A Context-Aware Prompting System to Support Persons with Cognitive Disabilities

描述（由申请人提供）：我们建议为认知障碍人士开发一个运行在普通手机上的一般任务提示和提醒系统。该系统将使用来自各种传感器的信息来确定用户的活动和环境，因此提示的破坏性更小，更合适。拟议的发展建立在罗切斯特大学关于从传感器数据识别人类活动的研究，注意力控制系统关于针对执行功能受损个人的手持提示系统的商业开发，以及华盛顿大学关于为认知障碍者提供技术支持的工作之上。该系统将是第一个通用任务提示和提醒系统，可以提供上下文相关提示，协助任务重新安排，并适应各种不同的日常生活活动。在我们的初步工作中，我们创建了一个概念验证原型，证明来自触摸和运动传感器的传感器信息可以传递到手持系统，并用于推断用户何时执行常见活动（如准备膳食），并且该活动信息可用于修改预定提示。例如，如果系统识别到用户已经开始准备饭菜，则系统将抑制用户开始准备饭菜的提示。我们提出的开发将使系统如此健壮、通用和易于使用，以至于它可以在普通家庭环境中与真实用户进行试验评估。我们建议的工作包括对潜在用户和照顾者的需求评估，为用户和照顾者开发系统接口，以及使系统的推理软件更加通用和健壮，以及对可用性和有效性的初始短期和长期小组评估。最后的系统将提供一个工具，用于调查许多关于技术支持认知残疾者独立能力的研究问题。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to develop a general task prompting and reminding system that runs on an ordinary cell phone for persons with cognitive disabilities. The system will use information from a variety of sensors to determine the user's activity and context, so that prompts are less disruptive and more appropriate. The proposed development builds up research at the University of Rochester on human activity recognition from sensor data, commercial development at Attention Control Systems on handheld prompting systems for individuals with impaired executive function, and work at the University of Washington on technology supports for persons with cognitive disabilities. The system will be the first general task prompting and reminding system that can provide context- dependent prompts, assistance with task re-scheduling, and be adaptable to a variety of different activities of daily living. In our preliminary work, we created a proof-of-concept prototype that demonstrated that sensor information from touch and motion sensors could be communicated to the handheld system and used to infer when the user performs common activities such as meal preparation, and that this activity information can be used to modify scheduled prompts. For example, the system would suppress the prompt for the user to begin meal preparation if the system recognizes that the user has already begun that activity. Our proposed development will make the system so robust, general, and easy to use that it could be evaluated in trials with real users in ordinary home environments. Our proposed effort includes a needs assessment with potential users and caregivers, development of the system interfaces for the users and caregivers as well as making the system's reasoning software more general and robust, and initial short and longer term small group evaluations of usability and effectiveness. The final system will provide a tool for investigating many research questions on the ability of technology to support independence by persons with cognitive disabilities. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: We propose to develop a general task prompting and reminding system that runs on an ordinary cell phone for persons with cognitive disabilities. The system will use information from a variety of sensors to determine the user's activity and context, so that prompts are less disruptive and more appropriate. This system will provide a tool for investigating many research questions on the ability of technology to support independence by persons with cognitive disabilities.