STIMULATE
AAL European
project
 |
Stimulate - Sustainable e-mobility services for Elderly People |
A short summary description of the overall idea and implementation of
the proposal in relation to AAL technology and the end-user(s)
Current information and
communication technologies allow development of new ad-hoc services tailored to
the specific profile of the customers, especially in the travel domain.
However, access to them is subject to a reasonable acceptance of the underlying
technologies. The “STIMULATE” project aims at bridging this gap by facilitating
the mobility and independent travelling capabilities of senior people aged
mostly from the age of 55 through using fully adapted Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT). In particular, “easy to use” and “à la carte”
assisted travel planning will be provided to seniors via TV and PC terminals,
as well as itineraries optimization and local assistance via mobile phones when
“on the move”.
To address the travel needs of
seniors and to build our proposal, we selected and studied 8 different projects
or products in relationship to ambient assisted living and also to the
particular domains of the travelling and transportation. These projects are:
Victoria’s Tender Care (US), Care-to-go (US), MARIA, CARLINK, WiSafeCar, iTour, WiseTrip, and Roadscholar. The
main characteristics of these projects include: travel planning, shopping, care
assistance, navigation/GPS and usability. This exploratory study determined the
following statements:
• While
some elderly travel companions exist, only a few are dedicated to daily travels
and those require human assistance (Victoria’s Tender Care and Care-To-Go).
• The
IT projects are centered on public transportation assistance, and propose
services linked to multimodal transportation of persons and assistance during
their travel (CARLINK, WiSafeCar, iTour
and WiseTrip). However, these projects are not
focused on elderly needs.
• In
the context of assistance during travel for the elderly (taking into account
public transportation), only MARIA project shows some common features with
STIMULATE proposal: MARIA (Mobile Assistance for Barrier Free Mobility in
Public Transportation) aims at developing a mobile service for continuous
assistance with the purpose of barrier-free usage of public transportation.
However, as is discussed in more detail below, STIMULATE, provides a complete
platform to plan travels and execution functions, associated with personalized
assistance dedicated to senior citizens.
Using a user-centered design
methodology, STIMULATE will enable seniors to specify their assistance needs,
to extensively plan a trip, to optimize the transport means and itineraries, to
secure advice, to be provided with personal assistance while on the move, as
well as to secure local shopping recommendations and assistance. Advanced user
communication technologies will be used for interactions, namely adapted
graphical representations and navigation using common place terminals (TV, PC,
mobile phones), as well as multimodal natural / seamless expression. Advanced
knowledge based GIS technologies will be used for processing and personalizing
seniors’ travel and shopping requests, optimizing transport itineraries,
providing travel assistance, securing health care support, and enacting the
overall execution of the planned travel and shopping. For ease of use all the
services offered by the “STIMULATE” platform will be accessible via web
browsing, be it for TV sets through the use of the ETSI approved HbbTV standard, or for PC and mobile phones through the use
of the W3C approved HTML5 standard.
Our platform will be extensible and
sustainable through a service-oriented architecture implementation. At the
interaction level, we propose an innovative combination of TV and voice
interaction using Smart phones. A short time-to-market timeline will be made
possible using an innovative combination of existing proven components.
Research on European statistics
shows that the use of Internet by people aged between 55 and 64 has reached 60%
in 2010 and 30% for people aged between 65 and 74. Also mobile phone
penetration has reached 100% of older people, of which 60% are internet
enabled. Similarly TV penetration is 100% and Internet connected TVs are
expected to reach 1/3 of the households in the coming next three years. Given
these statistics and the proposed easy-to-use design of STIMULATE, the service
should be embraced by the elderly population and facilitate their freedom,
activity and choice.
An example scenario
The targeted STIMULATE platform will
be validated with the scenario below, demonstrating and evaluating the travel
support provided to elderly people. This use case scenario concentrates on the
way to increasing their mobility, to secure their access to the relevant
assistance services, and finally to enhance their quality of life. The scenario
could be summarized as follows:
• Seniors
make use the most suited terminal to plan their travel: TV or PC depending on
their level of familiarization & technology awareness. Seniors are provided
with an adapted graphical user interface and navigation mode based on their
individual profiles. For instance text and pictures will be larger with
relevant colors if they have some visual impairment, vocal explanations may be
enacted where needed, multimedia / video illustrations may be provided, etc.
• The
senior may either select to travel alone or join a small group of senior
citizens travelling together.
• Through
the use of an “adapted multimodal interface”, the seniors express their
personal assistance requirements (any mobility, impairment, medical treatment,
diet needs), select their desired travel destinations, and specify their travel
interests. Based on the “seniors expressed” and “system induced” individual
profiles, the STIMULATE platform will propose on a geographical map, those
services most adapted to seniors travel interests and assistance needs. The
seniors may then build their own trip, by specifying from the suggested
services, locality by locality, the ones they would like to reserve.
• The
STIMULATE platform then drafts an adapted travel with optimized itineraries,
visits timing, assistance agenda and locally available support services. The
targeted travel transport is bus / mini-van / personal car, but the concept can
be extended to other transport means. The planned reservations are processed by
the travel specialists offering the services. The travel services cover
cultural and leisure activities, local thematic shopping (artifact, handcraft,
gastronomy, local products, etc.), lodging and transport. The assistance
services address mobility compliance (elevator, ramps, etc.), diets compliance
for hotels / restaurants (diabetic, allergies, bio-food, low calorie meals,
etc.), medicinal / treatments reminders, availability of local health
professionals where and when needed, etc.
• While
“on the move”, ongoing assistance will be provided and the execution of the
travel steps will be enacted through the use of a “GPS enabled mobile phone”.
The STIMULATE system will dynamically take into account possible unexpected
transport events like traffic jams, road works or road deviation and proposes
if necessary a new itinerary according to the previously specified needs.
Moreover the system will assist the travelers, as the needs appear, in locating
and contacting the relevant professionals (doctor, pharmacist, nutritionist,
physiotherapist, etc.) The system will also enact any temporal / spatial
assistance agenda, such as a reminder to take a medicine, to be aware of diet
suggestions, to visit a local doctor, etc.
• The
seniors and their family, friends or personal doctor may stay in touch while
travelling, using the STIMULATE platform geo-localized services enabling to
follow the travelling steps and to exchange any relevant information, from
simple greetings to take pictures, as well as fitness and health related issues
with the personal practitioners of the travelling seniors.
Meeting # 3 in Luxembourg April 2012
Meeting 4 in Paris June 2012
Meeting 5 in Utrecht
Meeting 6 in Vienne
Meeting in Cévennes