{"id":520,"date":"2018-11-15T09:42:14","date_gmt":"2018-11-15T09:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/engineering\/?p=520"},"modified":"2018-12-08T14:18:59","modified_gmt":"2018-12-08T14:18:59","slug":"the-forefront-of-enabling-independent-living-the-brl-assisted-living-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uwe.ac.uk\/engineering\/the-forefront-of-enabling-independent-living-the-brl-assisted-living-studio\/","title":{"rendered":"The forefront of enabling independent living – the BRL Assisted Living Studio"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post by Prof. Praminda Caleb-Solly<\/a>, Professor of Assistive Robotics and Intelligent Health Technologies at the\u00a0Bristol Robotics Laboratory<\/a>, UWE Bristol and Head of Electronics and Computer Systems at Designability<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Intelligent robots, integrated with smart home sensors and healthcare databases, can provide the ability to realise a range of assistive care solutions to support independent living for an ageing population.<\/p>\n

Connected and Secure Assistive Robotics Ecosystems<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Robotics-based technologies are increasingly being recognised as important tools in helping older people with ageing-related disabilities and long-term conditions improve their quality of life and live independently for longer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Socially assistive robots, particularly those that can navigate around a person\u2019s home, working in conjunction with a smart home sensing system, can deliver reminders, prompts and guidance for a range of activities. The ability for a robot to take pro-active initiative in response to specific situations anywhere in the home, offers several advantages over a static tele-care system in terms of increased availability, awareness and access.<\/p>\n

Increased consumer expectations for an Internet of Things (IoT) enabled home are being driven by smart home automation systems and digital assistants becoming mainstream consumer products. Integrating assistive robots, which add value by providing a physical embodied form for these emerging platforms, is a natural next step in developing a connected assistive ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Assistive Robotics Projects in the BRL<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"Researchers at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory (BRL) at the University of the West of England are leading the way in the design of assistive robots.<\/p>\n

Flagship projects in the Bristol Robotics Laboratory include, MOBISERV<\/a>, an integrated intelligent home environment for the provision of health, nutrition and well-being services to older adults, INTRO<\/a>, a research training network to build intelligent robots that can function in real-world environments.<\/p>\n

Recent projects include I-DRESS<\/a> and CHIRON<\/a>, both developing robotic devices to offer physical assistance. The work in the BRL involves understanding how people and robots can interact intuitively, safely and effectively; designing and testing robots that will be acceptable and enjoyable to use, and ensuring that the technology is developed being mindful of ethical and cultural issues.<\/p>\n

\"\"Current projects that are spearheading research in these areas include SOCRATES<\/a> (SOcial Cognitive Robotics in The European Society) exploring the ethical aspects of Human-Robot Interaction in assistive contexts with vulnerable users, and the Assuring Autonomy Programme<\/a> where the BRL\u2019s role as an Assistive Robotics in Healthcare Demonstrator is to develop safety and regulatory standards of close-proximate human-robot interaction in an unstructured environment with people with a range of sensory, cognitive and physical impairments. The BRL is also working with Extracare Charitable Trust in a Knowledge Transfer Partnership<\/a> which involves trialling and co-designing assistive technology with older adults and carers. This project will provide evidence of the impact of assistive technologies on supporting people as they age.<\/p>\n

A robot as the interface to personalised health and well-being information and guidance has the potential to offer a more social and persuasive interaction experience.<\/p>\n

The use of voice recognition and speech synthesis, gesture recognition and sensor information from ambient intelligent environments and smart garments, enable a robotic assistive system to offer more natural and accessible interactions.<\/p>\n

Taking a Person-Centred Approach to Design<\/strong><\/p>\n

We strive to seek user input using a range of participatory design methods. Iterative prototyping and evaluation is central to our person-centred approach, ensuring that systems are useful, usable and accepted. Our person-centred approach involves:<\/p>\n