Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session you should be able to: 

Recognize the different function and applications existing, that facilitate the communication of the caregivers and the care recipients  

Introduction

About: Description of various AAL/ICT applications that impact or facilitate communication. These applications and tools they might have the scope of:

• promoting a communication necessary for the best possible monitoring and coordination of the older person’s treatment
• enabling the care recipient and the caregiver to communicate in terms of social interaction and socialization

 

Voice friend: VoiceFriend was created by a group of dedicated individuals with a shared common experience: elderly relatives living in senior communities who were missing important opportunities to engage with others at community events and activities.

It was all due to poor, inconsistent communications. Staff struggled to keep residents and families engaged and informed and they needed a simple way to send important information to residents and families.  https://www.voicefriend.net/

 

Oscar Enterprise helps care providers increase the effectiveness of their support by connecting with seniors, not only in-person but also via video calls, messages, and other touchpoints. Thanks to this you can remotely support more senior users who can happily age in place and prolong vitality. https://www.oscarsenior.com/

 

CARU HOME (Caru cares project)

About: CARU connects generations through a voice-triggered device and an app. The CARU Smart Sensor is set up in the living environment and it registers various parameters in that environment, learns the resident’s typical behaviour, and notes any deviations. The CARU Web App allows individual configurations and serves as a platform for communication between residents, relatives and carers. It allows direct and indirect communication, emergency calls and informs about indoor climate.

 

YOOOM (KNK project)

About: YOOOM provides effective communication between generations. YoooM solution consists of innovative set of lenses, which magnify the image and a stand made from aluminium or plastic to put on one’s iPad. Combined with videocalling over the iPad, it provides easy video communication at any desired location in the house, and allows for free hand and body movements meanwhile.

 

LINK-AGES (finalist in 2^nd Smart Ageing Pre edition)

About: LINK-AGES platform is suited both for families and care institutions, it allows for safe voice and text messaging, diary-keeping and calendar, video calling, photo sharing and archiving, digital photo books and remote assistance. The interface is designed to be as accessible as possible. There is no clutter or distractions and the buttons with large, clear and have high contrast text. Navigating the platform is kept simple with logical options and the minimum number of screens.

 

CONNECTED CARE (FairCare project)

About: ConnectedCare / HalloZorg platform brings together patients, formal caregivers and family caregivers in a platform, which can well be used to organize day-to-day care for extramural patients, and to balance care tasks between formal and informal caregivers. Technology can easily be integrated to monitor the actual status in the home of the patient with mobile alarm buttons (to ask for assistance), PIR sensors (to monitor movement at home), organize day-to-day care for patients at home, support peace-of-mind for patients and their caregivers, organize communities to support seniors at home.

 

Supporting carers to help older adults stay safe and healthy at home

LIFE-MANAGER (Domosafety project)

About: The Life-Manager platform is an innovative and scalable IT solution that supports communication, planning and knowledge sharing for employees, residents and relatives. The solution manages and supports the resident in his or her daily communication and planning with the employees and relatives, thereby increasing the residents own activity, relative’s involvement, and the rehabilitative approach to the resident. The solution also manages employee work processes and daily planning and communication with residents and relatives.

 

Tinybots (eWare project)

About: Tinybot is a device that should be centrally located in the resident’s house and be connect to the internet via the local WiFi network. It reminds users of their tasks and other reminders or messages, which start with a tune in advance to attract attention, then the time, and then the message itself.  The content is scheduled through an web app by family or caregivers.

 

NEOLINKS (MOTION project)

About: NeoLinks is a medical software solution for audio and video conferencing based on a secure dedicated infrastructure: NeoLinks Network. It provides high-quality video conferencing, data sharing such as diagnostic reports and contact directory of fellow health professionals. Neolink is available on smartphones, computers, videoconferencing rooms and LimStar.

 

DomoCare (Home4Dem project)

About: DomoCare allows to monitor older, frail or chronically ill adults by automatically detecting emergency situations and alarming a 24/7 call-center or the family. It allows a better care follow-up, by providing health metrics, notably regarding sleep, mobility, socialization and key vital signs (respiration and heart rate). It strengthens the collaboration of the care network by providing a communication platform, including an iOS/Android app, for the secondary and tertiary users, with live chat and notifications.

 

James (reMIND project)

About: James is a mobile robot that can move independently from room to room, helped by a healthcare professional. The end-users are able to receive a telephone call from their family or friends, with or without video. As well as being autonomous and easy to use, the advantage of this particular device is that it requires no physical contact and only voice control is required. As a result, the risk of spreading the virus generated by sharing tools and devices such as a tablets, phones or laptops is significantly reduced.

 

EmmaHome (Emma project)

About: Emma the flexible living assistant is a voice-controlled, tailored smart home system that enables a more independent and safer lifestyle at age. Emma covers everyday support with functions such as emergency and concierge service, voice outputs for reminders (medication intake, drinking reminder, etc.), asks to use the text to voice tool to stay in contact with relatives and friends and is able to monitor possible safety challenges with tools like stove guards and smart door locks. Services, relevant for everyday life, can be booked directly on Emma’s platform.

SARS

Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) have a potentially prominent role, as they could embody intelligent and adaptive service providers for older people at home or in community centers. Social robots interact with people through social interactions, physical assistance, and therapy delivery. Socially assistive robots (SARs) are specifically intended to assist in a therapeutic way to help build social behavior skills. Based on the feedback given by the end users, the Robot-Era system has the potential to be developed as a socially acceptable and believable provider of robotic services to facilitate older people to live independently in their homes.

The aim of GiraffPlus, an FP7-funded project led by researchers at Örebro University, Sweden is to promote safer and healthier ageing at home using technological assisting devices which enable to monitor an older people’s health on a continuous basis. Information such as blood pressure, body temperature, movement, fall, are collected through sensors and analysed by a ‘intelligent’ system which alerts the caregivers in case of emergencies. This system can also be used for long-term assessment of the patient’s health and for virtual visits of relatives or caregivers at an older person’s home. At the heart of the system is a unique telepresence robot, Giraff, which lends its name to the project. The robot uses a Skype-like interface to allow e.g. relatives or caregivers to virtually visit an elderly person in the home.