Based on intelligent audio and visual processing and reasoning, the "HERMESCognitive Care for Active Aging" project will develop a combination ofhome-based and mobile device-based solutions to help older people combatthe natural reduction in cognitive capabilities. The three-year projectincludes a special focus on developing an interface that will becomfortable for technology-averse users.

As people approach middle age, their cognitive abilities begin to decline,and forgetfulness permeates nearly every aspect of daily life. This problemis especially acute among the aging, a generation where not everyone iscomfortable with new hi-tech 'brainboosting' gadgets and may even shy awayaltogether from any new technology devices.

"HERMES is helping realize the vision of lengthening the stage ofindependent living and helping aging populations remain active," explainedProf. Manfred Tscheligi, Director of CURE (Center for Usability Research &Engineering) and coordinator of the HERMES project. "Developing innovativeyet non-intimidating technology to address the needs of this valuablepopulation is a challenge that this community of researchers is eager toembrace."

The HERMES project brings together experts ranging from gerontology andspeech processing, to hardware integration and user-centered design toachieve the common goal of cognitively supporting older people. The firststage, a joint effort of the user partners CURE in Austria and INGEMA inSpain, will work on better understanding the memory needs of the elderlythrough a range of user-centered methods. The technology partners in theconsortium, including the IBM Research Lab in Haifa (Israel), AthensInformation Technology (Greece), Bradford University (UK) and TXTe-Solutions (Italy) will work to develop the sensory and perceptualtechnologies.

The HERMES "home of the future" prototype will be equipped with microphonesand video cameras to record conversations and experiences at the user'sdiscretion. The elderly will be equipped with a mobile device that recordsconversations, experiences, location coordinates, dates and times outsidethe home, for example at the doctor's office, the bank, or withacquaintances. All the information will be stored, processed and analyzedto help augment the person's memory.

"With HERMES, our research into multimedia technologies is taking a realleap forward in transforming how people will go about their daily lives,"noted Ron Hoory, manager of speech technologies at the IBM Haifa ResearchLab. "The project will enable us to target more complex dynamicenvironments that demand new innovative approaches. These new approachescan work equally well for business environments, to help analyze telephonecalls in a call center, broadcast news and video, or any scenario wherespeech is of essence."

The project's ultimate goal is to build a prototype system that will offerthree main services:

The first service will help the user remember what happened in therecent past. For example, Alice can ask the system, "What did my daughtersay to me yesterday when we discussed the snow storm in Montreal?" Thesystem will search its repository of recordings based on the time windowand the keywords of the content, and then let Alice choose to play back therelevant conversations recorded in audio or on video.

The second service will give the person reminders or prompts to helpmanage their daily schedule. For example, if George notices that the jar ofcoffee is almost finished, he can tell the system to add a reminder to buycoffee. The system will connect the words "coffee," "buy" and name of thelocal store where George usually shops. When George passes the store andhis mobile device notices the store location, the system will remind him tobuy coffee using a text-to-speech synthesis in a natural human voice.

The third service provided will be memory fitness exercises based onactual personal experiences. For example, at any given time, the systemwill have a list of appointments, some from the past and others that areyet to take place. The system can present the appointments and ask the userto organize them by category or quiz the user by asking the exact time fornext week's doctor's appointment. Another question might be: From thefollowing three appointments which is first, second, and third? These gameshelp jog the user's memory and are based on actual conversations orexperiences that were recorded or entered as appointments.

As part of the project, experts at the IBM Research Lab in Haifa, Israelare contributing technologies and research for speech transcription (Speechto Text), speaker recognition, voice-based emotion detection, andtext-to-speech synthesis.

About IBM

For more information about IBM, please visit www.ibm.com.

Add to Digg Bookmark with del.icio.us Add to Newsvine

Media Inquiries:Ari FishkindIBM Public Affairs914-945-2319fishkind@us.ibm.com