Let’s sail with CAPTAIN

Building co-creation in the process – A board game method that visualizes issues, creates dialogue and insights.
BACKGROUND/HISTORY AND CONTEXT OF THE WORKSHOP
Older adults, due to declining age and accompanied physical and cognitive changes, could benefit from additional support to perform daily activities and avoid institutionalization. Relatives are often unable to provide this necessary support. Technology could prove useful, but currently is not designed specifically for older adults.
This workshop will present the current status of the CAPTAIN project, which uses a truly user-centred co-design approach to create a smart home assistant for older adults. CAPTAIN proposes a “transparent” technology designed to convert the home into a ubiquitous assistant specifically designed to compensate for physical and cognitive impairments to facilitate the performance of ADLs. CAPTAIN makes use of projected augmented reality and real-time 3D sensing technologies to monitor and understand the individual and their natural environment in order to provide contextualized and personalized coaching, support and instructions.
MAIN AIM / OBJECTIVE
In this co-design workshop, participants will be asked to consider a number of ‘personas’ (typical older adults) and then discuss how technology could be built to best support them in the following areas of daily life: (i) overall health, (ii) fitness, (iii) nutrition, (iv) cognitive function and (v) emotional wellbeing.
The workshop adopts a Participatory Design approach, which implies active involvement and collaboration of the intended users as they take part in the exploration of the potential needs of older adults and the possibilities that the technologies available as part of the CAPTAIN system can bring. In addition, participants will be introduced to the agile development approach that combines incremental, iterative delivery and empirical feedback.
Agile methodologies provide opportunities to assess the direction of assistive technology solutions such as those used in CAPTAIN, through shorter development lifecycles suited to innovation in a health and social care settings.
EXPECTED OUTCOMES
The workshop simulates the participatory approach and co-creation methodology involving users and other stakeholders in the CAPTAIN co-design process, while continue gathering relevant feedbacks to consider in the project. The workshop will be integrative complying with the first three phases of Design Thinking (Empathize, Define, Ideate).
In the 1st moment participants set details of predefined «personas» with which to empathise and create a vision of contextual information about older adults daily challenges, setting likes, dislikes and motivations that will lead to the 2nd moment in which to define key areas, activities or aspects to think support that can be provided or facilitated by CAPTAIN ideated solution, that will be the 3rd and last moment of the session.
Apart from the tangible outcomes, is an opportunity to understand why co-creation can generate greater social cohesion and acceptance of the innovative solutions, as well as be a personal empowering process itself.
BRIEF OUTLINE / METHODOLOGY
Using Design Thinking and participatory research principles, participants will be split into teams of 5-6 and asked to randomly select cards from each of the following bundles: basic details (age, gender, living arrangements etc); physical; cognitive; social; nutrition, goals and interests.
Together these cards form an older adult persona with a unique set of hopes and challenges. Teams will be introduced to the technologies available to the CAPTAIN system and asked to identify potential solutions and ‘build/design’ their version of the CAPTAIN system to meet the needs of their persona.
The CAPTAIN components will be represented by cards and objects (e.g. toy lamp, toy computer etc.) to make the build part of the workshop more tangible. Afterwards, we will ask participants to create a concept prototype and scenario of the CAPTAIN system using pencils, stickers and magazine images and present the scenario to the others in a short role play. Teams will vote for their preferred solution.
LINKS
Workshop Facilitators
Louise Hopper
Assistant Professor in Psychology

Louise Hopper
Assistant Professor in PsychologyDr Louise Hopper, Assistant Professor in Psychology at Dublin City University (DCU). Louise graduated with a B.Sc. in Computer Science from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in 1993 and worked in various information technology roles in Ireland and in the US from 1988 to 2001. Since completing her Ph.D. in Psychology in TCD in 2013, Louise has worked as a Lecturer and post-doctoral researcher in DCU. Louise has extensive experience working with people with dementia and their families and her recent projects include assistive technology and timely access to formal community-based care to support those living with dementia and the design of a National Dementia Registry for Ireland. Louise was awarded the DCU Presidents Research Award for 2017. She is also the co-founder and co-chair of the Alzheimer Café Leixlip.
Panagiotis Bamidis
Professor, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Panagiotis Bamidis
Professor, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Panagiotis Bamidis is a Professor of Medical Physics, Informatics and Medical Education and Director of the Lab of Medical Physics and Digital Innovation in the School of Medicine of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), Greece. He designs, implements and evaluates IT and Assistive Technologies systems that improve everyday activities of elderly or other vulnerable groups and improves their health or life quality or improves the education and training of health professionals. He conducts research that attempts to understand how the brain reacts to different stimuli, technological or educational interventions, as well as, the development and evolution of human emotions and sleep transitions. Co-creation and Living Lab approaches are within his active interests. He is the co-ordinator of seven large European projects, and the principal investigator for many national and international funded projects. He is the President of the Hellenic Biomedical Technology Society, HL7 Hellas, the international Society of Applied Neuroscience, a member of the Administration Boards of other societies and patient associations, the Chairman/Organiser of some 19 international conferences and several national Biomedical Technology conferences. Since 2012 he has established LLM Care ecosystem (www.llmcare.gr), the business exploitation of the LLM project, which is a two-star reference site of the EIP-on-AHA. In 2013 he established the Active and Healthy Ageing Living Lab in Thessaloniki (ThessAHALL; http://www.aha- livinglabs.com/) which in 2018 became a full member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). In 2017, he became a visiting Professor of Medical Education Technology, Innovation and Change for the Leeds Institute of Medical Education (LIME) of the University of Leeds, UK. He received Prizes for the Best Track Record in funded research projects (AUTH Research Committee 2009; AUTH Dean of Health Sciences 2016) and the Best overall high/extra-ordinary academic performance (AUTH Dean of Health Sciences 2018, 2019, 2020).
Evdokimos Konstantinidis
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Thess-AHALL Researcher, AOTF Health & Wellbeing lead

Evdokimos Konstantinidis
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Thess-AHALL Researcher, AOTF Health & Wellbeing leadDr Evdokimos Konstantinidis is the leader of the Assistive Technologies and Silver Science Research Group in the Lab of Medical Physics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He received the Diploma in electronic engineering from the Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, in 2004, the M.Sc. degree in medical informatics in 2008 from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece and the Ph.D. degree in the Laboratory of Medical Physics of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece in 2015. His research interests lie predominately in the area of medical informatics, particularly within assistive technologies (silverscience, silvergaming, mobile health)
Rosa Almeida
R&D Projects Manager

Rosa Almeida
R&D Projects ManagerWith a background on Gerontology, on Management of projects, human resources and social facilities and a post degree in Third Generation Therapies I am coordinating research and innovation projects for ageing well and independent living. As R&D Projects Manager in IDES (SME of INTRAS Foundation), challenges are the word of the day, and the creativity and teamwork an exigency that pleases me. Collaborating in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of national and european projects I have the opportunity to work and transfer best practices from and with european referents. As a supporter of open innovation methodologies (working with quadruple helix of innovation ecosystems at regional, national & EU levels) I have been involved in many actions.
Despoina Mantziari
Research Associate

Despoina Mantziari
Research AssociateDespoina Mantziari holds a University Degree in Media and Mass Communication and a MS in Journalism and New Media with specific expertise on news content verification and Fake News, both of them from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. She works as a Research Associate on Research Programmes at AUTH Medical Physics Lab. She has former experience as journalist, as well as in media monitoring and public relations. She has been member of several university research groups, including the Media Informatics Lab and the Peace Journalism Lab, while she is also member of the communication and data journalism team of Open Knowledge Greece and the scientific advisory group of the Journalists' Union of Macedonia and Thrace Daily Newspapers (ESIEMTH).
Despoina Petsani
Research Assistant

Despoina Petsani
Research AssistantDespoina Petsani received her diploma in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2017 from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Her thesis was part of the iPrognosis project (H2020). She is currently a postgraduate student in Medical Informatics MSc program and Research Assistant in the Assistive Technologies and Silver Science Research Group in the Lab of Medical Physics, Medical School of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki where she is working in CAPTAIN project (H2020). Her research interests lie in the area of silver science and the intervention for older adults and vulnerable population in the field of serious games and medical decision support systems
Christiana Nicolaou
Psychologist

Christiana Nicolaou
PsychologistChristiana Nicolaou graduated from University of Cyprus with a bachelor's degree in Psychology f in 2012. Following the completion of her postgraduate studies in Special Education in 2014 she worked with a wide range of patients with mental and physical needs including children and adults. Christiana currently works as a Psychologist at Archangelos Michael Elderly Nursing Home in Nicosia offering support services to older people and dementia patients.
Eva Kehayia
Associate Professor, McGill University and CRIR

Eva Kehayia
Associate Professor, McGill University and CRIRDr. Eva Kehayia is associate professor at the School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Medicine at McGill University and Scientific co-Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation of greater Montreal (CRIR). She is co-leading a pan-Canadian Partnership Initiative funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council entitled: ‘Words in the World’. For the past years she has also been co-leading the Strategic Innovation Initiative entitled: The RehabMaLL -- A Rehabilitation Living lab: creating enabling environments for social participation and inclusion for individuals with physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities. More recently she has become involved in the creation of new Living Labs promoting participation and inclusion at the Museum of Fine Arts in Montreal and the Segal Centre for Performing Arts in Montreal.
Richard Lombard-Vance
Post-Doctoral Researcher

Richard Lombard-Vance
Post-Doctoral ResearcherRichard Lombard-Vance (B.Sc. (Hons), Ph.D.) is a Post-Doctoral Researcher in the Department of Psychology at Maynooth University, Ireland, where he is currently involved in the CAPTAIN Project. His Ph.D. work inquired into cognitive functioning and rehabilitation outcomes of people with lower limb amputations. Previously, with IDS-TILDA in Trinity College Dublin, he has worked to understand quality of life in people with intellectual disability in relation to ageing and the transition to community living (deinstitutionalisation). His current research interests encompass neuropsychology, psychology of chronic illness and disability, rehabilitation and assistive technology, quality of life, and participation.