Browsing by Keyword "Assistive technology"
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Item A cluster initiative to strengthen the assistive technology sector in San Sebastian, Spain(2011) Montejo, Manuel; Idigoras, Igone; Ayestaran, Maite; San Sebastian, Laida; Zamora, Gerardo; Gelderblom, Gert Jan; Soede, Mathijs; Adriaens, Leon; Miesenberger, Klaus; SG; Medical TechnologiesIntroduction: San Sebastian' population is more heavily skewed towards seniors than other cities in Spain: 20% of its population is 65+ and 8.3% is made up by people with disabilities. In order to face this challenge, local authorities, together with research centres and private companies, have analysed the Assistive Technology (AT) sector with the goal of supporting emerging economic opportunities in this area. Main Content: The study has been carried out in the context of the FP7-funded support action TECFORLIFE, with the advice of international experts on AT and in cluster methodology. The output of the study includes: (a) a literature review and an analysis of the policy implications of local support of the AT sector in San Sebastian; (b) an analysis of the state-of-the-art of AT at the European and national level; (c) SWOT analysis; (d) interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders; and (e) the definition of the cluster scope an regional agenda. Results: This process has mobilized the local key stakeholders around this initiative and the local authorities have supported the creation the of the cluster initiative that has been officially announced on January 28 th 2011. Conclusion: Cluster initiatives play an important role in promoting the emergence of new research-based industries, and are a central part of industrial, regional and innovation policies. In contrast to other sectors, AT support needs to strongly include end-users as active stakeholders in the AT cluster. This initiative in San Sebastian aims to coordinate the RTD and innovation efforts with the involvement of companies, research centres and end users.Item Distributed intelligence and scaffolding in support of cognitive health(2009) Carmien, Stefan P.; Koene, Randal A.; Tecnalia Research & InnovationComputers have dramatically changed the social landscape and living practices in the 21st century. Most of those changes have empowered typically abled adults, while it is only in the last few years that platforms and frameworks have been developed to extend support to those with diminished cognitive capacity. In this paper we discuses the use of scaffolding and distributed intelligence in assistive technology design. Four examples are presented, in domains from education to cognitive orthotics. We discuss the technology of such applications and the problems that technology designers must be aware of. Finally, we specify how these support frameworks fit into overall efforts toward a culture that supports cognitive health.Item 'Senior Moments': Loss and context(2009) Carmien, Stefan P.; Cavallaro, Francesca I.; Koene, Randal A.; Tecnalia Research & InnovationEveryone occasionally experiences momentary confusion about the intent of an action in the midst of doing an ordinary task ("Why did I come into this room?"). As we age, these momentary confusions, referred to here by the colloquial term senior moments become more frequent. Lapses of this sort can also be the result of specific cognitive degeneration associated with aging and can have an impact on day-to-day living that ranges from annoying to incapacitating. This paper discusses the current understanding of senior moments in relation to cognitive decline and depicts scenarios depicting typical instances of them and common sense techniques to repair the memory slips. We present a discussion of the challenges involved in the design of a computationally based system for supporting lapse remediation, and specific implementation issues involved in providing such a system