Second Easierphone pilot launched
Easierphone is tested in 3 pilot sites located in The Netherlands, Switzerland, and Poland. Users can install and test Easierphone apps on their smartphones with the assistance of Easierphone representatives, and check all features provided. After the successful first phase, the second one has been launched in the Netherlands, the Internos facility.
This second test phase is mainly about remote assisting. The user of the Easierphone app can be assisted remotely by a family member or caregiver who also had installed the apps to support the person who needs help with the phone. The 'Activity Trends' module (AI based monitoring of activity and user well-being) also plays a big role. The assistant can see if the mentee is active during the day or 'disappeared from the radar'. The test subject's location can also be seen remotely which is helpful in case of an emergency situation or wandering behavior when we consider e.g. the early stage of dementia issues.
Our test subjects were explained how to install the app and how to work with it further. As they had brought the Android smartphone with them, the theory could immediately be put into practice. In a few weeks, we will gather feedback on how our test subjects experienced the assistant app.
Questions about the app? Don't hesitate to contact us:
“Easierphone not only for seniors” – feedback from participants at EWAHA 2022
Easierphone team spent 3 days (18-20.10.22) in the city of Gdansk, at the European Week of Active & Healthy Aging conference. It was the last AAL Programme event that gathered EU-funded projects in one place, sharing knowledge and showcasing innovation at all levels in the active and healthy aging sector.
Easierphone apps for Android operating system were presented during the event by the Consortium Partners (Pappy, Internos, ASM, and The Institute for Aging Research) at the booth, having discussions with potential business partners and stakeholders. The crucial features were also highlighted during the poster presentation on the first day of the event.
Important feedback on Easierphone apps for seniors
The main purpose of Easierphone's presence at the conference was to meet potential users of the app. Any visitor to the booth was able to test all the functions of the apps, evaluate the appearance of the interface, and share comments. The important feedback was that the app will be useful not only for the elderly but for anyone who wants to make it easier to use a smartphone, keep track of their activities during the day and be able to use a remote assistant to manage their phone.
To follow our attendance at EWAHA 2022, check the short video below:
The AAL (Active Assisted Living) Programme aims to create a better quality of life for older people and to strengthen industrial opportunities in the field of healthy aging technology and innovation. The Easierphone project (AAL/Call2020) is funded by the AAL Programme, co-funded by the European Commission and the National Funding Authorities of Switzerland, The Netherlands, and Poland.
Insightful feedback on elderly smartphone users’ needs and concerns during co-creation workshop in Zurich
3rd co-creation session was organized in the facility of IAF in Zurich. A bunch of new impressions and comments were delivered during the workshop which aimed to list improvements to be made in the Easierphone app. It also brought a new perspective on adult users’ needs regarding the use of smartphones.
IAF team gathered a group of seniors to test all Easierphone modules and ask in-depth questions about general impressions, concerns, and specific situations when the modules could be useful as well as answer many questions, especially regarding privacy policy and safety factors.
Attendees were curious about how the movement tracking module is working and what kind of information will be available for the caregiver. What is important, Easierphone occurred to be useful for people suffering from dementia. A tracking module with remote assistance can help follow a wandering person when one is lost. It can be also supported by the “Emergency” button to immediately inform the dedicated person when a dangerous situation happens and immediate help from the assistive person is needed.
Participants of the session also raised up an issue on personal data access by the person who will remotely support the elderly user. It is important to mention that the consent form will be clearly formulated to avoid the situation when the user doesn’t know to which data the assistant will have access.
Overall, the Easierphone apps were assessed positively as a needed tool for an elderly person. Security of personal data and safety in daily usage were the most important issues for IAF’s early users. The Easierphone team will put attention, especially to these aspects of the solution before it will be introduced to the market.
Want to test the app and become an early adopter? Contact us:
Co-creation workshop - discussing new features
Internos develop and test, together with partners, an application to simplify the use of smartphones. Who has not searched for a long time for that one app on their smartphone that is somewhere between all those other dozens? Easierphone simplifies the home screen and lists the most used apps in a simple way. It is also developing an assistant function, so that someone else (partner/carer) can, after permission, help the user to set up and adjust this simplified start screen.
Recently Internos organised a workshop with members of its client council to brainstorm about additional features of Easierphone. Three new modules will be added in the next test:
- Walk together; where you can make walking appointments with others and compare the number of steps you take
- One touch call; allowing immediate contact with pre-selected people
- Activity trends; looking at the development in the degree of use of the telephone and movement outside
It was a lively discussion with good tips from the Internos client board members for the developers of Easierphone. One of the key findings was that following and monitoring a user was sometimes considered useful, but not always. However, when it comes to assisting vulnerable people using Easierphone, it can be useful for the assistant to see how a user’s activity pattern develops. For example, if someone regularly wanders or shows much reduced activity, this may be a signal for the assistant to intervene.
Is Easierphone easy to use?
The main purpose of Easierphone is to make the use of smartphones as easy as possible. It will help to connect quickly with beloved ones, also in emergency situations, as well as get to the most used and favourite apps and functionalities of the phone. Internos, as the Easierphone Consortium Partner, had a chance to present the app to Mrs. Kratz from Dordrecht (The Netherlands) who was one of the first test users.
Internos provides home care to older persons in the city of Dordrecht in The Netherlands. Easierphone is considered as an application to make smartphone use acceptable and easier for Internos’ clients. That is the main reason to participate in this project and see if in future Internos can suggest installing Easierphone on clients’ smartphones to help them to live independently as long as possible and get in touch more easily with Internos staff.
The video of how Easierphone was introduced to Mrs. Kratz is available now on our YouTube channel:
Easierphone can be used by Seniors' associations and/or organizations to provide them independence in using their smartphones, communicate easily with their beloved ones and their carers. One of the most important features, providing safety in the first place, is the emergency call which can be chosen by one click on the user interface. It can connect the user directly with the institution or person dedicated to contact in emergency situations.
If you would like to test Easierphone in your organization and share your feedback with us, please contact us via e-mail:
Easierphone tested by users in Poland!
November 2021 was a very busy period for Easierphone Team as the app was tested in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Poland. The purpose of the studies was to evaluate the functionality of the Easierphone application which is intended for older people (60+ years) and designed to facilitate the use of the phone by changing the interface (size and arrangement of icons, enlarging the font). These changes speed up the communication process (making a telephone and emergency call, sending a text message) and personalize the device (adding an application).
The biggest advantages of the app according to Polish respondents' opinions are summarised below:
- large font and icons allow quicker recognition of the interface, as well as perform actions requiring the use of text e.g. sending a text message. The app icons and font were cherished as readable and understandable comparing to the typical phone interface;
- easy and quick to contact, especially with be-loved ones. One of the users described the app as follows: "Overall positive feelings, very readable, easy to make a call";
- translation to different languages makes the app even easier to manage;
- interface supporting quick getting used to the application, the respondents indicated that they would need some time to get familiar with the application and then they would use it no worse than with the existing mobile interface. Some respondents even claimed that using the Easierphone app was easier than using their existing mobile phone: "Great, easier compared to the basic interface”.
For the purposes of the study in Poland, conducted in ASM Neurolab facility, a triangulation method was used in the form of an eyetracker and an in-depth interview (IDI). Eyetracking is a measurement technique based on tracking eye fixation points (pupils) with the use of specially designed optical devices, the so-called eyetrackers. These devices nowadays consist of specially designed cameras that emit infrared radiation and record their reflection from the bottom of the eye. Then, with the use of appropriately selected algorithms, very precise points of fixation of the eyes on the tested object are established in a given time of the experiment. The research verifies how people perceive the object in front of them, e.g. a website, advertisement or packaging. Thanks to this it is possible to verify, among other things, where the tested person looks, on which elements he or she focuses their attention, and which elements are completely ignored. This is to check whether the recipient, looking at a particular graphic design, sees those elements which the researcher cares about the most.
The conducted research is a basis to improve the app according to users’ needs. The second testing phase of Easierphone will take place in August 2022 and the final one which also includes another round of Eye-tracking in July 2023 . Stay tuned with all our news!
Easierphone kick-off meeting in Rotterdam
Recently the Easierphone app was presented and installed with several social workers of Internos in Rotterdam. The first clients who will test the app will be recruited by these social workers.
The Easierphone is an app that makes smartphone navigation easier for older people but not only. They can access the commonly used apps on their phones faster. The Easierphone home screen is used over the current home screen. This way it prevents them from getting lost in the jungle of apps that a cell phone has installed already.
We managed to install Easierphone with 6 out of 12 persons. It was an active meeting with a lot of discussions - says Jan Michiel Meeuwsen, moderator of the meeting.
Seniors who downloaded Esierphone for testing, use their device for simple actions like calling, receiving calls, actively taking a part in conversations with friends and family via communication apps and downloading and/or taking pictures of family members. All of these activities should be easily accessed by users thanks to a friendly interface tailored to their needs. That is a goal Easierphone want to approach during the next two years of development.
By using Easierphone, care workers/home counsellors and informal caregivers will be relieved. Taking part in the project both care workers and care homes' residents contribute to the development and testing of innovative solutions to better support and guide vulnerable clients.