Intelligent Care Environment addresses needs of elderly people
09-06-2025
An AI-driven home? That's what the AUAS Digital Life research group is working on in the 'Who takes care?' project. A so-called Intelligent Care Environment is being developed to support professionals in dementia care.
Eating and drinking is a headache for many elderly people as well as care professionals. The elderly get less and less appetite and forget to eat. As a result, he or she deteriorates rapidly. But the care professional has too little time to follow this up with everyone. As a result, elderly people can become dehydrated.
'Technology can do all sorts of things, but what adds value? Food and drink, we thought,' says Somaya Ben Allouch, professor at Digital Life. The Intelligent Care Environment consists of sensors and AI that you can put in a home and respond to the specific needs of an elderly person. It does this in a personalised way and provides more support as the older person deteriorates.
Encouraging older people to eat
The moment an elderly person can still get out of bed independently, the lights come on at the chosen time. Moments later, the favourite breakfast is projected on the wall: a plate of oatmeal or a chicken sandwich. In this way, the elderly person is encouraged to eat.
If the sensors detect that the resident does not go to the kitchen, a second signal goes off. This could be a voice saying, 'Don't you want to eat, Mrs Jansen?' Or a smell (e.g. cinnamon or vanilla) or music. If that person still does not go to the kitchen and then skips more meals, a care professional or family member comes to check.
Ben Allouch: 'You can't force people, but you can support them in an empathetic way. Not one size fits all, but according to need and context-sensitive. Not everyone wants three meals a day. And if you have to go to hospital and are not allowed to eat that day, the system doesn't encourage this either.' The stimulation is short-lived each time, otherwise the older person will become overexcited.