Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften
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The possibilities of digital technologies for people with disabilities or the older population are wide-ranging, but in order for all people to be able to participate in an increasingly “digital world” it is important to quality professionals and organizations so that they are able to support, advise and help with potential risks. The article presents results of a survey among health and social care professionals in seven European countries with regard to qualification in this domain and introduces the European Union funded project DDSkills. The project aims to qualify health and social care professionals in areas such as digital Assistive Technologies, Smart Home, Robotics, Virtual and Augmented Reality and Brain-Computer-Interface, as well as their implementation and application, in order to support people with disabilities or functional decline to increase their independence and social participation.
Smart home technologies, such as Internet of Things devices have great potential to support older people to live for longer in their own homes. Yet individuals with communication, memory and dexterity problems often cannot use such technologies. Through a co-design, participatory approach the needs and problems experienced by older people and their supporters were explored to ascertain how they could be enabled to use Smart home technologies. The solution that was developed, IntraVox, is a virtual hub that enables connectivity from different resources and devices based on the sensor data that is being collected in the house. IntraVox sends various commands to a voice-enabled personal assistant which in return controls smart home devices. This approach can improve the usability of voice-enabled personal assistants by removing the necessity for the user to remember and pronounce specific commands whilst also reinforcing the syntax and the usefulness of those commands. This discussion describes the development process and user-feedback of the IntraVox solution.
The advancing use of modern technology in nursing care, especially the development of technical assistance systems through robotics, digitization and Artificial Intelligence (Al), can open up new opportunities for those affected. At the same time, however, the use of these technologies also carries risks for this group of people, especially for their fundamental right to informational self-determination, due to the extensive processing of personal data. This article describes the risks for data subjects and explains the current legal framework regarding the protection of personal data in the European Union. The authors conclude, that applying data protection and data security to technical assistance systems, robots and Al from the beginning not only leads to legally compliant practices but also strengthens the trust of users and society as a whole in the use of these systems. The use of Al-based systems raises further (legal} questions that go beyond data protection and data security. The authors first address the various definitions of the term „Artificial Intelligence” in the academic literature. They then describe the European Union’s various regulatory approaches to the use of Al starting with the European Commission's “Strategy for Artificial Intelligence” published in 2018, followed by the “Al White Paper” published in 2020 and ending with the European Commission’s proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonized Rules on Artificial Intelligence- Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA) published in April 2021. Here, in particular, aspects of „scope“, „transparency” and „impact on the healthcare sector” will be examined in more detail and the still necessary need for legal policy discussion will be highlighted.
Respect, equity, democratic spaces, are the most cited words by people when asked how they could explain Urban Dignity in simple words. However, segregation, violence, insecurity, pollution, housing deficit and sanitation are some of the most cited words that comes out from first year architecture and urban planning graduate students when they are asked about our city constraints. Those urban issues get intensified in subnormal cluster areas, and challenges the academy in the housing design process when addressing Urban Dignity to those students. This paper presents the results of a design thinking process exercise for an informal community with housing needs. It considered the emotional space concept as a method to find the common grounds where individuals find comfort, safety, and joy. A brainstorm meeting with the community and field visits were used as a strategy to capture some of the essence of locals. The challenge to understand and capture their individual and personal feelings regarding their own comfortable zones and address them into a common scenario remained the main struggle of this project. Most of those people had never had a house with steady structure and infrastructure to live in. Therefore, an intense inside discussion among the design responsible people involved in the project, focused on translating their own perception of local's feelings towards neighbors, of local’s belongings and behaviors to define the design program needs. As a result, the sense of place, open ungated buildings with three floors max, a common recreational central area, the use of construction materials familiar and available in the field, and reserved areas located on first floor were some of the main characteristics drawn to the area. This approach guaranteed to host locals’ activities and accommodate changes needed in their course of lives as some of the characteristics found essential to welcome the community of about 80 families in a place where they could call home.