Die MORE Homepage

Telematics for disabled & elderly people - EC Tide Project DE 3006.

Project Summary

The project aims at integrating the non-uniform group of disabled and elderly potential customers into the mobile phone users society for interpersonal communication. The GSM services have great potential for enhancing autonomy and quality of their life.

The main objective is to redesign existing mobile phones and simplify the user interface to meet the manifold needs of elderly and disabled people and make mobile phone services accessible for them.

A second objective is to realise an efficient access to emergency services, i.e. provide a foolproof and failsafe operating procedure and integrate GPS-localization features.

A third objective is to provide interfaces to add-on equipment e.g. for hearing impaired: Text telephony awareness of public alarms, speech intelligibility enhancement, and link to hearing aids.

A specific objective is to provide interfaces to integrate results from TIDE projects SICONA and DEFIE, and to solve the severe interference impact of digital mobile phones on hearing aids.

The anticipated result is the Mobile Rescue phone and system: The basic MORE-Phone is a mobile phone with integrated GPS, forming the 'application core' - with customizing features by optional multimodal i/o add-ons. GSM standard infrastructure is used. Existing public and private service centres will be upgraded with computer mapping equipment and software.

Major Validation Sites

Kotiranta Service Centre	Joensuu, Fin 80101	Finnland
Regione Friuli Venezia Giulia	Udine, I 33100	Italy
Deutscher Alpenverein	München, D 80997	Germany
Johanniter Unfallhilfe	Wien, A 1180	Austria
Oberlinhaus Berufsbildungswerk	Potsdam, D 14482	Germany
Kliniken Schmieder	Allensbach, D 78473	Germany

Users

All conceivable user categories are integrated in the project from the beginning - via the test site partners in the 'MORE user club'. They will define the user requirements covering basic future mobile multimedia and 'design for all' aspects. They will test the demonstrators.

Approach

The MORE-system contains and integrates GSM and GPS modules, and utilises GSM services and infrastructure, software-modules have to be added and user interface has to be redesigned.

Expected benefits for the citizens

By using the MORE-Phone elderly and disabled citizens can call for individual help or initiate rescue at any time from any place covered by GSM. In the emergency call mode the efficiency of rescue activities will increase remarkably due to precise localisation of the user.

Expected benefits for the users of the application

Disabled and elderly people will gain general access to mobile telecommunications, and get the presently missing support for spontaneous safe-guarded moving around. Support is provided for those European households/homes which take care of elderly or disabled persons.

Expected benefits for the European Industries

The MORE-Phone is an innovative product family and puts the European industry ahead of international competition in assistive technology. The industrial partners intend to produce a first production run very soon after the project.

Contribution to EU Policies

The project is user driven. The MORE-system improves the autonomy of life for older and disabled people, covering the manifold user categories with the basic MORE-Phone, thus meeting the 'ARTICLE 100A DIRECTIVE'. The consortium is cooperating with SAFE21 and takes results from SICONA and DEFIE projects. The rich experience of the work done under the COST219 action and the INCLUDE project was integrated into the development process.

MORE directly meets the requirements of the EU’s 4th Framework Programme, where consideration of D&E was a main issue.

The different Key Actions of the EU’s 5th Framework Programme also include the needs of D&E e.g. KA1 "Systems and services for the citizen" of the 2nd Thematic Programme “Promoting a User-Friendly Information Society (IST)” addresses the development of services “for everybody” and in the preamble D&E are specifically addressed under “socio-economic needs”. KA1.3 expressively deals with “Persons with special needs, including the disabled and the elderly”. Priorities of the KAs are defined for persons with special needs “to support autonomous living, social integration and participation in the information society”, all of which are addressed by MORE. Cross programme action 3 deals with Design-for-all for an inclusive information society. The project is user driven. The MORE-system improves the autonomy of life for elderly and disabled people, covering the manifold user categories with the basic MORE-Phone, thus meeting the 'ARTICLE 100A DIRECTIVE'.

Project duration

January 1997 - March 2000

Dr. Ing. Hans Herrmann Institut für Mikroelektronik Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Allmandring 30a, D-70569 Stuttgart, DE Tel: + 49 711 685 5838 Fax: + 49 711 685 5930 E-Mail: herrmann@mikro.uni-stuttgart.de

Project Partners

BENEFON OYJ	Salo; FIN 24101	Finnland
SERPE IESM	Guidel; FR 56520	France
CSELT	Torino; I 10148	Italy
FORTEC	Wien; A 1040	Austria
STAKES	Helsinki, FIN 00530	Finnland
IfADo	Dortmund; D 44139	Germany
Rigel Eng.	Brussels; B 1030	Belgium
EHIMA	London; UK GU 7PX	United Kingdom

Contact

Contact the MORE group for further information.

Details

More details about MORE can be found on the Details Page.