A Smartphone Application Designed to Engage the Elderly in Home-Based Rehabilitation

As life expectancy increases, it is imperative that the elderly take advantage of the benefits of technology to remain active and independent. Mobile health applications are widely used nowadays as they promote a healthy lifestyle and self-management of diseases, opening new horizons in the interactive health service delivery. However, adapting these applications to the needs and requirements of the elderly is still a challenge. This article presents a smartphone application that is part of a multifactorial intervention to support older people with balance disorders. The application aims to enable users to self-evaluate their activity and progress, to communicate with each other and, through strategically selected motivational features, to engage with the system with undiminished interest for a long period of time. Mock-up interfaces were evaluated in semi-structured focus groups and interviews that were performed across three European countries. Further evaluation in the form of four pilot studies with 160 participants will be performed and qualitative and quantitative measures will be used to process the feedback about the use of the application

A User-Focused Reference Model for Wireless Systems Beyond 3G

This whitepaper describes a proposal from Working Group 1, the Human Perspective of the Wireless World, for a user-focused reference model for systems beyond 3G. The general structure of the proposed model involves two "planes": the Value Plane and the Capability Plane. The characteristics of these planes are discussed in detail and an example application of the model to a specific scenario for the wireless world is provided

Challenges in Developing Applications for Aging Populations

Elderly individuals can greatly benefit from the use of computer applications, which can assist in monitoring health conditions, staying in contact with friends and family, and even learning new things. However, developing accessible applications for an elderly user can be a daunting task for developers. Since the advent of the personal computer, the benefits and challenges of developing applications for older adults have been a hot topic of discussion. In this chapter, the authors discuss the various challenges developers who wish to create applications for the elderly computer user face, including age-related impairments, generational differences in computer use, and the hardware constraints mobile devices pose for application developers. Although these challenges are concerning, each can be overcome after being properly identified

Immersive Technologies in Virtual Companions: A Systematic Literature Review

The emergence of virtual companions is transforming the evolution of intelligent systems that effortlessly cater to the unique requirements of users. These advanced systems not only take into account the user present capabilities, preferences, and needs but also possess the capability to adapt dynamically to changes in the environment, as well as fluctuations in the users emotional state or behavior. A virtual companion is an intelligent software or application that offers support, assistance, and companionship across various aspects of users lives. Various enabling technologies are involved in building virtual companion, among these, Augmented Reality (AR), and Virtual Reality (VR) are emerging as transformative tools. While their potential for use in virtual companions or digital assistants is promising, their applications in these domains remain relatively unexplored. To address this gap, a systematic review was conducted to investigate the applications of VR, AR, and MR immersive technologies in the development of virtual companions. A comprehensive search across PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar yielded 28 relevant articles out of a pool of 644. The review revealed that immersive technologies, particularly VR and AR, play a significant role in creating digital assistants, offering a wide range of applications that brings various facilities in the individuals life in areas such as addressing social isolation, enhancing cognitive abilities and dementia care, facilitating education, and more. Additionally, AR and MR hold potential for enhancing Quality of life (QoL) within the context of virtual companion technology. The findings of this review provide a valuable foundation for further research in this evolving field

Overcoming barriers and increasing independence: service robots for elderly and disabled people

This paper discusses the potential for service robots to overcome barriers and increase independence of elderly and disabled people. It includes a brief overview of the existing uses of service robots by disabled and elderly people and advances in technology which will make new uses possible and provides suggestions for some of these new applications. The paper also considers the design and other conditions to be met for user acceptance. It also discusses the complementarity of assistive service robots and personal assistance and considers the types of applications and users for which service robots are and are not suitable

O papel da quarta revolução industrial no turismo acessível: estudo e conceptualização de uma aplicação web

The world is experiencing the beginning of the fourth Industrial Revolution, responsible for implementing a new digitalization era. This revolution originated in manufacturing, with industry 4.0 bringing a new reality to organizations. However, the scope of this new technological revolution is vast, and other sectors can benefit from the new digital era. In the Services Industry, tourism is an example of that, as Tourism 4.0 is the result of the impact of the fourth industrial revolution in this sector. Tourism 4.0 is the result of the impact of the fourth industrial revolution in tourism. An interesting challenge that this technological era brings to tourism is the social inclusion of people with disabilities. The accessible tourism market reveals huge potential, but despite this, this market is still largely ignored. Several technologies that promoted the fourth industrial revolution present capabilities to promote accessible tourism by improving tourism’s access conditions to people with disabilities. The present work developed a study in accessible tourism, understanding the main requirements for this market, and conceptualizing a Web application, for promoting accessibility in tourism. This Web application work as a mediator between the principal stakeholders. To gather requirements for the system, a triangulation matrix was elaborated using three methodological approaches: i) Literature Review; ii) website accessibility analysis of hotels located in the central region of Portugal; and iii) content analysis of some concurrent platforms. The requirements triangulation matrix allowed the identification of what requirements are crucial for the system success, which were used to conceptualize the solution with UML notation. This work intends to demonstrate the technological impacts of the fourth industrial revolution on society, especially on the promotion of a more accessible tourismO mundo encontra-se hoje no início da quarta revolução industrial, responsável pela promoção de uma nova era caracterizada pela digitalização. Apesar desta revolução ter surgido no setor industrial, com o conceito de Indústria 4.0, a sua aplicação é muito mais vasta, existindo outros sectores que podem igualmente beneficiar desta nova era tecnológica. O setor dos serviços, nomeadamente o Turismo, é um exemplo disso, e o conceito de Turismo 4.0 é o resultado do impacto da quarta revolução industrial nesse setor. Um desafio interessante que esta nova era tecnológica traz para o turismo é o da inclusão social, promovendo o turismo para todos. De facto, o mercado do turismo acessível, apesar de ter imenso potencial, tem sido relegado no contexto dos negócios. Por outro lado, o potencial tecnológico associado a esta nova revolução industrial sugere uma grande capacidade na promoção do turismo acessível, na medida em que podem facilitar as condições de acesso ao turismo, por parte de pessoas com algum tipo de incapacidade e ou necessidade especial. O presente trabalho visa conduzir um estudo na área do turismo acessível, por forma compreender os principais requisitos deste tipo de mercado e, consequentemente, conceptualizar uma aplicação Web, com o propósito de promover a acessibilidade no turismo, funcionando como um mediador de informação entre os principais stakeholders. Para a obtenção dos requisitos do sistema foi feita: i) uma revisão da literatura; ii) um estudo que avalia a acessibilidade dos websites dos hotéis da zona centro de Portugal, e, ainda iii) um estudo com base em análise de conteúdo de algumas plataformas potencialmente concorrentes. Os resultados são apresentados na forma de uma matriz de triangulação, onde é possível identificar a fonte dos requisitos identificados, sendo posteriormente utilizados para conceptualizar a solução proposta com recurso à notação UML. Pretende-se com este trabalho demonstrar o potencial e o efeito que as tecnologias existentes na era designada por quarta revolução industrial podem ter na sociedade, nomeadamente na promoção de um turismo para todosMestrado em Engenharia e Gestão Industria

Pervasive Technologies and Support for Independent Living

A broad range of pervasive technologies are used in many domains, including healthcare: however, there appears to be little work examining the role of such technologies in the home, or the different wants and needs of elderly users. Additionally, there exist ethical issues surrounding the use of highly personal healthcare-related data, and interface issues centred on the novelty of the technologies and the disabilities experienced by the users. This report examines these areas, before considering the ways in which they might come together to help support independent-living users with disabilities which may be age-related