Duration: 01.06.2017-31.05.2020
Project type: ESRR/MIZŠ-SAIAL
Project leader: Izidor Mlakar
Project granted cost: 146.520 EUR
Research study and preparation of experiments for the purpose of obtaining actual information on the needs and requirements of potential stakeholders of AAL technologies
The study focuses on providing and improving the ability to perform secondary activities that are the basis for an individual’s functional stay in society and the foundation for social inclusion. The first part of the study addresses instrumental everyday activities (IADLs) in general, and the second part focuses primarily on the technological and non-technological aspects of the use of technologies through natural interaction, as a driving force for less technological ignorance and significantly better social inclusion and, consequently, improved quality of life. The study is conducted in three phases: a survey, individual interviews, and evaluation through demonstration.
Aging and demographic change in the societies of developed countries are creating many key challenges that will define our society’s development in the future. The major societal challenges include social isolation, dependence (inability to live independently) and technological ignorance (rapid technological change and abandonment of traditional methods and ways). The trend of demographic change will intensify in the near future, and the socio-technological challenges will have an increasing impact. The same is true today for people with disabilities. A key problem that we highlight as the starting point of the research is the fact that solutions in the field of improved support systems and long-term care must be not only reliable and widely used and safe, but also tailored to the needs and wishes of individual users. For them, these solutions must represent real added value that is not intended to enable something that they are physically incapable of, but rather to significantly improve the performance of the activities they are able to do, but in a limited form. Therefore, we cannot provide walking for someone who cannot use their feet, but can significantly improve the quality of their experience in performing activities in the home, or enable him to actually carry out and supervise the activities through support systems. Of course, we want to bring the service closer to him through appropriate interaction responses. Through the development of different ICT solutions for the elderly, and even more so for people with disabilities, technological ignorance has proven to be an essential psychological constraint in the effective use of “gadgets”. In all population groups it can be observed that there is resistance to the unknown at all when the user does not at first glance recognize some improvement for his life.
The added value of multimodal interaction in secure and supportive environments
The activities of Daily Living ADL include a set of basic activities that are necessary for independent living (hygiene: bathing and needing, walking and transportation, dressing and combing, eating). Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) cover secondary everyday activities that go far beyond independence in terms of ensuring survival, and are understood to be so self-care. In the case of ADL, or the degree of dependence in the particular ADL category, is provided to people through mostly trained individuals or individuals. However, IADLs are not necessary for survival, but for the provision of a degree of quality and social inclusion. Usually, IADLs involve mostly more complex activities or activities. organizational skills, which means more functional skills needed to live in the community. Of course, the quality is the implementation of these, respectively. the ability to perform these is subordinate to the physical capacity of the individual.
The main purpose/objective of the research
To identify key functional parameters for user-tailored interactions and behaviors and responses of systems in supportive environments for the elderly and motor/movement impaired. We want to shape these parameters in terms of identification through experience, desires and actual added value recognized so far. Transferring identified parameters and recognized added value to the smart home platform, providing a more natural and user-friendly interaction with services. At the same time, personalization is not directed at graphical adaptation of interfaces but at the core of interaction, that is, how to present deep and “complicated” information, how to automate or. adapt how to implement the motivational elements, and how to bring the unknown thing and its use to the user in such a way that it communicates with it as an assistant/person and that it actually recognizes the system as a significant improvement and enabling technology for improving the quality of life and self-involvement in society. So, too, emotional interaction that engenders a kind of attitude in users, a system as a virtual assistant, which to some extent replaces an individual (such as a caregiver) and performs some activities instead of the user (e.g. reminders, exercise planning and encouraging, planning and executing purchases, etc.). So also actual intelligence and machine learning according to the user.
Conducting the survey
PDF dokument.pdf
Developing a platform for conversational avatars
Members in the project