"Enable access to technology and services for disabled and elderly people and use information and communication technologies to improve the quality, effectiveness and efficiency of services which support the independent living and integration in society of disabled and elderly people."

The objective of work in this sector is to use information and communications technologies to improve the autonomy and quality of life of disabled and elderly people and to facilitate their integration into society. This involves developing applications with a view to restoring functional capabilities. This work will focus on systems for improving mobility, interpersonal communication and the ability to cope with the immediate environment. All work in this sector will pay particular attention to the identification of users' needs through user requirements’ studies, and to the validation by users of the applications developed.

The objective of the CUSTODIAN project is to enable the successful integration of a wide range of assistive technologies, general consumer electronics products and systems around a home network (home system, smart house). This will be achieved by supporting the process whereby such integrated systems are considered, specified, tailored, installed, commissioned and maintained. Disabled and elderly users will benefit from the CUSTODIAN project, through an increase in the level of penetration of technologies for independent living. The results of the project will have a broad impact on the market sector by providing the tools and expertise for successful tailored solutions.

The project will develop a suite of computer tools that will facilitate an efficient interchange between the diverse groups involved with their different skills, cultures and professional languages. The tools will be centred on a readily configured software model of the system being specified. An important feature of the tools will be to enable people (care service providers, engineers, elderly, disabled etc.) to visualise the systems and how they work in a given context and interact to with the model.

The Researchers are: Martin Edge - Project Manager Bruce Taylor - Research Fellow Guy Dewsbury - Research Fellow

Project Co-ordinator:

The Robert Gordon University

Scottish Centre for Environmental Design Research

School of Architecture

Garthdee Road

Aberdeen

AB10 7QB

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 1224 263539

Fax: +44 1224 263737

Email: m.edge@rgu.ac.uk