Fraunhofer Center for Assistive Information and Communication Solutions – AICOS
A mobile companion for older adults
The smart companion is an award winning set of applications for smartphones that were specially designed to meet older adults‘ needs.
Motivation:
Technology can bring numerous benefits to seniors. However, unless interfaces consider their characteristics, advantages are likely to be missed. Mobile phones, for example, have great acceptance rates among older adults. Nevertheless, due to the disregard for seniors’ characteristics during the design of mobile phone user interfaces, these users often can only perform a very limited number of tasks, such as receiving and making calls.
Solution:
Smart Companion was created in order to enable seniors not only to perform common mobile phone tasks, such as sending messages, but also to provide a companion that supports their daily activities.
Smart Companion also aims to bring the elderly closer to their caregivers (i.e., a relative or a physician), by allowing them to be remotely connected (indoors and outdoors) at all times. Hence, the caregivers can be aware of health-related hazardous situations and prevent them from happening, improving the seniors’ self-confidence and sense of protection, while allowing the caregivers to feel at ease regarding their cared afters.
Benefit:
Smart Companion has undergone usability testing with older adults and in multiple devices, from low to high-end smartphones. The solution was specially designed to address seniors’ and their Caregivers’ goals and needs, and therefore it:
> Prevents isolation
- Calls
- Messages
- Custom keyboard
- How are you?
- Camera and Gallery
> Promotes autonomy and quality of life
- Activity level
- Guide Me
- Medication reminder
- Scale & Blood Pressure
- Surveys
> Ensures Safety
- Emergency
- Help requests
- Fall risk
- Fall detection
Download:
For any additional information, please contact us using the inquiries form.
