Facilities for research and development of innovative person-centred assistive technologies

Description

The Assisted Living Studio in the BRL offers facilities for research and development of innovative person-centred assistive technologies to enable independent living and active ageing within a “Living Lab” testing environment. To realise a “Living Lab” the studio has been developed as single level apartment to provide realistic conditions to pursue vital research on the design and development of assistive robotics and other smart technologies that can be deployed in people’s homes. The facility has been constructed to standardised specifications and has been certified as a test bed for the European Robotics League https://www.eu-robotics.net/robotics_league/upload/documents-2018/ERL-CSR_TestBedCertification_BRL_web.pdf The studio is instrumented with a network of Z-wave smart home sensors, linked to an OpenHab Smart Home Controller. There are also Wi-Fi cameras so that researchers can conduct remote trials, or observe evaluations from the control area outside the studio. The studio has its own ADSL connection. The data from the sensors and cameras can be used to provide contextual environmental and user information for intelligent data processing and customisation of Human-Robot Interaction. The studio has access to skilled technicians who can contribute to the development and integration of the ambient technologies, platforms and smart sensors. Expert consultation is also available on design of qualitative and quantitative evaluation methodologies to ensure scientifically rigorous testing of assistive robotic platforms. This will enable SMEs to ensure end-user acceptance, ethical design and market viability of their assistive robots. Consultation on the development of ethics applications and participant recruitment, where human participants might be involved in the testing to evaluate usability, user experience, technical performance and effectiveness of assistive robotics is also available from experienced academics.