EU-Japanese Virtual Coach
for Smart Ageing
Smart Living Support for the Ageing Society
EU Funded Project e-ViTA
Project Justification
As people age, everyday tasks and health management can become increasingly challenging – especially for those living alone, who may feel isolated or overwhelmed. In this context, smart virtual technologies offer promising solutions to enhance the safety and well-being of older adults.
This project focuses on developing a virtual coach capable of detecting a range of emotional states – such as sadness or pain – and responding with tailored assistance or adaptive dialogue. By recognizing and addressing emotional needs in real time, the virtual coach aims to provide personalized support that fosters independence and improves quality of life.
Overview of the intelligent devices (left), exemplary use of the robot NAO (middle) and possible androids (right) to be investigated within the framework of the project
Our Approach
e-VITA is a collaborative European–Japanese project funded by the European Union and the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication (MIC). The project focuses on developing a virtual coach designed to empower older adults in managing their health and daily activities more effectively.
By leveraging advanced technologies, e-VITA aims to support independent living, enhance well-being, and improve quality of life for the ageing population across both regions.
e-VITA socio-technical approach of participatory design and stakeholder engagement deployed via real-life Living Labs inspired by the everyday practices of older adults
Work Packages, Insights and Outcomes
IXP leads the comprehensive analysis of end-user, content, technical, and ethical requirements, compiling critical information on behavioral, physiological, and psychological parameters associated with emotional and stress states, well-being, health status, and mental and cognitive functioning.
To enable nuanced and personalized emotional and social interactions with the virtual coach, IXP develops advanced computer audition and vision algorithms. These are grounded in the collection of relevant multimodal data corpora and sophisticated audio-video analyses.
Building upon the current state of the art, IXP extends methodologies for measuring and processing psycho-behavioral parameters by integrating innovative emotional and social computing techniques – including multi-level analysis of raw sensor signals – to enhance interaction quality and responsiveness.
Overview of the european and japanes project partners
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