Managing cognitivE decliNe throuGh theatre therapy, Artificial intelliGence and social robots drivEn interventions

The engAGE consortium and the project aim to combat and slow down the development of cognitive impairment, to increase users' inherent capacity, to support the well-being of older people with mild cognitive impairment and to contribute to self-help at home. The project does this by offering services that combine social robots and cognitive task solving and guidance for tasks at home. The Hunt study (The Health Survey in Trøndelag), which was published in 2021, estimates that around 100,000 people live with dementia in Norway (14.6% of all over 70 years), while around 250,000 people (35.5% of all over 70 years ) living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Mild cognitive impairment, which could mean that you have poorer memory and have difficulty orienting yourself, is a common effect of aging and can lead to reduced well-being and health. Due to an aging population and increased life expectancy, the number is growing strongly. engAGE is aimed at people with mild cognitive impairment and their support persons (e.g. family members, healthcare professionals and organisations). We will use the residual cognitive ability and support the well-being of the target group through innovative use of advanced technology such as machine learning, non-invasive use of sensor technology, self-reporting as well as cognitive function stimulation such as via fun and pleasant social activities (story telling with questions to the stories as well as cognitive tasks that can be solved alone or in groups). The use of social robots will be used particularly in the latter area and will be mainly used in care institutions where several people with MCI are gathered. At home, users exploit tablets with more functions than the robot has. An international team consisting of partners from Romania, Switzerland, Italy, and Norway will research and develop new technology solutions and try them out among users in Norway, Switzerland and Italy. The project wants to arrive at technologies with commercialization potential both within infrastructure and end-user technology. As previously mentioned, the aim of the project is to combat and slow down the development of cognitive impairment. The results of the project, which will be completed in autumn 2024, are several. 1. Social robots that will help with cognitive training and stimulation, essentially in group environments where many people are gathered. The robots will engage the older adults with storytelling and cognitive tasks. 2. Tablet for use at home. The tablet contains many functions that will contribute to well-being and quality of life. It has a function to support the tasks of daily life by providing reminders and step-by-step instructions or videos for how to solve the tasks, for example, how to make coffee with the coffee maker. For social interaction, engAGE will facilitate via the tablet so that users can easily set up video calls with family and friends. Entertainment features include private photo albums, videos and popular radio channels. Features for cognitive training are various games. Relatives or the person with MCI can configure the functions of the tablet to suit the user's interests and needs. 3. IoT solution that collects information about the activity level of the user via the Fitbit that the user wears all the time. 4. Machine learning which, based on input from the user via the tablet (well-being reporting from the user and scoring on cognitive games) and activity registrations, calculates changes in the cognitive status of the user of engAGE. engAGE is adapted to each individual user. Relatives and possibly professional helpers will have a role in the adaptation. Two Norwegian companies are involved in the project: Karde (Oslo), which supplies ICT solutions to people with mild cognitive impairment, and Tellu (Bærum), which supplies sensor-based welfare technology to Norwegian and Swedish municipalities. Other participants in the project are the University of Cluj (main contractor, project management and machine learning) and Iris from Romania (adaptations in the Pepper robot), the University Hospital of Geneva in Switzerland (substantial user testing) and INRCA from Italy (substantial planning and user testing). The Research Council of Norway partially finances engAGE in Norway. To bring a valuable product to market, over 100 end users such as older adults with mild cognitive impairment, family caregivers and healthcare professionals will be involved in the development. Tests of the technology and how it works on the target group will be set up and run by the University Hospitals in Geneva in Switzerland, Karde AS in Norway and by INRCA – the leading national institute for the elderly in Italy. In Norway, engAGE is being tested at activity and day centres, as well as municipal housing in Arendal. Some test subjects, from other parts of the country and mainly between the ages of 70 and 80, will also contribute as test users.

The engAGE project aims to combat and slow down cognitive decline progression, to enhance the intrinsic capacity of the users, and to support the well-being of older persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) by providing an ecosystem of services based on an innovative system that integrates social robots, IoT-based monitoring, and machine learning techniques. engAGE targets the challenges and needs of elders with MCI, family caregivers, and healthcare professionals. engAGE unique selling proposition lies in the innovative and rather complete approach to the self-management of older adults’ cognitive decline by joining non-invasive IoT and self-reporting monitoring, machine learning-based cognitive assessment, and social robot-driven interventions in terms of coaching for activities self-management (step-wise instructions and reminders), cognitive function stimulation via fun and enjoyable social activities (drama play and memories storytelling). Commercialisation activity leader is Tellu a large enterprise with good expertise in commercialising AAL&IoT solutions closely supported by IRIS Robotics which is commercialising robot-based solutions. The envisioned route to market is targeting B2B2C as the main route while also considering B2C as the secondary path. In the first case, the target is healthcare professionals or organisations who want to monitor and follow up their patients with MCI and while in the second case the older adults with MCI and their family members. The business case exploits the engAGE unique selling features and builds on revenue streams identified for each target group featuring market push and pull strategies for commercializing the outcomes in 24 months after the project ends and an outreach and dissemination strategy that foresees the definition of specific message for the main target audience such as people suffering from MCI and their caregivers, healthcare professionals and organization, the general public, potential investors, etc.