Newcastle University

Lord Drayson, Minister for Science and Innovation, announced today that three new centres, based at Newcastle, Nottingham and Aberdeen universities, will develop digital technology to transform the lives of the elderly, disabled, and people in rural communities.

Building on plans to provide universal connectivity to broadband in the UK, the new research ‘hubs’ are the biggest investment ever made by the UK's research councils - the Government agencies that fund research - in creating a Digital Britain.

The funding will boost pioneering projects at Newcastle University, such as a pedestrian satnav system, digital jewellery items that are also communication devices and a high-tech 'ambient' kitchen that aids elderly people.

Lord Drayson said: “New technologies can transform our quality of life. The unique thing about the new hubs in Aberdeen, Newcastle and Nottingham is the focus on designing digital technology that includes people from all walks of life. This will ensure that everyone is part of our digital future.

"The hubs will develop new technologies utilising wireless networks and GPS, which will deliver hi-tech digital solutions across many sectors. They will create jobs, improve public services such as health and transport, reduce waste and bring digital revolution into people’s lives for the first time.”

The Newcastle hub aims to make sure everyone - young, older and disabled - is included in the digital future. By 2050 more people will be over 65 years of age than under 16 in the UK. Newcastle will work with older people to design simple, intuitive interfaces tailored to their needs. One example of their work is the use of GPS locating technology to bring independent mobility to dementia sufferers.

The Newcastle hub, in which the University of Dundee will also play a key role, will address four fields where digital technologies and the building of a truly inclusive digital economy could deliver major social benefits: connected home and community; accessibility; inclusive transport services; and creative industries.

“In all these areas, digital technologies can make a huge contribution to helping vulnerable people in our society,” says Professor Paul Watson, the hub’s director based at Newcastle University.

“Moreover, as the digital economy evolves, more advice and information – on jobs, public services, sources of support and so on – will be available online rather than through traditional means. Tackling the problem of exclusion from the digital economy is critical to tackling social exclusion as a whole.”

A critical aspect of shaping the hub’s research will be by working closely with people who are affected by social exclusion. The team will work with a group of 3,000 volunteers from North East England and the Dundee area. This will include people from a range of age groups and with a variety of disabilities and learning difficulties.

“They’ll help determine the direction of our research from the outset,” Professor Watson explains. “We’ll also be able to work with this group to test potential solutions, including different ways of equipping people with the digital skills they need and providing them with information necessary to access services.”

A range of private sector businesses and public sector organisations will also make a fundamental contribution to the work of the hub. Collaborations with Philips Research, IBM and Microsoft will be developed, while Age Concern, the Alzheimer’s Society and other charities will be closely involved.

“Our aim is to generate a pipeline of high-quality ideas that can make a real difference to people’s lives, and then to start commercialising them as the hub’s work nears its conclusion,” says Professor Watson.

“As part of the hub, we’ve set up a core technical team of software and hardware developers, so we’ll be able to produce prototypes that are as close to the envisaged eventual products as possible. That means we could see life-transforming solutions reach the market within three to five years.”

Gary Moulton, Senior Product Manager at Microsoft, says: "Information and communication technology can be instrumental in facilitating social inclusion, yet determining exactly how older adults can best apply and use digital products and services requires extensive interdisciplinary and user-driven research.

"Within just a couple of years, the hub will generate innovations that will be transformational for older adults while enabling them to maintain their quality of life. Microsoft, a global leader in inclusion for people of all abilities, is eager to participate and to help with this important work."

Frances West, Worldwide Director of the IBM Human Ability and Accessibility Center, said: "Technology that adapts to the unique needs of every individual - regardless of age or ability - is crucial to enabling economic self-sufficiency and lifelong independence.

“IBM is looking forward to collaborating with the Digital Economy Research Hub to address the needs of the aging population, which is such an important and rapidly growing part of the workforce and general population worldwide."

Fred Boekhorst, Senior Vice President at Philips Research, says: "Applying sense and simplicity in the home and community domain will connect a yet unaddressed large group of people to the digital economy and thus society.

"The Digital Economy Research Hub will allow us to uncover consumer insights and translate these into meaningful innovations that will improve people's lives."

Professor Chris Brink, Vice-Chancellor of Newcastle University, says: “This is an excellent example of how world class research can directly benefit society.  Digital technology is changing the world in which we live and it is important that everyone shares in the advantages. Newcastle University is proud to be tackling this societal challenge.”

Key projects at the Newcastle Hub include:

The Ambient Kitchen

Better quality of life; less pressure on friends and family; reduced strain on sheltered housing and healthcare resources – these are just some of the benefits that could result from installing cutting-edge digital technologies in the homes of people with dementia.

The prototype Ambient Kitchen is an outstanding example of just how such technologies have the potential to transform lives – and enable those with dementia to live in their own homes, independently and safely, for longer. Developed by Newcastle University, it’s providing hard evidence of the possibilities that the digital age offers right across society.

With a series of electronic tags and sensors built into the floor, utensils, appliances, cupboards and work surfaces, the computer-controlled Ambient Kitchen automatically monitors the user’s progress as they prepare food based on a selected range of recipes.

The kitchen is programmed to ‘know’ every step involved in preparing each recipe. If the user departs from the correct process (e.g. due to a sudden memory lapse) the kitchen detects it immediately. Helpful advice is then projected onto whichever wall the user is facing so it can be seen easily. The user can use the information to get back on track.

Simply knowing such help will be provided when needed can play a key role in giving people with dementia the confidence to continue cooking for themselves. Live video feeds can even be incorporated to link relatives and carers with the users – boosting peace of mind for all concerned. Plans are now in place to commercialise the kitchen.

Crucially, despite the state-of-the-art capabilities it incorporates, the Ambient Kitchen looks exactly like a conventional kitchen. This is absolutely vital as the key aim for many people with dementia is to continue leading a normal life for as long as practical. With the help of the Ambient Kitchen, achieving this could be a step closer.

Digital Jewellery

Loneliness and isolation are endemic in today’s society, especially among older people who live on their own and perhaps far from their grown-up children. But now scientists at Newcastle University have come up with an ingenious solution that could help tackle this deep-rooted problem – digital jewellery.

The jewellery is designed to reduce feelings of worry and anxiety in a highly personal but non-intrusive way. When stroked gently, a necklace, bracelet or brooch, for instance, causes a corresponding piece of jewellery many miles away to vibrate gently – reassuring the wearer of the second piece that the wearer of the first piece is thinking of them.

A key role is played by tactile sensors and mobile phone-type signal transmission technology that are unobtrusively incorporated into the artefacts, providing an invisible but instant and direct digital link between the owners of a specific set of the jewellery.

But digital jewellery’s effectiveness is not just down to technology. The key to maximising its usefulness is to ensure that the jewellery itself has meaning for its owners. So it may incorporate small keepsakes or be in a shape that prompts shared memories. The aim is to pinpoint exactly what is meaningful and has emotional value for the people concerned.

The digital jewellery concept has been pioneered by Dr Jayne Wallace, and represents the outcome of close collaboration between computer scientists at the University and jewellery designers. Age Concern Newcastle has also been closely involved in the development and testing of the jewellery.

The result is a relatively low-cost but ingenious, effective and above all highly personalised way of strengthening human relationships, reducing the stress of separation and combating social exclusion in today’s fast-developing digital world.   

Pedestrian Satnav

Satellite navigation, or ‘satnav’, technology is an established feature of modern life that has revolutionised the way many of us drive in recent years. But could a similar approach help older people stay active and better integrated into society for longer than is now often the case? 

Because it involves getting ‘out and about’, meeting people, visiting friends and going shopping, for example, walking can make a key contribution to maintaining quality of life as people get older. Moreover, it also represents an excellent form of exercise that, when engaged in regularly, can deliver valuable health benefits.

However, many older people lack the confidence to maintain ‘normal’ walking habits, often due to feelings of vulnerability and worries about getting lost in unfamiliar, new or changing environments.  

To tackle this very real problem, scientists at Newcastle University plan to develop satnav-style systems that can give older people the assistance they need to continue walking around their neighbourhoods, shopping centres and even large retail outlets.  Such systems could, like car satnavs, be based on Global Positioning System (GPS) technology. Another option could be to harness mobile phone technology.

The aim would be to enable older people to plan journeys ahead and easily find their way around ‘on the ground’, while ensuring that receivers/transmitters could be worn discretely and unobtrusively. The best way of providing pedestrians with the information they need (e.g. in printed form or via a Personal Digital Assistant) will also be explored.

If developed successfully, ‘walking satnav’ systems could also be used to help other potentially vulnerable groups in our society – and so transform the quality and dynamics of many lives in future.

GPS Locators

For people with dementia, it is a key objective to maintain an independent, self-reliant lifestyle for as long as possible. A fundamental aspect of this is the ability to go ‘out and about’ on their own and pursue normal patterns of behaviour wherever possible.

Unfortunately, lapses of memory and feelings of confusion can conspire to cause people with dementia to lose their way, even in the most familiar surroundings. This problem – known as ‘wandering’ – can, of course, be a frightening and disorienting experience which makes them less inclined to move about unaccompanied. It can also be a major source of stress for families and carers.

To address the issue, Newcastle University are developing devices that exploit Global Positioning System (GPS) technology and can be incorporated into a range of personal effects, from notebooks to pedometers, which the person with dementia is used to keeping with them as part of their normal lifestyle. Importantly, the presence of the device isn’t apparent to onlookers, avoiding feelings of self-consciousness on the owner’s part.

The devices transmit regular signals that pinpoint the owner’s location and are sent to the mobile phone of a selected carer or family member. The result is the reassurance so vital to the carer or family member’s peace of mind, and the confidence that the person with dementia themselves needs that they can walk, jog or run, for example, in safety and without the risk of getting lost.

Developed with detailed input from a series of focus groups and interviews involving the Institute of Health and Society at Newcastle University, and already trialled successfully in real-life situations, these innovative GPS locators have the potential to deliver life-changing benefits for thousands of people across the UK.