Works in Progress

Editor: Anthony D. Joseph

UC Berkeley

adj@cs.berkeley.edu

Successful Aging
EDITORS INTRODUCTION

EDITORS INTRODUCTION
This issues Works in Progress department presents six abstracts for projects that are developing interesting solutions to the elderlys quality-of-life challenges. The first two abstracts discuss
projects that will help provide the elderly with freedom and independence by instrumenting
their environments with supportive technology. The next two abstracts discuss projects building specialized user interfaces to address some of the challenges associated with aging, such as
vision impairment. The final two abstracts present projects that will aid independence for the
elderly by providing remote monitoring and assistance.
Anthony D. Joseph

General Electric is moving forward rapidly with technology to help families with
an elderly parent living independently in
his or her own home. The Home Assurance system will augment a traditional inhome panic button with a gateway module capable of transmitting additional
information to family caregivers in nearreal time via a secure Web site.
The system can collect data using
wireless motion sensors and window or
door sensors already common in many
homes. If desired, these small wireless
sensors can monitor specific areas, such
as the refrigerator door or movement in
the bathroom. Additional sensors can
monitor the temperature and detect
water leaks, smoke, or carbon monoxide. The system sends sensor activations
offsite, where a computer-processing
center translates them into useful activity summaries that family caregivers can
access via the Internet.
Researchers at GEs Global Research
Center have collected over 1,200 days
of data from the homes of seniors,
demonstrating the ability to detect activ48

PERVASIVE computing

ity patterns and alert the family when a

home is unusually quiet. Figure 1 shows
quiet times in a home as peaks that grow
higher as the home remains quiet. When
days are stacked behind each other, nor-

Sleep

480
Daytime quiets
420
360
300
Minutes

HOME ASSURANCE SYSTEM

Paul Cuddihy, GE Global Research

mal sleep becomes a large ridge, and

daytime quiet periods are smaller freestanding peaks. The appearance of an
unusual peak on this surface can prompt
a call to a family member.
The systems rollout later this year
holds promise that pervasive sensing
and computing is finding its way into
the homes of seniors. More powerful and
exciting applications that can enhance
independent living are truly on the
horizon.
For more information, contact Paul
Cuddihy at cuddihy@research.ge.com.

18 Jan
240

11 Jan

180

4 Jan

120

28 Dec

60

21 Dec

14 Dec

12 a.m.

6 a.m.

Noon

6 p.m.

7 Dec
12 a.m.

Figure 1. An activity summary from General Electrics Home Assurance system.

Published by the IEEE CS and IEEE ComSoc 1536-1268/04/$20.00 2004 IEEE

ILLUMINATION-BASED
LOCATOR ASSISTS
ALZHEIMERS PATIENTS
Roderick T. Hinman, Al-Thaddeus
Avestruz, Elmer C. Lupton, Gary
Livshin, and John I. Rodriguez,
Talking Lights
Steven B. Leeb, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology
Corinne M. Clark, Kathy J. Horvath,
Ladislav Volicer, E.R. Rogers VA
Hospital
Context-aware computing represents
an important opportunity to assist the
elderly, infirm, and physically challenged. However, most methods for
providing location information inside
buildings require extensive hardware
and installation effort. Accurately gauging indoor location with a portable
computing device remains a challenge.
Talking Lights, in collaboration with
MITs Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department, is using modulated illumination as a locator means
for context-aware systems. The systems
use ordinary fluorescent fixtures, incandescent table lamps, and compact fluorescent lamps with standard bulbs and
wiring to provide an inherent spatial
sampling. An appropriate power electronic circuit can modulate illumination
to encode information without perceptible visual flicker.1 Simply replacing a
fluorescent lamp ballast turns the lamp
into a Talking Light transmitter.
The optical illumination signal is naturally at a higher power level than other
dedicated transmitters (such as Bluetooth,
IR beacons, or wireless LANs). The modulated illumination supplies a unique signal precisely associated with its location.
A mobile computer or PDA equipped
with an optical receiver then processes the
signal. The resultant specific location
information lets application software
achieve context awareness.2
We previously reported on this technology as a prototype guiding system
for traumatic brain injury patients.3 We
also have used the system to address the
tendency of Alzheimers patients to seek
APRILJUNE 2004

exits. In preliminary trials, patients followed audio guidance and werent

antagonized or disoriented by the disembodied voices emanating from the
portable devices.
We continue to research using illumination as locators for context awareness.
Illumination transmitters and receivers
are available from Talking Lights for
other workers in the field to evaluate and
use.
For more information, contact Neil
Lupton at neil@talking-lights.com.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
National Institute on Aging grant 1R43AG17772
supported this work.

REFERENCES
1. S.B. Leeb et al., Dual Use Electronic Transceivers for Wireless Data Networks, US
patent 6,198,230, Patent and Trademark
Office, 2001.
2. E.C. Lupton et al., Communication Systems, US patent 6,400,482, Patent and
Trademark Office, 2002.
3. D.T. Burke et al., Using Talking Lights to
Assist Brain-Injured Patients with Daily
Inpatient Therapeutic Schedule, J. Head
Injury Trauma, vol. 16, no. 3, 2001, pp.
284291.

CONTEXT-AWARE
INVISIBLE INTERFACES
Bjorn Landfeldt, Judy Kay,
Robert Kummerfeld,
Aaron Quigley, and David West,
University of Sydney
Trent Apted and Gavin Sinclair,
National ICT Australia
Project Nightingale researchers are
developing a context-aware data management system across a suite of personal computing devices with an applied
focus on applications that stimulate
intellectual and social fitness in the elderly. The projects goal is to substitute
the classic desktop interface with invisible and ambient interfaces that let individuals or groups engage in reminiscence-oriented group activities.
Our user studies have identified a

broad range of simple technologies and

physical objects currently in use that
stir and support these activities. Our
goal is to develop systems and applications for reminiscing that can be used
as naturally as current tangible devices
such as photo albums, scrapbooks, and
communal table environments. We aim
to realize this by incorporating technologies for memory collection, metadata specification, shared table systems,
pen-paper control, voice control, and
haptic and ambient feedback.
To support such natural environments,
weve developed a virtual personalserver-space architecture. This architecture supports varying network topologies but relies on each individual carrying
a device ranging from a personal server
to an identifier for a logical home server.
The server space incorporates two
planesdata and contextin support of
applications.
The data plane manages synchronization, caching, migration, and security as the individual personal area network moves through different network
topologies. The context plane manages
device characteristics, service availability, modalities, and learning. In practice,
applications require these services to be
offered from devices within the PAN
when decoupled from the network.
However, they might use services residing in the nearby computing environment as they become available.
For more information, contact Aaron
Quigley at aquigley@it.usyd.edu.au;
www.cs.usyd.edu.au/~aquigley.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Smart Internet CRC and National ICT Australia grants
supported this work.

A USER-CENTERED APPROACH
TO DESIGN
David J. Haniff, Roy Kalawsky,
David Atkins, and Martin Lewin,
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is one of 40
partners involved in The Application
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49

WORKS IN PROGRESS

WORKS IN PROGESS

Home Initiative, funded by the US Department of Trade and Industry. One

TAHI research area is how technology
can support users with disabilities and the
elderly. However, because the elderly tend
to be more resistant to change, theyre
typically late to adopt new technology.
So, at Loughborough University, we
are working with our Ergonomics and
Safety Research Institute to produce
ergonomically sound applications. Our
hope is that by producing systems that
are easy to use, we can better communicate to the elderly the benefits and usefulness of ubiquitous computing. One
potential application could place pressure-sensitive pads next to an elderly persons bed to indicate whether that person has left the bed. Another application
could open curtains electronically.
Central to our work is an adaptable,
user-centered design approachfor example, an elderly person with vision
impairments might need to enlarge an
electronic displays components. The usercentered approach consists of involving
potential pervasive-technology users in
workshops geared toward ascertaining
services that the user requires. The user
interface will also be evaluated using
standard metrics such as questionnaires
and the measurement of performance
time.
For more information, contact David
Haniff at d.haniff@lboro.ac.uk.

NEXT-GENERATION TELECARE
SYSTEM
Steve J. Brown, BT Exact
BT Exact has received funding under
the UK Department of Trade and Industrys Next Wave Technologies and Markets program to establish and manage
the Care in the Community Center. The
center aims to develop and demonstrate
a next-generation telecare system that
can monitor an elderly persons wellbeing. The center includes partners
from the universities of Bristol, Dundee,
Liverpool, and Loughborough.
Well-being monitoring aims to provide stakeholders in the care domain
50

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with an intuitive early-warning system

to facilitate appropriate care-provider
intervention. Such a system could
reduce governmental care costs while
increasing an individuals quality of
life.
Work within the center started in
February 2003 by developing an understanding of what constitutes well-being.
Results indicate that well-being consists
of person and context factors that affect
the type of daily activities performed
and also the experience gained from
performing those activities. A change
in an individuals well-being will lead
to a change in one or more of that individuals daily activities. Some activities
were currently focusing on include
leaving and returning home, having visitors, preparing food, sleeping, maintaining personal appearance, and performing leisure activities.
Were currently developing sensors
for monitoring these activities. To help
keep cost and power requirements to the
absolute minimum, where possible, the
system will tap into existing sensor systems such as security alarms, smoke
detectors, and, in the future, smart
appliances.
Within the next few months, we will
begin deploying sensors in a real environment to model the activities. This
will lead to developing an intelligent
data-analysis system that can monitor
changes in the well-being of individuals using Bayesian statistics and fuzzy
logic techniques. The intent is to have a
fully working demonstrator toward the
end of 2004.
For more information, see www.
btexact.com/research/researchprojects/
currentresearch?doc=80064 or www.
nextwave.org.uk/centres/care.htm.

LINKPING UNIVERSITYS
VIRTUAL COMPANION PROJECT
Nahid Shahmehri, Johan Aberg,
Dennis Maciuszek, and Ioan
Chisalita, Linkping University
The virtual companion project at IISLAB
(the Laboratory for Intelligent Infor-

mation Systems) aims to increase elderly peoples independence and quality

of life by realizing an always-available
aid that assists with daily activities and
considers individual needs and current
context.
To deal with the diversity of individual needs, were developing a toolkit
that automatically generates personalized companions. The user, caregivers,
and experts in relevant domains can
make selections from the toolkit regarding activities to be supported (driving, meal planning, and so forth) and
types of support (monitoring, guidance, and so forth). They also specify
user characteristics (such as driving
skills and food preferences) and the
environment (street map, kitchen architecture, and so on), from which models
for adaptivity and context-awareness
are generated.
Safety monitoring for driving and
meal-planning guidance are two services were currently implementing.
Accident statistics prove the importance
of assisting elderly drivers, and the
prevalence of malnutrition among the
elderly highlights the importance of
meal-planning guidance. Our approach
to safety monitoring for driving is
based on peer-to-peer and ad hoc network communication of safety-related
information (such as road conditions)
between cars on the same road, and
between the car and nearby base stations along the road. Our system analyzes the information and alerts the
user when necessary.
Our meal-planning guidance system
is based on a new approach to recommender algorithms (using decision networks) that considers the users preferences and context (for example,
dietary restrictions, nutritional data,
and available ingredients). Additionally, the toolkit allows the creation of
many similar services that together will
increase independence and quality of
life.
For more information, see www.ida.
liu.se/labs/iislab or contact Johan Aberg
at johab@ida.liu.se.
www.computer.org/pervasive