Joshua Adewolu: “Nothing Can Take the Place of Human Interaction”

For many families, caring for someone with dementia means worrying about the moments when no one is in the room. Joshua Adewolu, a mechatronics engineer trained at New York University, has designed a wearable system to help in those moments. It detects possible falls, lets the wearer call for help directly, and reminds them to take medication. He presented the research at the IEEE International Systems Conference (SysCon) in Halifax, Canada, in 2026, and the work has been published through IEEE. In this interview, he explains what drove the project, how the device makes decisions, and the kind of partners he wants to work with next.

TechTrends.Africa: Tell us your story. What inspired you to create your innovation?

Joshua Adewolu: I was born into a family of doctors. My mother, father and elder brother are all medical doctors, so although I chose engineering as my career, I was naturally drawn toward finding ways to apply engineering to healthcare.

This spurred me on to study Mechatronics and Robotics at New York University in the United States, where I specialized in areas including Medical Robotics and Assistive Mechatronics. My studies exposed me to emerging technologies, research and engineering approaches for developing systems that can assist people with healthcare and everyday activities.

At the same time, my grandfather had been experiencing symptoms associated with dementia. Seeing some of the challenges that dementia can create for individuals and their families made the subject personal to me. I began thinking about how the engineering knowledge I was gaining could be applied to a problem that affected someone close to me.

That became the inspiration for developing a wearable assistive system that could provide an additional layer of support for people living with dementia, particularly around fall detection, emergency assistance and medication reminders.

What started as a personal motivation eventually became a research and engineering project. I wanted to take an experience that was close to my family and approach it from the perspective of a mechatronics engineer, discovering how technology could be designed to make care safer for both patients and caregivers.

TechTrends.Africa: What key challenge are you addressing, and who benefits most from your solution?

Joshua Adewolu: One of the major challenges associated with caring for people living with dementia is maintaining their safety when a family member or caregiver cannot be physically present every moment of the day. A fall can happen unexpectedly, and the person may not always be able to communicate that they need assistance. Medication routines can also become difficult to manage.

My innovation is designed to provide an additional layer of support by bringing several functions together in one wearable system. It monitors for possible falls, gives the wearer a direct way to request help, and provides medication reminders.

The primary beneficiaries are people living with dementia and other older adults who may benefit from additional safety support. Their families and caregivers can also benefit because the system is designed to provide an additional channel through which they can become aware that assistance may be required.

The goal is not to replace human caregivers completely, as nothing can take the place of human interaction. Instead, it complements the care already being provided and helps bridge the gap when a caregiver cannot be physically present.

TechTrends.Africa: How does your innovation work in real time?

Joshua Adewolu: The device is designed to continuously monitor the wearer for signs of a possible fall. When it detects a significant movement that could indicate a fall, it evaluates the event and checks whether the change in the person’s position is consistent with a fall before initiating an emergency response. If a fall is confirmed, the system can obtain the wearer’s location and send an alert to a designated caregiver. The wearer can also press a help button to request assistance directly, while built-in medication reminders can provide an alert when it is time to take medication.

One of the important aspects of my approach is that I designed the system to make these decisions in a clear and predictable sequence. This allows different safety-related events to be prioritized rather than having the device respond unpredictably when several events occur at the same time.

I presented this research at the IEEE International Systems Conference (SysCon) in Halifax, Canada, in 2026, and the work has also been published through IEEE, the world’s largest engineering organization. The research paper provides the technical details of the system architecture, requirements, control logic and verification approach. More details are available in my published article.

TechTrends.Africa: What has been your biggest challenge in building and scaling your innovation in Africa?

Joshua Adewolu: Developing healthcare technology requires access to specialized electronic components, reliable testing infrastructure, connectivity and manufacturing capabilities, which are still developing in Africa. Access to investment has also been an important challenge.

Africa has a large and diverse population with healthcare needs that can inspire locally relevant technological solutions. My long-term interest is in developing technologies that are not simply imported into African communities, but are designed with the realities and needs of those communities in mind.

TechTrends.Africa: How is your innovation making a tangible difference for users or communities?

Joshua Adewolu: The tangible difference I hope this innovation can make is to provide an additional layer of safety and support for people living with dementia and their caregivers. Caring for an elderly family member can require constant attention, and caregivers may not always be physically present when an emergency occurs. The system is designed to help bridge that gap by monitoring for possible falls, providing a direct way for the user to request help, and giving medication reminders.

For the user, this could provide an additional means of obtaining assistance when needed. For families and caregivers, it could provide another way of becoming aware that something may have happened and that their attention may be required.

The wider impact is particularly important to me because I am interested in developing healthcare technology that can be adapted to the needs of communities in Africa and other settings where access to continuous, personalized care can be challenging.

TechTrends.Africa: What are your next goals or focus areas?

Joshua Adewolu: I am particularly interested in working with major medical technology companies, research institutions, universities and healthcare professionals globally to develop and validate technologies that can have practical applications in Nigeria and across Africa.

I am also continuing my own research in wearable technology, medical devices, remote monitoring and assistive systems. I regularly seek to understand emerging healthcare needs by engaging with healthcare professionals, including general practitioners and medical specialists.

TechTrends.Africa: What trends do you see shaping your sector in Africa over the next few years?

Joshua Adewolu: Definitely, more AI-based healthcare solutions will shape the future.

TechTrends.Africa: What advice would you give to upcoming innovators in Africa?

Joshua Adewolu: The future is there for the taking. There is enough room at the top for all of us. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity before you start. Identify a problem around you, learn what you need to learn, and begin working on a solution.

There will always be reasons to postpone an idea, such as lack of funding, lack of equipment, lack of connections or fear that someone else has already done it. But innovation often begins with taking the first step with the resources you have.

Don’t delay and don’t procrastinate. Keep learning, keep building and keep improving your ideas. The next important innovation could come from you.

TechTrends.Africa: How can investors and organisations support or connect with you?

Joshua Adewolu: I am open to collaborations with medical technology companies, healthcare organisations, research institutions, universities, investors and other organisations interested in developing practical healthcare innovations.

Individuals or organisations interested in collaborating, supporting research, developing prototypes or exploring opportunities to take healthcare innovations to the next level can contact me by email or on LinkedIn. More information about my research, projects and innovations is available through my portfolio.

About Joshua Adewolu

Joshua Adewolu is a mechatronics engineer who studied Mechatronics and Robotics at New York University, specialising in Medical Robotics and Assistive Mechatronics. His research on a wearable assistive system for people living with dementia was presented at the IEEE International Systems Conference (SysCon) in Halifax, Canada, in 2026, and published through IEEE. He continues to research wearable technology, medical devices, remote monitoring and assistive systems.