Call it virtual reality with a twist — because this is no game.
In a variation of walking a mile in another’s shoes, Genworth Financial Inc. has developed a suit simulating the physical effects associated with aging. The suit allows wearers to get at least an idea of what it’s like to get older and be subject to the limitations of hearing, vision and mobility that often crop up as the years pass.
The Genworth R70, billed as the first of its kind, is an age-simulation suit that Genworth says will “help raise awareness about the need for long-term care planning and educate the public on the physical effects associated with aging.”
The suit, according to the company, “provides consumers with a powerful experience, allowing them to understand and empathize with what it feels like to grow old.”
Genworth, of course, will be using the suit to show people what it can be like to be among the “70 percent of Americans who will require” long-term care after 
they turn 65. The suit simulates a number of age-related “afflictions” that will drive home the need for assistance when sight, hearing and mobility are affected.
To that end, it features a “state-of-the-art” helmet that is acoustically muffled, simulating age-related hearing loss. It also sports lenses that “simulate declines in vision plus the common vision disorders that occur with aging (e.g. glaucoma, cataracts, diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration).”
The wearer’s mobility is kept in check by “restrictive fabrication that gives the effect of arthritis in the knees, spine and elbows,” while boots simulate balance disorder for the now-unsteady wearer. There’s also a “restrictive internal mechanism” that simulates “the problems that older people experience with posture.”
And to complete the effect, “gloves that impair dexterity, similar to the effects of arthritis, and weights to simulate muscle loss in the arms” will show what it’s like not to be able to do simple things, like carry groceries, change light bulbs, open jars or even turn doorknobs.
The suit, which made its debut at the Social Innovation Summit in Silicon Valley, might actually attract young people interested in trying it out, since it has some pretty impressive credentials behind its design. According to the company, “the Genworth R70 was created in association with Hollywood special effects studio Spectral Motion (X-Men, Hellboy), costume designer Erin Benach (Drive, Place Beyond the Pines and Midnight Special) and illustrator Christian Cordella (Captain America, Iron Man 3, 300: Rise of the Empire).”
But there’s authenticity behind this exercise in virtual reality. Dr. Edward Schneider, dean emeritus/professor at the University of Southern California’s Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, “consulted on the project from the beginning to ensure that the simulations were authentic to the aging process,” according to Genworth.
While Genworth plans to use the suit throughout 2015 “as a tool to continue educating the public on the effects of aging,” driving home to consumers what it’s like to need help, the firm also intends that people should have the experience of wearing it “as a sensitivity training tool.”
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