Help or Hal? Smart Homes &
Elderly Care
Smart Homes
• A smart home (sometimes referred to as a
smart house or eHome) is one that has highly
advanced automatic systems for controlling
lighting and temperature, multi-media
equipment for monitoring and activating
security apparatus (alarms and alerts)
associated with windows and doors and many
other functions.
Why smarthomes?
Convenience
Peace of mind
“It allows me to be
lazy”
“I can track things when
I’m not there and know
that…it’s…secure”
Control
“I like just being
in control”
Smart home model architecture
Central Management Unit
Changing Demographics
(US Census Dept, 2005)
Furthermore…
clinicians, nurses, and caregivers
+ older adults
=
in caregiver workload and burden
• This is not only true in institutions but in the
home as well!
The Result
• There is an increased need for new treatment
options and solutions
• Solutions need to be robust and easily
scalable to meet the needs of this growing
population
Research Questions
• Researchers are looking at technologies as a
potential solution
– Can technology be used to blur the boundaries of place
with respect to providing care?
– Can technology help support the growing needs of older
adults?
– Can technology support caregivers and nurses?
The Goal
• Intelligent Assistive Technology: Using Artificial
Intelligence to Support Wellness & Aging-inPlace
The Goal
• Intelligent Assistive Technology: Using
Artificial Intelligence to Support Wellness &
Aging-in-Place
• Wellness - The quality or state of being in
good health especially as an actively
sought goal
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary
Assistive Technology
• Any item, piece of equipment, or product
system, whether acquired commercially or off
the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used
to increase, maintain, or improve functional
capabilities of individuals with disabilities
- Cook & Hussey (2000)
Pervasive Healthcare
• Recently pervasive (or ubiquitous) computing has started
integrating with healthcare
• Examples include:
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Wireless, wearable, and implantable sensors
Personal medical devices
Smart home technology
Pervasive computing in care institutions
Pervasive applications for caregivers and nurses
Personal, social, cultural and ethical implications of developing and
using such technology
Limitations
• While good ideas, there have been several barriers to
use, mainly:
– Often these technologies are not able to accommodate the
changing needs of a user
– Many result in an increase in burden for nurses, caregivers,
and family members
• Why?
- Because you need to take into account context!
What is Context?
• Context can be defined as any information
that can be used to characterise the situation
of a person, place, or object
• Context encompasses everything in the
person’s environment, including the person
Where does interactive system’s
come in?
• The very general answer:
Algorithms and techniques that can act like a human
when performing cognitive functions (e.g. decision
making)
• AI agent that is able to use context to make rational
decisions
• Most relevant to our research are intelligent sensing
and planning techniques
Sensing and Planning
• Intelligent sensing:
Allows contextually rich information to be collected
about the person a rational manner (develop task,
user, and system models)
• Intelligent planning:
Allows a system to decide what the person is doing
and how to react in an appropriate manner (e.g.
providing assistance at the appropriate time)
Research Goal
• To develop intelligent technology that is able
to:
– Automatically learn about the user and
environment
– Continuously collect data and information
– Use contextual information to autonomously
operate and make decisions
Example: The COACH
• Cognitive Orthosis for Assisting with aCtivities
in the Home
• Interactive system to prompt adults with
Alzheimer’s disease to complete simple tasks,
such as washing their hands or brushing their
teeth.
Boger, J., Hoey, J., Poupart, P., Boutilier, C., Fernie, G., & Mihailidis, A. (2006). A
planning system based on Markov decision processes to guide people with dementia
through activities of daily living. IEEE Transactions on Information Technology in
Biomedicine,, 10(2), 323-333.
Example: The COACH
• The COACH’s hardware
consists of a small webcam
and an LCD screen installed
on the wall.
• If the COACH sees that a
person is struggling to wash
her hands properly, for
example, leaving out steps
or becoming confused, the
COACH either prompts the
person verbally, using a
recorded human voice, or
shows a picture of what she
needs to do next.
Example: The COACH
References
• Boger, J., Hoey, J., Poupart, P., Boutilier, C.,
Fernie, G., & Mihailidis, A. (2006). A planning
system based on Markov decision processes to
guide people with dementia through activities
of daily living. IEEE Transactions on
Information Technology in Biomedicine,, 10(2),
323-333.