When thinking of a project that can be relevant in today’s society that shows creativity and innovation I am drawn to create an application to help people with every day life. Something we may take for granted is the ease in which we are able to undertake basic tasks for survival without any assistance, my idea springs from the need of assistive care which people with illness or disabilities need to ensure they survive. My product will assist people to reduce the dependency and cost of carers and liberate them with independence of being able to look after themselves to some degree.
Assistive technology can:
• promote independence and autonomy
• improve confidence and quality of life for a person with dementia
• help manage potential risks in and around the home
• support a person with dementia to live at home for longer
• help with memory and recall
• support a person with dementia to maintain some abilities
• provide reassurance to carers and help them to feel less stressed.
My initial ideas stem from assistive technologies for blind people, guide dogs are an assistive device for blind people however I feel with extra help from technology their independence and navigation could be improved. My idea was to create glasses for the visually impaired to help identify objects around them, the glasses could be linked to an ear piece which can speak to them and let them know with ease what is around them.
An idea I had for assisting deaf or partially deaf people could be an application which translates sign language into text or speech and vice versa to better communicate with a wide range of people and therefore liberates deaf people to communicate.
A third idea was an application to help people with Alzheimer’s or dementia related illnesses. People struggle very hard to look after family members and friends who develop this illness, it can be a strain not only on the person with the illness but for the carers around them to help them with every day activities. The app can combine numerous devices which are out there and improve the effectiveness of the assistance. Apps and devices which already exist surround the idea of reminding the person to take pills, lock doors and turn off appliances using motion software and ease of contacting people in emergencies. My idea is to combine these techniques and more into one software application which would help their confusion and anxiety every day.
These are initial starting points into the idea I want to explore and will investigate further into devices already existing and what improvements I think I could make.