Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOSFraunhofer Portugal participated in the INTERACT 2011 conference, one of the most important international conferences on Human-Computer Interaction, that occurred from September 5 to 9 in Lisbon, Portugal.
The participation included the presentation of two papers on the ‘Workshop on Promoting and Supporting Healthy Living by Design’ and a demonstration of an application in the main conference. A brief description of the contributions is presented next.
Smartphone – a mobile companion for older adults
This presentation developed an understanding of the areas in which the authors believe the adoption of smartphones may significantly impact the life of older adults, namely: i) prevention of isolation, ii) promotion of autonomy and quality of life and iii) improvement of health condition. In this context, Fraunhofer Portugal developed the Smart Companion project, an Android customization targeted at older adults, which already addresses the prevention of isolation and will, in the near future, focus on the remaining two areas.
mobileWAY - analysis, design and evaluation of an interactive system to support dementia patients and integrate carers
mobileWAY project consists of an application for both tablets and smartphones which enables carers of dementia affected persons to remotely display dynamic, customized and illustrated information directly on the television of the dementia-affected person. In particular, mobileWAY enables caregivers to provide information about their identity, their whereabouts and the time remaining until they return to the home of the patient and thus supports dementia patients at home in situations of temporary lonesomeness and absence through information.
Storytelling meets the social web: an HTML5 cross-platform application for older adults
This demonstration presented a storytelling application specifically designed for older adults to share stories and thoughts, following studies that claim older adults can benefit from a greater social inclusion and sense of well-being when they engage in social networks. This project employed a user-centered design approach for developing an HTML5 device-independent and intuitive social web application, which addresses the older adult’s specific needs and age-related impairments, allowing them to connect to their friends and family through storytelling.
For more information on the event, please visit INTERACT 2011 official website.
Source: 12.09.2011, Fraunhofer Portugal