One of the most exciting aspects of the AAL Forum is about gathering innovators from all over Europe to share, network and develop new innovative ideas. This is what the Citizen Accelerator was about. It brought together companies to validate services and products with older citizens in the Danish second largest city, and Manigrip from Denmark was awarded the main prize. The competition was tough, and all of the participants presented potentially life-changing solutions.

AAL would like to introduce the other three participants of the Citizen Accelerator to share the diversity and potential of new tech solutions, which contribute with much needed products for individuals of all ages and roles!

The diverse portfolio of our participants illustrates that there are gaps in markets for devices and solutions for people dealing with conditions or life circumstances, which do not necessarily affect older adults alone, but across all ages. We asked three participants about their experiences in this new format of working together with experts and end-users and what is next on their agenda.

Photo: the Citizen Accelerator

Hopspots (Denmark)

Hopspots is a Danish start-up, which has found a way, how to train body and memory through a playful learning activity, adaptable to all ages. As Hopspots informs potential customers on their webpage, the solution can help 3-year-old children recognize animal sounds, 7-year-old children with learning the alphabet, 10-year-old children with multiplication and division, 15-year-old children with collaboration and discussion, and help elderly citizens with having fun while preventing dementia and other age-related illnesses. Therefore, this product illustrates the potential of the intergenerational approach much needed in the upcoming solutions addressing many of the classic products aimed at only one specific age group.

How does the product work?

Hopspots consists of 12 wireless spots that are connected to an app for iPad and a speaker uniter, and in that way combines technology with the physical space and focuses on the interaction. The spots register touch and light up in a broad range of colours. They have a total range of 20 meters on each side of the speaker unit, which allows you to combine learning with a lot of movement when you spread the spots far out. The speaker unit is equipped with wheels and made of a light wood, which makes it really easy to move around. The speaker unit also functions as storage and charger to the spots when you attach the power cord.

What are the next steps for Hopspots?

We have just started exporting Hopspots to the Netherlands via our new re-seller there, SpelPlus, who are engaged with the elderly and handicapped. We are looking very much forward to getting the first feedback from the reseller, customers and users there.

Photo: Hopspots in action!

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Palliate. Ai (the United Kingdom)

Palliate.Ai is a start-up from the United Kingdom, which is building the world’s first voice-assistance artificial-intelligence in dementia care, that will provide assistive care, in automation. Palliate.Ai is working to provide independence for both people with dementia, and their carers. As reported previously by the AAL Programme, dementia is one of the major challenges, caused by the demographic change in Europe, therefore developing new tools for dementia patients and their care-takers is a vital step for new start-ups to pursue in preserving independence for many people.

Photo: Eddy from Palliate.Ai presenting his solution

How does the product work?

By using natural language processing and APIs, Palliate.AI is building a mobile application, which can provide such much-needed services as:

• Health monitoring- detecting and understanding the current mood of the user
• Machine learning- constant habit and routine learning
• Real-time GPS- know the whereabouts of the user anytime.
• Pattern recognition: understanding and reacting to (recurring) needs
• Medicine Reminder
• Decision making.

Through ensuring these services in a mobile application, Palliate. Ai aims to provide independence for people living with dementia and efficient working tool for carers. See the prototype presented in the following video.

What’s next for Palliate.Ai ?

Palliate Ai will be launching a free self-care document for people affected with dementia early next year! If you are caring for someone with dementia and wants to keep track of their routines, medicine times, diet, hobbies and more, in a document, we provide a free website where it is easy to use, easy to update and easy to be sent to care homes and carers. This is provide clear, better focus & treatment for people with dementia.

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CerQana (Spain)

A start-up from Spain, CerQana wants to focus on individuals, who do not use technology, but who could benefit greatly from incorporating it into daily life. The solution is simplifying smartphones, which can be adaptable to the users’ own needs and wishes. The utilities can include remote control of apps, monitoring regular routes to avoid any dangers on the way, activating hands-free mode remotely and remind of any routine tasks. They want to integrate everybody, no matter what their capabilities are, into the digital era!

Photo: Alfonso from CerQana presenting the solution

The targeted audiences are users with different health conditions, elderly adults, or anybody, who might not be able to perform all of the daily tasks, or are of concern, when left alone. As not everybody can be under a caretaker’s supervision 24/7, CerQana proposes a solution by empowering these individuals to use the technology for their own benefit, and also gain a certain sense of independence.

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Was it worth participating in the Citizen Accelerator?

Hopspots:

Being part of the accelerator gave us hands-on feedback from users as well as potential customers, investors, distributors etc. It helped us pinpoint our value proposition and showed us that Hopspots has lots to contribute with when it comes to active assisted living – making mental and physical exercise fun and collaborative.

Palliate:Ai:

Citizen Accelerator was a fantastic experience! In a space of within a few hours, the organizers has put us into a “speed dating” style of talking to Municipals, Investors, Users and Developers. Doing this made it more clear and concise on our future goal and a start up company. 

CerQana:

It was a great experience that allowed us to meet on one hand the Danish entrepreneurship ecosystem, and on the other hand make contacts from all around Europe.  As our startup is only now starting to expand to other markets outside our home country, it was a huge opportunity for us to look for possible partners. Even more when we were seletected to pitch CerQana on the main stage during the closing ceremony.  As a young startup, this opportunities to grow, and meet and collaborate with european partners are very valuable!

Follow AAL to get to know more of our participants and find more opportunities to develop your product to access the market: