PFI-TT: Crowd-based Alert and Detection Service to Increase the Safety of People with Special Needs

这一创新-技术转化伙伴关系(PFI-TT)项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是有效地解决有特殊需要的人的安全问题。患有年龄相关或认知障碍的人通常会发现很难表达自己的想法。他们没有充分意识到自己在走失或走失时需要帮助。对照顾者来说，跟踪有特殊需要的人可能是一项艰巨的任务，可能会导致孤立，从而显著降低他们的生活质量。虽然有几种辅助商业设备可用于定位有特殊需求的人，但由于各种社会和技术挑战，它们尚未被广泛采用。这个PFI项目开发了一种技术来解决现有解决方案所面临的挑战，包括可用性、隐私、可部署性和有效性。拟议的项目将为有特殊需求的人开发一个智能、集成的系统，其中包括多种安全功能，包括预防性情绪分析、安全区划分和安全跟踪。它还通过在分区和跟踪中利用众包的力量来增强隐私保护和可靠性。该项目包括以下部分的开发：i)智能标签系统，ii)基于软件的安全服务，iii)信标填充技术，以及iv)隐私感知跟踪服务。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation - Technology Translation (PFI-TT) project is to effectively address the safety of people with special needs. People with age-related or cognitive disabilities often find it hard to express themselves. They are not fully aware of their need for assistance when lost or wandering. Keeping track of people with special needs can be a daunting task for a caregiver and can lead to isolation, which significantly deteriorates their quality of life. While several assistive commercial devices are available to locate people with special needs, they have not yet been widely adopted due to various social and technical challenges. This PFI project develop a technology to address the challenges faced by existing solutions, including usability, privacy, deployability, and effectiveness. The proposed project will develop an intelligent, integrated system for people with special needs that includes multiple safety features, including preventive sentiment analysis, safe-zoning, and safe-tracking. It also enhances privacy protection, and reliability by leveraging the power of crowd sourcing in zoning and tracking. The project includes the development of the following components: i) an intelligent tag system, ii) software-based safety services, iii) beacon stuffing technologies, and iv) a privacy-aware tracking service.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.