Sanders, & KokanovÃc, 2019). Moreover, there is a disconnection between the eldery and younger generation, which is rooted in ageist attitudes from both sides (Bousfield & Hutchison, 2010). This can exist in the form of the "kids these days" effect (Protzko & Schooler, 2019) or negative stereotypical views of the elderly (Bousfield & Hutchison, 2010). This disconnection can also be aggravated by generational differences in personal values, philosophies, or learning and work habits (Murray, 2013; Shatto & Erwin, 2017). For example, while millennials or gen Z tend to be attuned to multitasking between activities (Murray, 2013) and technological devices, baby boomers seem to have a lack of technological prowess (Shatto & Erwin, 2017)
"Loneliness kills. It's as powerful as smoking or alcoholism."
Dr. Robert Waldinger - director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development
THE SOLUTION
Intergenerational connection
Therefore, the mitigation of these feelings for aged care residents can be the key to healthy aging. Considering the increase in life expectancy and Australian aging population, we strongly believe that intergenerational connection, by which the elderly and younger generations have the opportunity to interact and build a relationship with each other, is a promising solution. In response to the identified problem, our proposed solution is an innovative set of playground equipment, intergenActiv. It is designed to bring together aged care residents and children aged 3-5 for joint sessions of physical activities. This is part of intergenerational programs (IP) implemented by intergenerational organisations in Australia.
PARTNERS
We seek to partner with two intergenerational organisations in Queensland including The Intergenerational Care and Ageless Play to develop a program in which intergenActiv can be incorporated and become an essential part of. Both of these organisations also serve as key channels to reach our end users.
The Intergenerational Care
The Intergenerational Care is a research project conducted by Griffith University and funded by the DACS. The project aims to develop and implement research-led intergenerational programs as well as evaluate their impacts, costs, and socioeconomic impacts. The most recent program was developed in 2019 in which the elderly and children aged 3-5 were brought together for a wide range of activities such as singing, gardening, DIY, and games.
Ageless Play
Ageless Play has many years of experience in helping individuals and organisations to establish intergenerational programs called "ageless play". These programs aim to provide the residents, children, parents, and carers to participate in many play-based activities. Ageless Play are currently running these programs at 17 different locations across Queensland.
intergenActiv
Intergenerational connection
intergenActiv is a set of playground equipment that focuses on intergenerational play between the elderly (65+) living in aged care and children (3-4) attending childcare. The equipment offer specific exercises that focus on building strength, mobility, and cognitive ability through safe and playful interactions.
ACTIVITIES
Simon says
The Simon says activity aims to improve cognitive development.
Snake maze
The snake maze activity aims to build arm strength and improve general motor control.
Step up
The step up activity aims to build leg strength and control.
INTERACTION
HANDLE DESIGN
FEATURES
Modularity
intergenActiv is designed with a modular mounting system for an ease of installation. intergenActiv also offers versatility regarding activity layout, activity variants, and visual themes.
Themes
intergenActiv offers multiple seasonal themes that are engaging and visually appealing to children.
Inclusive & Ergonomic
Our exercise activities are designed to be approachable for people from different age groups and with different levels of physical ability. intergenActiv provides simple, engaging, fun, and repeatable exercise activities that are beneficial to the elderly and children in terms of later life health and early childhood development respectively. intergenActiv facilitates co-participation between the elderly and children through ergonomic considerations.
SERVICES
Installation
Exceeding Expectations
Our experienced technicians can help you to get the ball rolling on your program as soon as possible
R&D Project
Co-creation
We conduct periodic check and primary research at your site to gather user feedback so that our consultants can help you to improve and customise your activities and equipment.
Maintenance
Quality assurance
We conduct regular check-up to ensure your equipment quality and performance.
HOW DO WE HELP?
A combination of social contact, healthy relationships, and engagement in community activities is the key to healthy aging and reduced loneliness and social isolation (AIHW, 2019; WHO, 2011; Mineo, 2017). This can be achieved by facilitating intergenerational engagement. Not only this engagement can benefit the elderly in their later life, but it is also important to early childhood development (Cybulski, 2013; Freedman, 2019). Moreover, intergenerational engagement can lead to some mutual benefits such as increased empathy, joy, and an understanding between generations (Kirsnan et al., 2020; Stanley et al., 2019). intergenActiv acts as a catalyst to facilitate intergenerational connection and encourage both generations to engage in regular physical activities.
Healthy aging
intergenActiv can benefit the elderly by improving their physical health, well-being, and cognitive ability. It also helps them to strengthen their relationships with younger generations by creating a friendly environment where they can enjoy exercising.
Improved early childhood development
intergenActiv can improve children's perception of aging and the elderly through intergenerational connection. Also, it can improve their cooperation, sharing, and helping skills.
THE MARKET
77%
There were over 1.2 million Australians receiving aged care services between 2017-2018, 77% of which received support in their home or community-based settings (AIHW, 2019).
761%
There is a substantial increase of 761% in the number of recipients of residential aged care between 2018 and 2050. Tremendous growth is also evident for other aged care programs such as Home Care Packages (HCP) and The Commonwealth Home Support Program (CHSP) (Deliotte Access Economics, 2020).
1.3 mil
It is estimated that about 1.3 million children attended approved childcare services across Australia, most of which are located in Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales (DESE, 2020).
13,370
There were 13,370 approved childcare services in Australia, 8,266 of which offered centre-based day care services (DESE, 2020).
$292.5
The Queensland Government is providing an additional of $25 million to the $267.5- million fund for initiatives under the Sport and Active Recreation Strategy 2019-2029 (Queensland Government, 2019). This plan focuses on "to enrich the Queensland way of life through physical activity and provide more opportunities for Queenslanders, of all ages and all abilities, to be physically active" (HPW, 2019).
THE TREND
Outdoor activity
The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a greater demand for more outdoor activities in small groups. This trend is consistent among individuals and fitness professionals (Thompson, 2021).
Exercise is medicine
"Exercise is medicine" is a global movement that aims to stimulate the use of exercise in medical treatment and recommendations (Thompson, 2021). This aligns with the trend of preventive care through a holistic and predictive approach of health management instead of treating the symptoms in the era of Health 4.0/5.0 (CSIRO, n.d.).
Fitness program
Given the increase in life expectancy, fitness programs are becoming more relevant among the aging population. Therefore, there is a growing need for this population to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle well into their post-retirement life.
MARKET ENTRY
Path to market
There are many big competitors in the market of playground equipment in Australia, America, Netherlands, Canada, Germany, and China. Some prominent names include Kompan (Australia), PlayCore (America), ELI (Netherlands), Henderson (Canada), ABC Team (Germany), and Kaiqi (China). At this early stage, MOBLEX will only focus on distributing intergenActiv to clients in Queensland, mainly targeting intergenerational programs implemented by Ageless Care. We plan to build our company profile through our partners' connection with other organisations. We will also get the world out through other channels such as a state-wide marketing campaign, company website, and social media. After a careful speculation of potential buyers and sales, we estimate that the Queensland market size is about $99.1 million and we expect to achieve a market share of 0.15% by the end of 2024.
Revenue projection
We estimate that our annual revenue from selling 67 units of intergenActiv to 20 clients is about $1.2 million. Our ongoing revenue from subscription-based services is $65,000.
Risk and return
intergenActiv gives us the opportunity to conduct a pilot study and engage in co-creation with our key partners such as Ageless Play, other intergenerational programs, the council, and our end users which will ensure the viability of intergenActiv product line. We also gain a competitive advantage from intergenActiv by leveraging co-participation between two user groups and gamification of exercises. Risk of a new business in our industry is the lack of track record and user validation. This can hamper us from obtaining the confidence and much needed funding of investors. Other risks including disclosure of IP and natural disasters will be addressed by legal NDA, zero trust IT security, and appropriate insurance policy.
Government's actions
There is a great potential for growth due to the Government's increasing attention to physical activities in the community with the Sport and Recreation Strategy Action Plan 2019-2029. Specifically, the Queensland Government is spending
$25.5 million to tackle financial barriers to participation in physical activity;
$40 million as an investment to nearly 150 infrastructure projects in local communities accross Queensland;
$44.5 million to deliver high-performance programs to Queensland athletes; and
$32 million to form a new pilot partnership with six state-level organisations to deliver sport and active recreation services to Queenslanders (Queensland Government, 2019).
FUNDING
Use of funds
MOBLEX is looking for an investment of $1.2 million for 20% of the company equity. This will enable the research, development, and deployment of intergenActiv in the initial start-up phase. To get intergenActiv to the market, we are looking for an investment of $350,000 from angel investors and the DACS fund.
AUMENTED REALITY EXPERIENCE
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Contact Us
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