Category: Field Trials

COLABORAR network helps create technology for people with dementia

Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS recently launched another project: AUTONONOUS. This is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system that can be integrated into existing technologies, such as smartwatches, to help people with dementia carry out day-to-day activities and prolong independent living at home.

The project involves co-design activities and usability testing of the technology. Once again, the Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS volunteer network – COLABORAR – will be key in this regard. Throughout the AUTONOMOUS project and the development of the proposed solutions, there will be continuous close working between the researchers and people with dementia and their carers, be they family members, technicians or assistants from the institutions.

This solution, proposed by Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University and LUCA School of Arts, was selected as one of the semi-finalist winners of the Longitude Prize for Dementia.

Each of the 24 semi-finalists receives £80k grants as part of the overall £4m Longitude Prize on Dementia, driving the co-creation of personalised technologies to help people living with dementia enjoy independent and fulfilled lives. The Longitude Prize on Dementia is funded by Alzheimer’s Society and Innovate UK and delivered by Challenge Works.

Sneak peek at our new project

We are delighted that the PortoPilot project, coordinated by our colleague at the Human-Centred Design group, has been approved for funding in the Porto Challenges area framework.

The main objective of the PortoPilot project is to tackle loneliness of older people by training them in using new technologies. The project will comprise focus groups (group discussions) to assess participants’ needs in terms of technology interaction (main difficulties, motivation and interest) so that researchers can identify the appropriate technologies and solutions for each person. After this initial research phase, the researchers will provide each person with the technology that has been found to be most appropriate (smartphone, tablet, activity bracelet) as well as the applications that will allow the best use of that technology in between applications developed by Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS, or applications already available for free on the market. Initial training will be given to each participant (or group of participants). During the pilot period, periodic visits will be made according to the availability and needs of the participants. During these visits, any doubts that may arise will be clarified, topics related to technology will be discussed, or training sessions will be promoted on various topics related to technology use. At the end of the pilot, interviews will be conducted with the participants to collect information about their experience during the pilot and their impressions on the use of technology, advantages and difficulties. 

The pilot will take place in Porto, and users from COLABORAR will benefit from this personalised support with technology. We are looking forward to fruitful research.

Why technology research needs a network of users

A network of users is a group of people who have agreed to participate regularly in user studies. This enables researchers to have access to users who are representative of a target group of technology in development. User recruitment turns out much quicker and easier for researchers. Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS has its own network of users. Some practice Tai Chi, others prefer to play cards, some have the latest news, others remain faithful to the traditional cell phone, some take care of their grandchildren and the house and those who never miss an opportunity to travel. It is this diversity that makes our user network so special. We get different perspectives that we incorporate to create truly meaningful technology for people.

Informed consent in research

Those who participate in our activities already know. It is the moment when we inform the participants about the activity, explaining what it consists of (a questionnaire, a usability test, an interview), what is the objective and purpose, and framing it in the project in which it is inserted. Thus, participants have information about the activity and can freely decide whether they want to participate. We explain and respond to doubts or questions and provide a paper document, which they sign, and the person responsible for the project also signs.

Testing sessions for algorithm development

Volunteers from the user network COLABORAR are participating in a European research project. COTIDIANA – Mobile Patient-Centred System to Improve Drug Trials and Care of Older adults with Rheumatic Diseases – is a project co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, FFG, Confédération Suisse, AAL Programme and the European Union. The project gathers a multidisciplinary research team comprising developers, UX/UI specialists, and clinical researchers.

At this phase, the study consists of using smartphones to collect motion data while participants perform walk tasks and wrist joint movements. The data that is being collected is fundamental for researchers to train sensing algorithms. When the final system is available, patients with rheumatic diseases can be assessed for physical function in ambulatory conditions. This means that the smartphone will track hand dexterity, gait and physical activity, and sociability patterns, and all these data will inform medical doctors about the disease status and evolution. This new method has some advantages over traditional assessments at medical offices. Patients can be assessed more frequently without the need to go to the hospital. Plus, the clinical information collected by the sensors in the smartphone is potentially more objective, as it reflects the status of the patient at a daily basis, which is potentially more accurate than collecting subjective information through questionnaires and punctual assessments by doctors, usually each 3 or 6 months.

First longitudinal study successfully finished

The last two years were exceptionally challenging. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to turn to remote research. At the time, researchers working in the ELAPSE project, funded by Fundação Gulbenkian,  have just started recruiting participants and conducting an initial assessment. The project went on and researchers distributed tablets and smartphones to the partner institutions in the COLABORAR network, AICOS’ own pool of research participants.

The aim of the ELAPSE project was assessing the impact of technology in combating the social isolation of the elderly. With COVID-19 control measures imposing restrictions in visits to nursing homes, the closure of day care and living centers and the avoidance of family reunions all over the country, the role of technology acquired a stronger role. Because there were many concerns with older adults’ emotional well-being, many institutions felt the urge to actively promote video calls to ensure communication with older adults’ families. Also, to relieve some of the anxiety and having less leisure activities, older adults began to engage with the platform of games developed by AICOS and installed in the tablets. Two years revolved and older adults still use the tablets daily. They play games, search for the news at Google, and use YouTube to listen to music and view some crafts tutorials. Researchers could not be happier for providing older adults technology for free and witnessing they become proficient in their use.

The unexpected turn to a fully remote study made researchers gain important insights on conducting remote research. The study was successfully finished, and its results were presented to Fundação Gulbenkian. The technical directors of institutions that participated in the study were present at the presentation session in which all reflected about the role of technology during the pandemic.

AnathemaServices: design research to deal with taboo topics

Developing his master’s thesis – AnathemaService – at Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS, Diogo Coutinho is exploring design research methods to deal with taboo topics such as sexuality. In this sense, and in order to prepare the market entry of the Anathema app, three workshops were organized with 11 participants. These sessions aim to help understand what people value in a product, becoming a valuable tool in defining the customer journey. In each session, participants (volunteers from the COLABORAR network) were asked to perform various tasks, allowing to understand the most valued services and features.

“To tackle the problem of stigma, designers need to work directly with the stigmatizing topics that affect users, which is difficult as some of the methodologies used are inappropriate. AnathemaService aims to contribute to fill this gap by giving new strategies to deal with stigma in design research activities”, explains Diogo Coutinho.

COLABORAR network is back…and with a new codesign space!

After more than two years of social distance, the COLABORAR network is back!

As a way of resuming usability tests, in person, a session was held at the new FhP- AICOS’ co-creation space. This space is now used for usability tests with end users, as it happened recently within the scope of the Anathema project.

In a session held with 4 users (2 couples), one of the project’s partners, SexLab, moderated the first part, a focus group with seniors on important issues of intimate and sexual life in old age.

In the second part, FhP-AICOS moderated a co-design workshop in which seniors gave their feedback both on illustrations that could be used in the application and on quotations from the texts that were created for the program.

The first of many sessions to be held!

Anathema is a European project for the promotion of sexual health, coordinated by the research center Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS (FhP-AICOS) which aims to develop a digital platform and a mobile application as a way to implement programs of promotion of sexual health, according to a plan outlined in conjunction with psychologists and therapists. The Anathema project focuses on monitoring sexuality in adults over 55 and with chronic diseases.

Guidelines for longitudinal studies

In 2019, our HCD team, with extensive experience in longitudinal studies, published the article entitled “Challenges and Lessons Learned from Implementing Longitudinal Studies for Self-care Technology Assessment”. Now, and based on that article, our experts have prepared a summary, with some tips and advice on how to conduct a longitudinal study.

Please, click here to access the document.

Study about how seniors use technology

This year, a psychology student joins the COLABORAR team to conduct a study about the use of technology by older adults.

The longitudinal study is starting to collect data about seniors’ use of technology. We want to know which technological devices participants make use of and what activities participants perform with each of their devices.

The student will be running a survey comprised of many questions regarding technology. He will apply questionnaires to seniors of our user network COLABORAR and we are looking forward to seeing the results! Users will be contacted to answer by phone, in person and through the internet. Their participation is of great importance to us, as the survey will enable researchers from the Fraunhofer AICOS‘ Human-Centered Design group to better understand specific needs and preferences of older adults. Thus, they will build even more accurate and useful solutions!

A link to answer the questions will be available soon so that users far away from Porto can participate as well and be represented in this sample.