WHAT IS THE OBJETIVE?
Explore the possibilities of the application of virtual assistants in the promotion of personal autonomy, entertainment and the prevention of loneliness in elderly, dependent or disabled people.
WHAT DOES IT CONSIST OF?
Virtual assistants have advanced exponentially in recent years both in improving their capabilities and functionalities and in terms of their penetration into society in different ways, especially in the home environment.
At the end of 2019, we began to explore the possibilities of applying virtual assistants to promote the personal autonomy of the elderly, dependent or disabled. A breakfast is held with experts in artificial intelligence and demonstration of voice assistants and the first tests of the Google Assistant and Alexa assistants are carried out.
During this period, engineering trainee students from the Polytechnic University of Madrid joined the TECSOS team with the aim of investigating the potential of using voice assistants.
At the same time, a series of infographics have been published to explain in a simple way the use of these new functionalities developed for Alexa, as well as all those voice assistant commands that may be of greatest interest during this period.
It is from March 2020, in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, when collaborating with the Red Cross we accelerated efforts to search for potential use cases that could solve some needs and offer another channel to deliver proven information, from quality and accessible to as many people as possible.
The Red Cross, with the collaboration of Accenture, Amazon and the TECSOS Foundation, has developed a Skill or functionality that allows anyone who has the Alexa application installed on their mobile or a smart speaker to contact the Red Cross or make a donation punctual only by pronouncing the words “Alexa, open Red Cross”. Subsequently, the capacities have been expanded so that, among other things, it is possible to access training pills on how to prevent contagion, reduce stress, or receive a basic first aid tutorial.
This skill opened the door to carry out a pilot test with the deployment of up to 100 Amazon Echo Show devices in the homes of the elderly in different provinces with the aim of continuing to deepen the possibilities offered by this technology in helping and accompanying people. vulnerable.
WHAT IS THE STATUS?
Currently, the line of work with voice assistants to improve the lives of vulnerable groups is still open and new use scenarios are being explored, such as the connection with home automation devices for people with disabilities or the use of these devices for data collection and monitoring of participants in pilots.
In addition, a line of work has been opened with Amazon Web Services for the use of Artificial Intelligence for social purposes, in this case in the design of a chat-bot that complements the user experience on the Orientatech portal.
AVAILABLE RESOURCES
Click on the following link to view infographics with interesting Alexa and Google Assistant utilities.
Click on the following link to see Google Assistant analytics.
Click on the following link to view the Alexa Assistant analytics.
Amazon Alexa
Amazon Web Services
