ICT4AgeingWell 2015 Abstracts

Area 1 - Ambient Assisted Living

Full Papers

Paper Nr:	38
Title:	Assistive Technology for Risks Affecting Elderly People in Outdoor Environment
Authors:	Hady Khaddaj Mallat, Rami Yared and Bessam Abdulrazak
Abstract:	Risk situations may affect elderly people during outdoor Activities of Daily Living. The gravity of this problem becomes more significant with the rapidly growing number of elderly people around the world. Assistive technology is a promising solution to enhance safety of elderly people in outdoor environment. It plays an essential role in providing them with a higher quality of life and autonomy. In this paper, we present the result of our study on major risk factors that affect elderly people during outdoor activities. We also discuss existing assistive technology across recent work related to outdoor risks. In addition, we provide a framework for existing assistive technology that addresses outdoor risks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first review about major risks that affect elderly people in outdoor environments, and that describes technological solutions in the domain of ambient assistive technology.
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Paper Nr:	48
Title:	Toward Pervasive Computing System to Enhance Safety of Ageing People in Smart Kitchen
Authors:	Bessam Abdulrazak, Rami Yared, Thomas Tessier and Philippe Mabilleau
Abstract:	Kitchen is the second place where the majority of domestic accidents occur, and in particular oven presents the most principal source of fire accidents in residence. Therefore, enabling kitchen safety is a major factor for ageing people independent living. This paper presents the hardware architecture of our cooking-safe system that targets enhancing safety of ageing people while cooking. The system is based on insightful cooking risk analysis that enables to determine the pertinent parameters to be monitored and measured while cooking. This paper also presents the results of our experimental study that leads us to select the appropriate sensors to constitute the basic building block of our cooking-safe system. The system is composed of sensor nodes to monitor events around oven, then the sensory data is transmitted to a computing unit. The system proactively reacts to hazards in order to prevent cooking associated risks.
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Short Papers

Paper Nr:	12
Title:	Personalization of Virtual Coaching Applications using Procedural Modeling
Authors:	René Zmugg, Andreas Braun, Peter Roelofsma, Wolfgang Thaller, Lisette Moeskops, Sven Havemann, Gabrijela Reljic and Dieter W. Fellner
Abstract:	Virtual coaching is an application area that allows individuals to improve existing skills or learn new ones; it ranges from simple textual tutoring tools to fully immersive 3D learning situations. The latter aim at improving the learning experience with realistic 3D environments. In highly individual training scenarios it can be beneficial to provide some level of personalization of the environment. This can be supported using procedural modeling that allows to easily modify shape, look and contents of an environment. We present the application of personalization using procedural modeling in learning applications in the project V2me. This project combines virtual and social networks to help senior citizens maintain and create meaningful relationships. We present a system that uses a procedurally generated ambient virtual coaching environment that can be adjusted by training subjects themselves or in collaboration. A small user experience study has been executed that gives first insight to the acceptance of such an approach.
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Paper Nr:	13
Title:	An Integration Platform for Private Assisted Houses
Authors:	Flavio Corradini, Francesco De Angelis, Barbara Re, Emiliano Anceschi, Massimo Callisto De Donato and Paolo Iddas
Abstract:	A Private Assisted House aims to define a novel care model focusing on the changing needs of people to promote active life expectancy. This raises the need of personalization in the design and development of Smart Home, so starting from users requirements we stress the need of integration suitable to support such changing requirements. In this paper we discuss Private Assisted House integration platform focusing on its conceptual model and reference architecture. The platform is defined around a set of smart objects managed by a home gateway that communicate with a Cloud Center. This organization provide two kinds of processing: (i) local to the house, and (ii) remote. The local processing involves events, triggers, commands and automations managed directly for the gateway. The remote processing implies communication from the house to the Cloud Center that can provide intelligence to the house using high-level applications that use data correlation to perform specific tasks.
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Paper Nr:	20
Title:	Augmented Hearing Assistance for Elderly People - From Requirements to Implementation
Authors:	Pierre Barralon, Ivo Ramos Maia Martins, Nicole Merkle and Stephanie Schwarz
Abstract:	Remote assistance and health management are very important aspects in the EU funded AHEAD project. The AHEAD project aims on the combination and integration of innovative sensing devices already used by the elderly in their daily life (eyeglasses and hearing aid) with the Information and communications technology based modules in order to build a completely innovative remote monitoring product and services. This paper presents and discusses the data modelling, platform and services development, system integration and architecture out of technical perspectives.
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Paper Nr:	24
Title:	Towards the Deployment of Open Platform AAL Services in Real Life-advantages and Lessons Learned - uSmAAL: A Case Study for Implementing Intelligent AAL Services in Real Life based on the Open Platform universAAL
Authors:	Jan Stengler, Gouri Gaikward and Helmi Ben Hmida
Abstract:	Nowadays, most Ambient Assisted Living systems are confined to individual projects. They are primarily closed products with a limited set of features, thus reducing its extension, adoption and reuse. The aim of this paper is to make a first attempt to increase standardization and interoperability oriented efforts by focusing on open systems. We aim to share our experience with developing and deploying Ambient Assisted Living solutions on the top level of the standardized open platform universAAL in real life. This paper identifies the essential aspects of the system architecture and investigates the advantages of providing generic services, shared and reusable components in real life. In addition, this paper presents an evaluation protocol of the different components, focusing on system sustainability and reliability.
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Paper Nr:	29
Title:	Ageing and Death - Breaking a Taboo
Authors:	Matthias Rauterberg and Kiarash Irandoust
Abstract:	This position paper argues for addressing ‘good death’ as part of ‘well ageing’ in human life. Although in most societies death is protected through taboos, we have to provide solutions in helping citizens preparing for their own death. The Oedipus Trilogy is an ancient narrative to describe clearly the three phases in any human life, the unavoidability of those phase changes. We have to use the last phase of our life to prepare for the end. We will summarize the different philosophical positons regarding ‘meaning of life’, and – although addressing death is a mainly social issue – we describe the challenges for future ICT development in supporting the important last steps of preparing for a ‘good death’.
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Paper Nr:	7
Title:	Requirements for Relaxation Coaching - A Formalization of the Fogg Behavior Model
Authors:	Rogier M. van Eijk
Abstract:	Relaxation training consists of doing regular (e.g., daily) relaxation exercises over a longer period of time (e.g., months). Adherence to relaxation training is for many people difficult because of time constraints, social obligations, forgetting to practice and so on. This is a pity because relaxation training can act as a natural antidote to health-related effects of excessive stress like poor sleep. In this paper, we present a formal model of relaxation coaching that is rooted in the theory of persuasive design. This model supports the development of coaching systems that can improve people’s adherence to relaxation training with its associated health benefits.
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Paper Nr:	18
Title:	Ambient Assisted Living Buddy
Authors:	Alexiei Dingli and Michael Buhagiar
Abstract:	The research area of ambient assisted living is concerned with providing required assistance to elderly and/or disabled people in order for them to get through their everyday tasks and chores in an easy and safe manner. This usually makes use of hardware and/or software solutions in relation to the virtual / senior companion field of study. Additionally, ambient assisted living exerts a number of tools and resources specifically developed as technological aids for an ageing population. This project looks at the possibility of improving someone’s quality of life through the use of an ambient assisted living prototype solution. By combining vital research aspects from the fields of: ambient assisted living, technological aids for the aging population, and senior / virtual companions, this project explore the development and evaluation of such a software solution, the Ambient Assisted Living Buddy (AALB). This implies that the AALB manages to work correctly as a concept to ambient assisted living. Furthermore, this project proved that the possibility of improving someone’s quality of life through an ambient assisted living solution can be effective and has a high potential.
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Paper Nr:	43
Title:	Continuous Monitoring and Digital Systems for Elders
Authors:	Nuno Rocha, Raquel Sousa and Gil Gonçalves
Abstract:	Ageing of the European population raises issues both socially and economically, creating major challenges for the traditional care and healthcare paradigm. Recent technological developments generate a favorable environment for a paradigm shift in the way care and healthcare is provided, by promoting the inclusion of the elders in the digital society. This paper presents an approach to promote elders inclusion, based on a RWD platform, capable of being used in multiple devices (including SmartTVs), and in wireless sensor networks. Studies involving end users have shown how well-adjusted interfaces ease the process of inclusion of IT in elders’ life. This work has been developed within the frame of the European project HELASCoL.
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Area 2 - TELEMEDICINE AND E-HEALTH

Full Papers

Paper Nr:	14
Title:	Telegeriatrics - A Pilot Project to Reduce Unnecessary Hospital Admissions of Nursing Home Residents in Singapore
Authors:	H. J. Toh, Chia J., E. Koh, K. Lam, G. C. Magpantay, C. M. De Leon and J. A. Low
Abstract:	Geriatric specialists have been scarce in Singapore and this has drawn attention to a rising need in providing quality care for the ageing society. Access to geriatric care could decrease nursing home to acute hospital transfers, thus improving residents’ quality of life. A pilot project implemented by an acute hospital in Singapore aims to use videoconferencing systems to improve access to geriatric specialist care for nursing homes and thereby reduce unnecessary acute hospital admissions. We aim to assess the impact of the level of engagement with Telegeriatrics has on nursing home to hospital transfer rates. Two nursing homes were recruited from December 2010 to March 2014. A total of 379 telemedicine consultation episodes were conducted over this period. Hospital admission rates were monitored over a 2-year period and compared against the nursing home’s level of engagement with Telegeriatrics. The more-engaged nursing home reported a significant decrease of 29% in hospital admission rates. In contrast, the less-engaged nursing home only reported a 6% decrease. The findings show a reduction in hospital admission rate for both nursing homes. When the two nursing homes were compared, the nursing home that was more engaged with Telegeriatrics had a lower rate of unnecessary hospital admission. Telegeriatrics has the potential to reduce unnecessary hospitalisation frequently experienced by nursing home residents. Furthermore, a decrease in hospital readmission rates enables hospital beds to be better utilised, reduces medical spending and relieves residents’ distress.
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Paper Nr:	15
Title:	User Perceptions of the Telemedicine Programme in Nursing Homes - The Singapore Perspective
Authors:	H. J. Toh, J. Chia, E. Koh, K. Lam, G. C. Magpantay, C. M. De Leon and J. A. Low
Abstract:	Geriatric care is a holistic approach to caring for older persons with complex health problems, so as to meet their long term care needs and maintain their independence for as long as possible. Due to a scarcity of geriatricians, Telegeriatrics was piloted in December 2010 by an acute hospital in Singapore to improve access to geriatric specialists for nursing homes. This preliminary study explores the perspectives of users from the NHs and the acute hospital on two aspects of Telegeriatrics – the telemedicine consultation and the nurse training programme. Seven focus group discussions and two semi-structured moderate interviews were conducted with a total of 24 participants. Thematic content analysis was applied to identify important themes and new themes that emerged during the coding process. The most commonly recognised benefits were increased access to specialist care, reduced need for hospitalizations, improved quality of care, and enhanced nursing skills and knowledge. However, the greatest barriers as perceived by the users were the lack of personal touch, technical issues, and medico-legal issues. The users expressed general acceptance of Telegeriatrics in providing geriatric care. They were aware of its limitations and challenges, but also recognized it as a promising way of providing consultation and strengthening nursing skills.
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Paper Nr:	23
Title:	On Modeling the Cardiovascular System and Predicting the Human Heart Rate under Strain
Authors:	Melanie Ludwig, Ashok Meenakshi Sundaram, Matthias Füller, Alexander Asteroth and Erwin Prassler
Abstract:	With the increasing average age of the population in many developed countries, afflictions like cardiovascular diseases have also increased. Exercising has a proven therapeutic effect on the cardiovascular system and can counteract this development. To avoid overstrain, determining an optimal training dose is crucial. In previous research, heart rate has been shown to be a good measure for cardiovascular behavior. Hence, prediction of the heart rate from work load information is an essential part in models used for training control. Most heart-rate-based models are described in the context of specific scenarios, and have been evaluated on unique datasets only. In this paper, we conduct a joint evaluation of existing approaches to model the cardiovascular system under a certain strain, and compare their predictive performance. For this purpose, we investigated some analytical models as well as some machine learning approaches in two scenarios: prediction over a certain time horizon into the future, and estimation of the relation between work load and heart rate over a whole training session.
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Paper Nr:	44
Title:	Towards Enhancing Communication Between Caregiver Teams and Elderly Patients in Emergency Situations
Authors:	Syed Atif Mehdi, Artem Avtandilov, Shah Rukh Humayoun and Karsten Berns
Abstract:	The paper presents a framework developed for facilitating care giver staff to interact with an elderly person in an emergency situation alone at home. The framework uses an autonomous mobile robot (ARTOS) as a communication medium in the home environment to establish a communication channel. The novel idea in this work is to facilitate emergency responding teams by also providing them access and control over the robot through mobile devices. The user evaluation study of the developed framework demonstrates the effective usability of the system even by users having no prior experience or training.
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Short Papers

Paper Nr:	9
Title:	BigTexts - A Framework for the Analysis of Electronic Health Record Narrative Texts based on Big Data Technologies
Authors:	Wilson Alzate Calderón, Alexandra Pomares Quimbaya, Rafael A. Gonzalez and Oscar Mauricio Muñoz
Abstract:	In the healthcare domain the analysis of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) may be classified as a Big Data problem since it has the three fundamental characteristics: Volume, Variety and Speed. A major drawback is that most of the information contained in medical records is narrative text, where natural language processing and text mining are key technologies to enhance the utility of medical records for research, analysis and decision support. Among the tasks performed for natural language processing, the most critical, in terms of time consumption, are the pre-processing tasks that give some structure to the original non-structured text. Studying existing research on the use of Big Data techniques in the healthcare domain reveals few practical contributions, especially for EMR analysis. To fill this gap, this paper presents BigTexts, a framework that provides pre-built functionalities for the execution of pre-processing tasks over narrative texts contained in EMR using Big Data techniques. BigTexts enables faster results on EMR narrative text analysis improving decision making in healthcare.
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Paper Nr:	34
Title:	NHIS Big Data and Health Services - Consolidated Ageing Well Strategy in Korea
Authors:	Soon-Ae Shin, Dong-Soo Choo, Tae-Hwa Han, Jong-Heon Park, Jong-Hee Kim and Ji-Hyon Bang
Abstract:	Due to rapid ageing, Korea is currently facing senior health issues, including elderly diseases, loss of roles and so on. These increase concerns over ageing well which resolves the problems associated with changes in socioeconomic structure and improves the quality of life. NHIS currently parlays big data and ICT into ageing well service. With globally renowned big data and ICT, NHIS provides and plans various health services to support seniors maintain not only physical and psychological health but also active sociality. Through introducing Korean health services combining with big data and ICT, this paper shares ageing well strategies.
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Paper Nr:	32
Title:	Reliability and Usability of the eChez-Soi In-home Telerehabilitation Platform: A New Internet-based Communication and Real-time Monitoring Software Solution Combined with Interactive Exercises - Results of a Longitudinal Pilot Study in Four Patients with Lung Cancer
Authors:	Hélène Moffet, Didier Saey, Valérie Coats, Claude Vincent, Fanny Choinière and François Comeau
Abstract:	This longitudinal pilot study aims to describe the components and functionalities of the eChez-Soi home-based telerehabilitation platform, and present preliminary results on its technological reliability and usability. Four patients receiving chemotherapy treatments for lung cancer followed an 8 week home-based telerehabilitation program using the new eChez-Soi platform. All 60 planned sessions supervised by a clinician occurred with few technological problems. Only one session had to be rescheduled because of unresolved audiovisual communication problems. In 20 sessions, temporary problems were experienced, mostly related to the audiovisual signal (n=16), while few technical problems were associated with the sensors (n=1) and the interactive exercise software (n=1). The usability of the platform was very good, with an overall satisfaction rating of 4.63±0.43 (max. score=5) for all aspects evaluated, namely its dimension, safety, effectiveness, ease of use and game environment. These preliminary results support the reliability and usability of our new platform as a whole but highlight the challenges encountered in ensuring a stable audiovisual signal when delivering services via a standard home-based Internet connection.
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Paper Nr:	39
Title:	Multimodal Analysis for Behavioural Recognition in Tele-assistance Applications
Authors:	Sorin Soviany and Sorin Puscoci
Abstract:	The paper proposes an approach for behavioural recognition in which the individual conditions are recognized using a multimodal analysis method. This approach is an extension of our previously defined multimodal analysis method for biometrics; in this case the target application is the accurate recognition of human behaviour in smart home environments, with main focus in the home tele-assistance integrated services for elderly people. The proposed multimodal analysis method uses a hierarchical approach for data classification together with a fusion rule to combine the matching scores for several behavioural patterns. The approach novelty is given by the hierarchical classification design which provides an optimal performance-cost trade-off for the behavioural recognition system. This optimization could be done at runtime in practical applications.
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Area 3 - Monitoring, Accessibility and User Interfaces

Full Papers

Paper Nr:	16
Title:	Improving Activity Monitoring Through a Hierarchical Approach
Authors:	Xavier Rafael-Palou, Eloisa Vargiu, Guillem Serra and Felip Miralles
Abstract:	Performance of sensor-based telemonitoring and home support systems depends, among other characteristics, on the reliability of the adopted sensors. Although binary sensors are quite used in the literature and also in commercial solutions to identify user’s activities, they are prone to noise and errors. In this paper, we present a hierarchical approach, based on machine learning techniques, aimed at reducing error from the sensors. The proposed approach is aimed at improving the classification accuracy in detecting if a user is at home, away, alone or with some visits. It has been integrated in a sensor-based telemonitoring and home support system. Results show an overall improvement of 15% in accuracy with respect to a rule-based approach. The system is part of the BackHome project and is currently running in 2-healthy-users’ home in Barcelona and in 3-end-users’ home in Belfast.
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Short Papers

Paper Nr:	21
Title:	User-sentiment based Evaluation for Market Fitness Trackers - Evaluation of Fitbit One, Jawbone Up and Nike+ Fuelband based on Amazon.com Customer Reviews
Authors:	Hassan Issa, Alaa Shafaee, Stefan Agne, Stephan Baumann and Andreas Dengel
Abstract:	Wearable fitness and health trackers have been in an accelerated growth since their recent introduction to consumer markets. Given the growth potential of this market sector, much more devices, with unbounded set of features, are being introduced to the consumer at a fast pace. This makes the task of evaluating fitness trackers extremely challenging knowing that the results of an evaluation will quickly become obsolete. In this paper, a user-sentiment based evaluation of fitness trackers is demonstrated on market leading fitness trackers. The used approach relies on the crowd, expressed by Amazon.com product reviews, to present an aspect-based evaluation of any market fitness tracker. Utilizing the crowd knowledge acquired, a personalized recommender system for fitness trackers is also presented.
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Paper Nr:	41
Title:	Perception of Human Activities - A Means to Support Connectedness Between the Elderly and Their Caregivers
Authors:	Kadian Davis, Evans Owusu, Carlo Regazzoni, Lucio Marcenaro, Loe Feijs and Jun Hu
Abstract:	This position paper describes a smart-phone based activity recognition system for improving social connectedness between caregivers and their elderly relatives. Sensing technologies can enable real-time monitoring to provide activity recognition in order to support health and safety among the elderly who are living independently. However, most existing activity recognition systems are focused on using sensors for unidirectional monitoring of emergency cases in particular, fall detection. Motivated by the desire to utilize bidirectional activity recognition to improve connectedness between an ageing population and their caregivers, we describe our planned approach to investigate how the perception of a caregiver’s activities by a senior citizen and vice versa can aid in improving social connectedness. To investigate this perception, activity states will be transformed into an information visualization into the caregiver’s home and vice versa without overt communication from participants. Findings are expected to provide further insight on the extent to which perception of human activities increase social connectedness.
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Paper Nr:	47
Title:	Unobtrusive Monitoring of Physical Activity in AAL - A Simple Wearable Device Designed for Older Adults
Authors:	Adelmo De Santis, Antonio Del Campo, Ennio Gambi, Laura Montanini, Giovanni Pelliccioni, Davide Perla and Susanna Spinsante
Abstract:	Many solutions and projects proposed within the Ambient Assisted Living research area, aim at monitoring the degree of vitality of elderly users in their daily activities, and in their home environment, to possibly avoid or strongly limit the need for clinical evaluations. In fact, the information on the subject’s vitality, manifested through his/her activity profile, may be used to evaluate possible anomalous trends, related to cognitive or physical decay. For such a kind of analysis to be realistically affordable, the monitoring device shall be unobtrusive, and transparent to the user. With the aim of striving for the simplest and most reliable design compatible with the aforementioned requirements, this paper presents a wearable device equipped with a sensing insole hosting force sensors, and the related electronics for signal processing and data transmission. The device locally classifies different dynamic states (sitting, walking, standing) and transmits the corresponding information to a supervising system. Preliminary experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the approach, in correctly detecting and classifying the user’s activities.
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Paper Nr:	30
Title:	A Position Paper Managing Youth Screen Time versus Physical Activity - Encouraging Active Living in a Technological Focussed Generation
Authors:	Reem Altamimi, Keith Nesbitt and Geoff Skinner
Abstract:	Childhood obesity is becoming increasingly prolific and problematic. Contributors to childhood obesity include decreased levels of physical activity and increased sedentary behaviour. Screen-based entertainment may be an important factor in the development of childhood obesity as children and adolescents prefer to spend time using electronic devices than exercising. While it is difficult to encourage children to cease playing video games, it is possible to change these passive screens to active ones. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have been utilized by academics and researchers to promote levels of physical activity among young people. This position paper is part of our continuous research into the use of technology in the facilitation and motivation of children to be more physically active. This paper presents the “MySteps” framework that has been developed to manage youth screen time and exercise performance statistics. By developing technology-based solutions, we intend to increase children and adolescents awareness of their levels of physical activity and screen time. Consequently, self-monitoring and management of screen time and physical activity levels may lead to more active living beginning at an early age and continuing in life.
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Paper Nr:	37
Title:	EPIK - Virtual Rehabilitation Platform Devised to Increase Self-reliance of People with Limited Mobility
Authors:	Sonia Garrote, Azael J. Herrero, Miguel Pedraza-Hueso, Carlos González-Gutiérrez, María V. Fernández-San Román, F. J. Díaz-Pernas, Héctor Menéndez, Cristina M. Ferrero and Mario Martínez-Zarzuela
Abstract:	In this paper we describe a virtual rehabilitation platform designed to improve balance of people with physical impairment using the Microsoft® Kinect® sensor. Different types of users can interact with the platform: Administrators, therapists, and final users (patients), using their own interfaces and modules. Six modules have been designed: Profile, Administrator, Evaluation, Therapist, Game and Results; but only four have been implemented so far: Administrator, Evaluation, Therapist and Game. The Administrator’s module is used to generate a database of exercises. The Therapist’s module allows therapists to configure the game training session using combinations of exercises from the database. The patients’ or game module includes a 3D immersive environment, where they perform the prescribed rehabilitation exercises, previously configured by a therapist. The platform is in its first beta version and ready to be tested.
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Area 4 - Robotics and Devices for Independent Living

Short Papers

Paper Nr:	22
Title:	A TV-based ICT Platform for Active Ageing, Tele-care and Social Networking
Authors:	Silvia Macis, Daniela Loi, Danilo Pani, Wil Rijnen and Luigi Raffo
Abstract:	The modern society is dealing with a progressive increase of the elderly population. The development of services for social inclusion and independent living is of paramount importance to enable the elderly to live in their homes autonomously as long as possible. Such a solution paves the way to a sustainable social and economic model where older adults develop self-confidence and promote their participation to the community life. This paper presents the hardware/software framework of a novel ICT system for active ageing support, which combines the potentialities of broadband internet services to the simplicity of TV use. User research in three European countries allowed to define several important services (healthcare, home monitoring, shopping, communication and social inclusion) to be provided through the developed platform. Its modularity, supported by the App paradigm, enables easy customization and future developments.
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Paper Nr:	8
Title:	Scenario Development for Successful Aeging with Robot Companions
Authors:	Katja Richter and Nicola Döring
Abstract:	To illustrate how service-robots for healthcare can support independent living of older people three normative, narrative scenarios were systematically developed. In the sense of a user-centered design, scenarios are a promising opportunity to involve the target groups in the development and implementation process. Each scenario illustrates a different but typical day of an elderly person living with such a robot. Scenarios intend to encourage a lively but focused discussion of future technologies with different target groups. The personas (hypothetical but concrete prototypes of user groups describing specific requirements and usage behavior) were derived from the state-of-the-art concerning the every-day life of older people and the results of a qualitative interview-study focused on the structures and schedules of the seniors’ daily routines. Additionally, key dimensions of the scenario space (specification of service-robots, older people and living environments) as well as descriptors characterizing each dimension, were identified by means of an exhaustive, systematic literature review and consistency analysis. The paper presents the scenario development process, the scenarios and their use in evaluation studies.
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Area 5 - HCI for Ageing Populations

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Paper Nr:	19
Title:	Reminiscence Map - Insights to Design for People with Dementia from a Tangible Prototype
Authors:	Alina Huldtgren, Anja Vormann and Christian Geiger
Abstract:	With higher life expectancy and an increasing number of older people, the number of people suffering from dementia continues to grow. Dementia impacts all areas of daily life and, in particular, communication with other people and maintenance of personhood. Technology is a promising means to address these challenges, yet approaches to design with and for people with dementia remain sparse. In our work we aim specifically to design interactive systems that can be used by people with dementia, e.g., as part of reminiscence therapy or generally to remember the past and communicate with others. In this paper, we present our research and design approach and exemplify one design case: the interactive Reminiscence Map, which was developed together with a person with early stage dementia. We show how this design served us as a lens into life of the care home residents and caregivers and provide design insights.
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Paper Nr:	35
Title:	Interaction Modeling in PRACTICE - CTT Vs. SCXML - A Comparison of Two Practical Solutions Applying Interaction Modeling Techniques for Multimodal User-System Interaction
Authors:	Miroslav Sili, Matthias Gira, Markus Müllner-Rieder and Christopher Mayer
Abstract:	Nowadays, we are surrounded by various devices to interact with digital media and services. Each device and its in- and output modalities can support users’ abilities differently. Thus, it is important to cover a wide range of interaction devices. Modeling user interaction instead of modeling single user interfaces customized to the device is a starting point to do so. This work targets the comparison of two different user interaction modeling techniques used for the design of multimodal user interfaces. Next to the general concepts of the two interaction modeling techniques, the corresponding execution frameworks and the practical exploration results are presented. This paper summarizes advantages and disadvantages of each approach and the comparison clarifies that the CTT approach applied in AALuis is more applicable for large and complex user interaction scenarios. The SCXML approach applied in the ibi project is more suitable for lightweight and structurally simpler user interaction scenarios.
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Short Papers

Paper Nr:	10
Title:	The Assistant Project - Creating a Smartphone App to Assist Older People when Travelling by Public Transport
Authors:	Philip Barham, Stefan Carmien and Ainara Garzo
Abstract:	This is a Position Paper, in the form of a short report on progress of the three-year ASSISTANT project, which is funded jointly by the European Commission’s Ambient Assisted Living Joint Programme (AAL JP) and the national funding agencies of Austria, Finland, France, Spain and the UK. ASSISTANT’s objective is to create a system that older people can use, on a smartphone, to help them to travel independently by public transport, in comfort and with confidence. The target group for the commercial product that will be developed by the project is more mobile older people. However, because the app will be highly personalised, and provide the user with the facility of audible and haptic, as well as visual, feedback, it should also be appropriate for use by people who are partially sighted, people who are hard of hearing, and people who have difficulty with oral communication. This paper describes progress made during the first two and a half years of the project’s life, and outlines some of the ways in which the ASSISTANT app will be tailored to meet the needs of a variety of users, in a variety of public transport contexts.
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Paper Nr:	42
Title:	ICT Solutions to Develop an Effective Motor and Cognitive Training to Reduce Risk of Falls - The I-DONT-FALL Project
Authors:	Francesco Barban, Roberta Annicchiarico, Alessia Federici, Ilenia Debora Mazzù, Maria Giovanna Lombardi, Simone Giuli, Claudia Ricci, Fulvia Adriano, Ivo Griffini, Manuel Silvestri, Massimo Chiusso, Sergio Neglia, Raquel Cuevas Perez, Yannis Dionyssiotis, Georgios Koumanakos, Milo Kovačeić, Nuria Montero, Oscar Pino, Carmela Zincarelli, Niels Boye, Cristian Barrué, Peter Levene, Stelios Pantelopoulos, Roberto Rosso, Angelo Maria Sabatini and Carlo Caltagirone
Abstract:	This study shows preliminary results of the multicenter and international I-DONT-FALL (IDF) project, cofunded by the European Union, aiming to offer an integrated Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) solution for fall prevention and detection. Here we assessed the efficacy of a motor and a cognitive treatment delivered through the IDF ICT solution, aiming to reduce the risk of falls through a randomized controlled trial. The outcome was measured with the Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I) and the subscales of the Tinetti Performance Oriented Mobility Assessment for balance (POMA-B) and gait (POMA-G). We compared the effect of a 24-sessions period of motor training delivered through an i-Walker vs. a comparable period of non-motor training in terms of frequency and duration of sessions. The same comparison was performed for a period of cognitive training delivered though a touch-screen computer interface vs. a comparable period of non-cognitive training in terms of frequency and duration of sessions. Results showed that motor treatment alone or mixed with cognitive training reduces significantly the fear of falling and the risk of falls. Both cognitive and motor treatments showed a nonspecific positive effect on balance performance of participants. These preliminary results are consistent with previous evidences.
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