ElderGames IST PROJECT CN 034552

• Polytechnic University of Valencia
• University of Padova
• Infowerk Software Entwicklungs
• Lappset
• Telecomunication Cluster of Basque Country
• Brainstorm Multimedia
• Trondheim Kommune
• Generalitat Valenciana and Kent County Council

IST PROJECT CN 034552

Priority 2 e-Inclusion

The ElderGames project aims to take advantage of the potential positive impact of leisure for senior citizens’ quality of life when used as a tool for monitoring of the negative effects linked to aging (memory loss, degradation of cognitive ability, disintegration of social networks, etc.). Based on the evidence of the positive influence of play activity to improve life satisfaction and quality of life, the project has created an interactive-play board (ElderGames) to scientifically explore how emerging advances in ICT can be adapted, applied and combined with play activities to obtain a new preventive tool for monitoring cognitive skills and quality of life (affective, hysiological and social) in old age.

Therefore, ElderGames is the first play platform able to allow the monitoring of the players’ behaviour when faced with the different cognitive challenges posed and in this way it facilitates an early detection of cognitive disease or social unease, and so, allow for implementation of the advisable and expert response to them.

To prepare a robust foundation upon which the project outcomes was based, the project started by carrying out a comprehensive analysis of user opinions in the three European countries participating in the project, (Norway, UK and Spain), in order to determine the requirements, expectations and preferences of end users with regard to the creation of the ElderGames play therapy application. This assessment of user requirements involved both experts in ageing and elderly people from the three “Elderly Leisure and Care Coordination Centres” participating in the project, namely Trondheim Kommune, Norway, CEAM Alicante, Spain and Kent County Council in the UK.

In order for ElderGames’ applications to have the highest therapeutic value, the Consortium studied and selected the key variables which impact the quality of life for the elderly user placing particular emphasis on cognitive skills.

The key “generic” objective of ElderGames project is to develop IST-based games using advanced visualisation and interaction interfaces with high preventive, therapeutic value that will allow elderly people to enjoy new ways of leisure and entertainment while improving cognitive, functional and social skills. The main goals will also facilitate to:

1. Promote the e-inclusion of elderly people by means of play activity,
2. Contribute to an overall improvement of the abilities impacting Quality of Life through play, with particular emphasis on cognitive skills.
3. Support communication between elderly citizens and their families across Europe by means of play proposals which will allow them to share their experiences by means of an alternative-augmentative communication system capable of overcoming linguistic barriers and,
4. Provide experts specialising in elderly care and supervision with an innovative play application to be used in their daily professional work able to monitor variables related to quality of life, specially cognitive skills.

The following objectives were achieved from the Users Requirements Definition:

• Identification of the priority intervention areas and fundamental cognitive variables to be monitored and targeted in ElderGames.
• Definition of instruments for measuring cognitive skills and quality of life in old age. • Definition of the types of games that creates and atmosphere of high motivation and
• contributes to the improvement of selected variables.
• Selection and proposition of the most appropriate communication system to integrate into Eldergames
• Identification of the most appropriate advanced visualisation and interaction technologies to ensure both ease of use for the elderly and appropriate implementation in recreation centres.

Elderly people - ElderGames will be the first play platform able to allow an early detection of cognitive disease or social unease, and so, implement the advisable response to them. Thus, since ElderGames has been conceived as a tool for early diagnosis, no elderly participants suffering severe cognitive impairment will take part in the project.

• E-Inclusion

The project created a pre-commercial version of an interactive-play board (ElderGames) that will be the first opportunity to scientifically explore how emerging advances in ICT can be adapted, applied and combined with play activities to obtain a new preventive therapeutic tool for improving cognitive skills and quality of life (affective, physiological and social) in old age.

Games developed specifically for the prototype included a Lottery game, a Domino game, a Sequencing game, a Vocabulary game, a Mathematical game, etc. Details are the specifics of the games are not avaliable.

The first version of the prototype assessment phase was finished, ElderGames’ research team prepared a document of conclusions that was the basis for creating the refined version of the ElderGames prototype.

The ideas for improvement were implemented and the most highly-valued aspects of the platform’s first version reinforced: its promotion of e-inclusion, its potential as a tool for improving social networks, and its usefulness as a supporting instrument for monitoring cognitive performance. During the project’s last few months, which we will talk about in this final Newsletter, the users and experts at the three European elderly centres participating in ElderGames have had the opportunity to enjoy the refined version of our prototype.

The table’s new look and the new online game functionalities have been very positively assessed. Furthermore, the intergenerational game sessions that have been set up with players of different ages have allowed new and interesting applications of the tool to be demonstrated. The preventative therapy experts involved in the project have had access to the latest version of the monitoring software, which is much more complete and detailed, what has caused much satisfaction among the research team.

Various internal project reports are avaliable.