"HERMES is helping realise the vision of lengthening the stage of independent living and helping ageing populations remain active," explained project coordinator Professor Manfred Tscheligi, Director of CURE, the Centre for Usability Research and Engineering in Austria. "Developing innovative yet non-intimidating technology to address the needs of this valuable population is a challenge that this community of researchers is eager to embrace."
The project partners include experts in gerontology, speech processing, hardware integration and user-centred design. Together, they are drawing on the latest in intelligent audio-visual processing and reasoning technologies to create a system ideally suited to people with mild to severe memory problems who may not be comfortable with new technologies or 'brain-boosting' devices.
In the HERMES system, the user's home is equipped with a computer, microphones and cameras that work together with a mobile phone to record conversations, events, location coordinates, dates and times. Information recorded is stored, processed and analysed, allowing users to browse their past to find out what someone said, for example. The system can also pick up on the users' daily routines and draw on these to remind them to carry out regular, daily tasks. The interfaces of the device are intuitive, clean and easy to use.
Ultimately, the prototype system will provide three key services. If a user needs a reminder of what happened in the recent past, they can simply ask the system (for example: "What did my daughter say to me yesterday when we discussed the snow storm in Montreal?") By zooming in on keywords in the question, the computer can retrieve the relevant conversation and play it back to the user.
The second service will help users to manage their daily schedule. For example, if a user notices that their coffee jar is almost empty, they can ask the system to remind them to buy more. The system will record the reminder and match it to the store where the user usually shops. When the user passes the store, a voice alert in the mobile device will be triggered reminding them to pop into the shop and buy some coffee.
Finally, the system will offer a series of exercises to strengthen the user's memory, drawing on actual appointments and recorded memories to set the questions. This will help to prevent the user from becoming too reliant on the new technology and also slow cognitive decline.
"Everyone forgets things now and then; that's human. But as we grow older, this can seriously influence our life," summarised Professor Tscheligi. "Many products either focus solely on the symptoms or neglect them completely. HERMES provides an approach that targets both symptoms and the cause."
The three-year project started in January 2008 and the project team has already carried out a user-requirement analysis. This shed new light on the situations in which elderly people feel they would benefit from prompts and reminders and the way they interact with technology, including those designed to tackle forgetfulness.
The first interface prototypes are now being developed and should be available by the middle of 2009. During the second half of the project, the system will undergo further tests and refinements.
For further information, please visit:
http://www.fp7-hermes.eu
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