Category: Communication

Tante Kwebbel

Duration: 01/2006 – 01/2007  Funding: Kenniswijk Project, SenterNovum

Partners: NaN

Tante Kwebbel

Tante Kwebbel is a smartphone communication system that connects people.

Some changes in the structure of the care and health organization (introduction of the WMO) have big consequences. The system depends more on civil initiatives and self-organization of the community. 

Unfortunately, voluntary work is changing. People are willing to do their share of voluntary work to society but on total different conditions than before. They do not want long term commitments and obligations. Therefore, voluntary works has to become more flexible to make use of this potential group op volunteers. 

Tante Kwebbel is a smart telephone-system, that exactly knows what someone wants and who is available at that moment. People can be honest to a telephone-system, so they can say no when they are not able to help. Everyone that subscribes to Tante Kwebbel is able to call her or can be called by her. 

Contribution

Results

More info?

Need specific information regarding the project? Please contact our senior consultant for more information.

Jan Kraaijeveld

Senior consultant

+31 (0)10 404 9444

jan@almende.com

Read More

Luister

Duration: 01/2006 – 01/2007  Funding: Kenniswijk Project SenterNovum

Luister

Almende has developed ASK, a communication platform based on the principles of self-organization.

In order to help people to articulate their preferences and to handle the accompanying challenges, Almende has developed ASK, a communication platform based on the principles of self-organization. ASK makes the best connections between people that most of the time do not know each other and uses feedback from previous connections to arrange a better match next time. The system estimates the quantity of the demand and supply during the day and takes initiatives to ensure that contact can always be made. Every participant can up-date his/ her own availability and reachability information on the internet.

 

 

Contribution

For the fist time ASK is being implemented in an elderly home at Humanitas Rotterdam Zuid. Elderly people pushing their alarm button are connected to a server that classifies their question by means of speech recognition. ASK matches them instantly with the best and available volunteer or professional and calls them on their PDA/ mobile phone. The PDA can also register the start and end time of the care session and can communicate this with an existing planning tool.

Results

The project resulted in a communication system, namely ASK. Both parties are requested to give feedback in order to investigate whether or not this match should take place in the future. This way, complex last minute planning has become streamlined and simplified.

More info?

Need specific information regarding the project? Please contact our senior consultant for more information.

Jan Kraaijeveld

Senior consultant

+31 (0)10 404 9444

jan@almende.com

Read More

EasierPhone

App platform to empower and assist seniors with smartphones

Duration: 04/2021 – 09/2023  

EasierPhone

The smartphone is growing to become the gateway for social contacts, information, and services. Being able to use smartphone functions significantly lowers elderly user’s vulnerability and connects them to family, peers, and to formal support networks. However, the complexity of today’s smartphones prevent many primary users from utilizing their services adequately.

For their family and friends, it is a challenge to assess the well-being of primary users when they are physically separated. Smartphone applications can be a tool to monitor and improve the well-being of a primary user as long as the primary user is willing and able to use his device regularly. Easierphone improves smartphone adaptation for primary users and enables secondary users to monitor and improve the primary user’s well-being. 

Easierphone empowers primary users to effectively use a smartphone. This is achieved by simplifying the interface and core applications, and by enabling secondary users to remotely assist them. Comfort and well-being of both primary and secondary users are improved. Easierphone is an open and expendable platform. It is uniquely adaptable to the abilities of the primary user. For easy support, the primary user’s screen is mirrored on the secondary user’s device. A machine-learning algorithm detects changes in the well-being of the primary user by analysing smartphone usage patterns and geolocation data without needing an external monitoring device. 

Contribution

Almende is the main software developer for the project, and is responsible for the software architecture, UI, integration and bug fixing of the entire app, plus the implementation of two new innovative modules.

Results

The project provides valuable experience with regards to software architecture and concurrency. There are a few major challenges involved in the implementation of this project, chiefly: sharing and editing of one person’s settings across multiple users and devices, and making calling easier than ever with the One Touch Call functionality.

More info?

Need specific information regarding the project? Please contact our senior consultant for more information.

Jan Kraaijeveld

Senior consultant

+31 (0)10 404 9444

jan@almende.com

Read More

KRISTINA

A Knowledge-Based Information Agent with Social Competence and Human Interaction Capabilities

Duration: 03/2015 – 03/2018 Funding: H2020                              

Partners: UPF, Certh, Augsburg University, Almende, Vocapia Research, Tubingen University, Ulm University, semFYC, German Red Cross

Kristina

KRISTINA is an EU funded research project, which aims at developing technologies for a human-like socially competent and communicative agent. It runs on mobile communication devices and serves for migrants with language and cultural barriers in the host country.

Many migrants in the EU suffer from social exclusion, with their relatives also struggling with getting the right information and interacting with the administration, migrants at home are often reluctant to go to see the doctor in case of health issues, a tendency that is often further aggravated by cultural matters. Migrant temporary care workers, who in addition often do not have an adequate professional training, face the problem of isolation, lack of professional background information and deficient communication with both the cared and the supervision personnel.

KRISTINA’s overall objective is to research and develop technologies for a human-like socially competent and communicative agent that is run on mobile communication devices and that serves for migrants with language and cultural barriers in the host country as a trusted information provision party and mediator in questions related to basic care and healthcare.

Contribution

Almende was responsible for the development of the ICT architecture for KRISTINA, making use of our agent-based software development expertise to facilitate the creation of smart agents that can communicate effectively with human end-users, and express a number of verbal and nonverbal cues to the user, such as thinking about a particular question that was asked.

Results

The project allowed us to expand our expertise about smart software agents in their interaction with humans, by researching the application of several verbal and nonverbal cues that can improve interaction, by making the agent appear more "human-like".

More info?

Need specific information regarding the project? Please contact our senior consultant for more information.

Ludo Stellingwerff

Senior Software Engineer

+31 (0)10 404 9444

ludo@almende.com

Read More