MOSCOW, November 21 (Sputnik) — The concept of software designed to make the lives of senior citizens easier was presented during a seminar at Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) on November 21 and 22. The project is being developed by an international technology laboratory for improving senior citizens’ well-being, which was established at TPU half a year ago. The laboratory is staffed by both Russian and Italian scientists. The project head is Fabio Casati, a professor of computer science at the University of Trento. Casati has said that the steadily growing average human lifespan raises concerns about the quality of life. The project will be launched in Tomsk in December 2014.
The scientists determined that there are three primary factors that determine a senior citizen’s well-being: physical activity, communication and the ability to contribute to society i.e. to work. The software that is being developed by the lab is designed for tablet computers and “covers” all three factors.
One of the applications serves as a personal trainer – it helps seniors perform basic physical exercises.
The second application helps senior citizens to stay in touch with their children and grandchildren. “The existing telecommunications tools are too complex for many older people – not everyone can use Skype, for example,” Fabio Casati explains. “Our application will be even less complex than an ordinary phone. Simply put, you would only have to press one button, and grandmas and grandpas won’t be able to reset the settings and ‘break it’.” The application that is being developed in Tomsk will have three access levels. At the most basic level, a senior citizen won’t even have to press any buttons, search for programs and log in – as soon as a call comes in, the caller’s voice is heard.
The third group of application allows senior citizens to work at home – for example, as software testers.
