QMCRC When the final BBC Reith Lecture by Professor Tom Kirkwood outlined a vision of a future in which new technology is harnessed to open up extra dimensions in older people's lives, it struck a resounding chord with the applied computing department which is already well along the route to making that vision a reality. The same week, work in this area received another significant boost with two grants worth over £400,000 pounds to develop a "smart room" to detect falls, and a multimedia system to help with memory problems.
Professor Alan Newell welcomed the stance of the Reith lecturer and the opening up of a "national conversation" on how electronic technologies can enhance the lives of older people. "This is a much neglected area which has the potential to yield great benefits not just to individuals living out their lives but to the commercial world seeking to address the needs of an economically active and growing market. There are seven years left before pensioners outnumber children in the UK. The financial implications of this alone make major action essential. New technology has the potential to help people live independent lives for longer. The costs in developing it would easily be offset by savings in traditional forms of support and could yield access to new markets."
The first of the two latest projects under the QMCRC umbrella was granted £273,422 from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council to develop a novel way for elderly people with dementia to be able to interact with others through using a multimedia reminiscence based system. Dr Norman Alm of the Department of Applied Computing will be working with Gary Gowans of the School of Design .
The second "smart rooms" project - which receives £130,000 in funding - will investigate the use of advanced monitoring technology for elderly people living alone. A fall detector, an "extended period of inactivity" detector, and a detector of potentially worrying or unusual activity are among those to be developed by a team led by Steve McKenna.
Next Page
Return to June 2001 Contact