The Senior Companion
The current Internet cannot serve all social groups well, and it is one of our objectives to empower citizens (including the non-technical, the disabled and the elderly) with a new kind of interface based on language technologies.
The vision of the Senior Companion is that of an artificial agent that communicates with its user on a long-term basis, adapting to their voice, needs and interests: a companion that would entertain, inform and react to emergencies. It aims to provide access to information and services as well as company for the elderly by chatting, remembering past conversations, and organising (and making sense of) the owner's photographic and image memories or accessing resources on the Internet.
This companion would assume a user with a low level of technical knowledge, and who might have lost the ability to read or produce documents themselves unaided, but who will need help dealing with letters, messages, bills and geting information from the Internet.
Demonstrator
Discussing photos with the Senior Companion (YouTube)
Video: When Andrew met Aibo
An older user meets an Aibo for the first time, and plays a game of chess. Watch the video
Companions and photo albums
How might a Companion make sense of a photo album? In this (fictional) interaction, Mrs Jones talks to her Companion.
Companion: Would you like to go back to the pictures from your childhood today Mrs Jones?
Jones: Yes please I enjoyed yesterday's session very much.
Companion: I am glad. Look at these pictures: who are they of?
Jones: Well, there's my mother, and Aunt Mabel, and me when I was about eight.
Companion: can you show me the ones with your mother?
Jones: (taps screen three times)
Companion: Which one's are you in?
Jones: (taps screen again)
Companion: and where is Aunt Mabel?
Jones: (taps screen again)
Companion: What are you and your mother doing in the first picture?
Jones: She is eating and I am reading a book?
Companion: Is she eating a meal?
Jones: No, I think it's an orange: they were rare after the war.
Companion: So what year would this be then?
Jones: Oh, about 1950 I think.
Companion: So you weren't eight then, because you were eight in 1947.
Jones: You're right, this must be 1947, at Blackpool.
Companion: Your mother and Mabel never seem to appear in the same picture, why is that?
Jones: No, they hated each other: they were never both with me at once.
Companion: Did all of these come from the same trip?
Jones: All except this one (touching screen)
Companion: Shall we try and put the Blackpool pictures into your story along with the postcards we looked at yesterday?
Jones: Oh yes. I feel rather tired, too.
Companion: I think that means we should stop for today and you should take a siesta.
Updated: 25 March 2008 15:57 PM