Project Description

CARE

An empathetic context-aware recommendation system for elderly people

German-Greek research project for the digitisation of person-related services

Motivation

The phenomenon of an aging society can be observed now in almost all Western countries. In Greece and Germany, demographic change is especially dramatic. Both countries have the highest percentage of elderly people in Europe. At the same time is also the life expectancy of the generation 65 + in two countries above the European average. While a higher life span as a positive achievement is to consider, at the same time accompanied by enormous social challenges. These include, social isolation and lack of social participation of all single elderly people, loss of independence as a result of physical impairment, reduced mobility and inactivity and lack initiative by older people goals and objectives. The project CARE (a sentient context-aware recommender system for the elderly) involves the development of a sensitive and highly personalized assistance system to support alone living people in the home living environment. Assistance is given in the form of situational matching and unobtrusive action recommendations for the implementation of physical, mental, and social activities, all aimed at an individual increase of quality of life and vitality.

Innovations and perspectives

Common approaches to generating recommendations include content-based techniques, collaborative filter and knowledge-based techniques. In contrast to traditional referral systems, the selection of CARE recommendations are not based on the similarity to known. Instead proposed activities to the stimulation of older people break through their everyday lives. According to a user-centric approach of development in the two product-related CARE demonstrators in two iterations are implemented in Greek and German pilot users installed and evaluated. Together with the acquisition and evaluation of country-specific user requirements and technology usage patterns, the project paves the way for the timely exploitation of project results.

Conception of CARE system

Conception of CARE system

 

Problems of older people

  • Social isolation and lack of social participation of all single elderly people
  • Loss of independence due to physical impairment and limited mobility
  • Inactivity and lack of initiative by older people

Questions

  • What display techniques are suitable for integrating the living environment by seniors and how is cost effective integration?
  • What generative techniques come into question for a situation-media presentation of information in the home environment of seniors?
  • What individual situational, mental and perceptual characteristics must be taken into account at a senior-oriented information presentation?

Tasks

  • Sensor data record:
    • the body of registered vital sensors (E.g., heart rate, skin conductance)
    • Sensors for the detection of environmental parameters (E.g., temperature, CO2 concentration, noise, light)
  • Sensor data analysis and interpretation
    • Information about the physical condition and the current state of the mind of the user
    • Information for assessing the environment, about whether the current climate as comfortable is perceived, or the lighting situation is
  • Situational generation of personalized recommendations
    • At what time and in what frequency to which physical, mental, or social activity are recommended?
  • Situational performance of personalized recommendations
    • What media (text / graphics / animation / sound etc.)?
    • Which display devices (PC monitor, Tablet, Smartphone, TV, recordable picture frame, etc.)

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.