Supporting outdoor activities is a fast growing and important field in the area of software and hardware development. Taking into account, that outdoor activities become a more and more important part of the lives of elderly people it stands for a self-determined life to be able to practise outdoor activities irrespective of one’s age and constitution. Furthermore, outdoor activities contribute largely to the health and well-being of the elderly and improve their quality of life. A commercial roll out of the system can contribute to a better health, enabling elderly people to keep up their mobility.
The front-end solution will be evaluated by end-users during the development process using an appropriate mobile device and an app to improve its usability by receiving consumer feedback.
Objectives
Taking into account, that outdoor activities become a more and more important part of the lives of elderly people it stands for a self-determined life to be able to practise outdoor activities irrespective of one’s age and constitution. Outdoor activities contribute largely to the health and well-being of the elderly and improve their quality of life.
The demographic changes in the next years show a significant growth of the elderly population within Europe. A commercial roll out of the developed system can contribute to a better health, enabling elderly people to keep up their mobility.
Expected results and impact
The expected result is a system which is deployed as an app on selected, outdoor-suitable mobile devices. The app includes a hiking guide, high quality route information and basic safety system, which constantly checks the surrounding conditions (weather, daylight) for critical situations. The app is connected to an emergency centre which is notified in critical situations and, based on the location information, can send out rescue teams. Notifications can be triggered manually or using a built-in tracking tool, which works on reaching preliminary defined GPS control points along the tour.
Partners
Partners involved in the DOSSy project
- Project name: Digital Outdoor And Safety System (DOSSy)
- Website: www.dossy-aal.com
- Coordinator: University of St. Gallen, Institute of Information Management
- Duration: 24 Months
- Starting Date: 01.08.2012
- Total budget: € 1.568.577,10
- Public contribution: € 733.757,90
Contact
Peter Schenkel
E.: peter.schenkel@unisg.ch
T.: +41 71 224 3795
