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Emotia is a Voice-Controlled Intelligent Personal Assistant that enhances emotional well-being, supports cognitive stimulation, and promotes social engagement through personalized memory recall, emotional recognition, and health monitoring.
OVERVIEW
RESEARCH
Elderly with cognitive decline have a hard time making connections with people, leaving them feeling distant from loved ones.
For this project, we conducted a mixed-methods research approach, including contextual inquiries, expert interviews, and semi-structured interviews. We observed elderly individuals in assisted living facilities to understand their communication challenges, focusing on interactions with caregivers and family members. Expert interviews with medical professionals and psychologists provided insights into the emotional and cognitive challenges faced by these individuals. Additionally, we conducted in-depth interviews with elderly participants to explore their experiences with loneliness, technology, and social engagement, which helped inform the design of our intervention.
Communication Difficulties
Elderly individuals with cognitive impairments struggle with processing and recalling information, making conversations frustrating and often leading to social withdrawal and a lack of social connection.
Routine
Interactions
Repetitive interactions with familiar caregivers help reduce frustration and make conversations easier for elderly individuals with cognitive impairments.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) projects that India's elderly population will double by 2050, demanding investment in assistive technologies
PROBLEM
How can we help individuals with cognitive disabilities stay connected to their loved ones?
INSIGHTS TO CONCEPTS
After gathering our insights, we defined our user requirements and used them as the foundation for brainstorming solutions. These ideas were categorized and combined to create two distinct concepts. We assessed concepts against requirements using a matrix, and the concept that fulfilled the highest number of requirements was chosen
FINAL DESIGN
The design intervention is based on the praxis of defining human emotions by two parameters: subjectiveness and context-dependency, and exists through the medium of Vertical IPAs with the purpose of enhancing social interaction while also providing support for mental stimulation. The organic shape of the device is aesthetically pleasing and easily integrated into one’s home.
PRELIMINARY TESTING
Experimenting with the voice and charactertics of the chatbot
We tested variations in voice speed, tone, and pauses, and gathered user descriptions of the product's visual perception. Following a trial with a small group, adjustments were made based on feedback, resulting in the following changes:
The voice of the chatbot was made customizable.
The appearance was designed to be invisible and fit into any space.
The device was designed to support multiple languages
FINAL DESIGN
Emotia
Using AI to enhance communication, emotional well-being, and cognitive support for elderly individuals with cognitive impairments.
Timeline
May - Oct 2024
Team
Khushi Jain
Ashya Rao
Tools
Figma
Blender
Apple ARKit
Project Type & Role
Conceptual
Research, product design, AI data brainstorming, user-testing, AR prototype, 3D modeling
The design intervention enhances seniors' well-being with features like personalized memory recall, helping users reconnect with familiar phrases and voices. Its emotional recognition system detects and responds to emotional states through voice tone and body language, fostering meaningful interactions. Additionally, health monitoring tracks vital signs and sends real-time alerts to caregivers or family members in emergencies, ensuring both emotional support and safety for users.
FUTURE WORKS
The intervention gave us insights into what its strengths were, while also shedding light on the gaps that still existed in the intervention as well as in the ecosystem. some areas for future work that we identified were -
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Perform another round of usability testing with high fidelity prototypes to get feedback on the bot’s interactions
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Brainstorming ideas for additional fun interactions using the bot
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Improving communication skills (to be less intrusive, understanding social cues, etc.)
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