Using Information Technology to prevent or reduce the impact of Long Term Conditions

EDUROB Educational Robotics for People with Learning Difficulties (EU KA3) http://edurob.eu EDUROB is a research project aiming to demonstrate that cognitive development can be enhanced by means of mediated learning using robots. EDUROB proposes an intervention model that aims to drive students’ cognitive processes while addressing other transferable & social skills, making use of the advantages offered by robotics and its engaging and immersive nature. The EDUROB team will work with stakeholders in the project countries (Bulgaria, Italy, Lithuania, Turkey, Poland and the UK) to develop a set of interventions utilising robots to enhance the learning of students with learning disabilities. This will involve scoping the needs of the teachers, and the students and the subjects that they are trying to teach and learn. Based on the results of this research, robotic teaching tools and scenarios will be developed and tested by way of pilot studies in each of the countries.

MATHISIS Managing Affective learning Through Intelligent atoms and Smart Interactions. http://www.mathisis-project.eu/content/project-overview. MaTHiSiS is a 36-month project funded by the European Union under the H2020 work programme that will assist the educational process for learners and their tutors and caregivers by creating a novel and continuously adaptable "robot/machine/computer"-human interaction ecosystem to enhance vocational training, workplace learning and mainstream education for individuals with or without learning disabilities. The project is led by a technology company in Spain and the Nottingham University team is a collaboration between the schools of Medicine, Health Sciences, Engineering and Education

RECALL Reconnecting Excluded Communities and Lifelong Learning Not being able to travel independently is a common barrier to integration for people with intellectual disabilities. This project developed and evaluated RouteMate which exploits the mobile phone’s location tracking to help people with intellectual disabilities plan and rehearse new routes and then to carry these out independently in a safe manner. The EU funding has now finished and applications are under way for funding to integrate RouteMate with local transport information and Access Advisr http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/accessadvisr  a website and smartphone app which has been developed to provide information on the accessibility of travel facilities across the UK.

ViPi Virtual portal for impaired groups interaction focuses on the development of skills in ICT for young adults with disabilities. It aims to provide a “one-stop-shop” interactive portal and learning environment for ICT skills by delivering a set of interactive learning materials and serious games , using the latest social media to facilitate interactive information sharing and collaboration for people with disabilities and their trainers. Funded through the Leonardo Lifelong Learning Programme.

Using a humanoid robot to support the learning of pupils with profound and multiple disabilities Individuals with profound disabilities need a rewarding event if they are to make the effort to learn even a simple task such as closing a switch. This project is examining whether using a humanoid robot to complete a learning task can enable learners to engage in learning in a manner which they find interesting, non-threatening and motivational. The medical student who carried out the preliminary work as part of his B Med Sci degree won a £500 prize for his dissertation from the School of Community health Sciences and used prize money to attend the 24th European Medical Students Conference in Berlin where his presentation won second prize in the overall competition.

A Virtual Reality Intervention for Assessing Risk in Patients' Homes after Stroke
Dr Kate Threapleton, a member of the Wii STAR team, has a postdoctoral research fellowship from the Stroke Association to develop a way to support the transition from hospital to home following a stroke. A computer software package of a virtual home, with a kitchen, living room, bedroom and bathroom has been designed to illustrate potential problems such as layout difficulties and safety risks. Patients and their carers have a guided walkthrough of the virtual home to highlight potential safety concerns, and discuss how they could cope with similar issues in their own home after discharge.
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/rehabilitation/projects/index.aspx
 
PEGASO: Personalised Guidance Services for lifestyle management and Obesity prevention in teenagers (2013- 2016)

This EU funded project was awarded 8.9 million Euros to develop innovative technology and serious games through which young people can develop the knowledge, motivation and skills to engage in healthier lifestyles.
[More information: http://www.pegasoproject.eu/]

An ESRC funded literature review of research involving children and young people using digital technologies

Written in conjunction with colleagues from Kings College London and Nottingham Trent University. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/CHS/Documents/AT20072010Abbottetal.pdf

WiiSTAR- using Virtual Reality in stroke rehabilitation 

This investigates the possibility of using low cost commercially available components employed in the games market to encourage stroke survivors to practice the upper limb movements necessary for everyday tasks. Read more about the WiiSTAR study [More information: http://www.clahrc-ndl.nihr.ac.uk/clahrc-ndl-nihr/research/stroke-rehabilitation/wiistar/index.aspx]