Harddisken Transcription
I: Interviewer
T: Troels Vilms Pedersen (Project manager for the PERSONA project)
L: Lone Grete (Spokesperson for the project “Be safe”)
Introduction T: Welfare Technology is a new concept which gathers the various technologies which the public sector can use to help assist the elderly in their everyday lives. It should be considered as an opportunity for the elderly to for example use a technological tool rather than having to have a person come and visit them in order to vacuum clean their homes.
I: The council of Odense is involved in an EU project, which goes by the name of PERSONA, which is an example of what is called “Ambient Assisted Living”. Could you explain in more detail about PERSONA, what is the main goal?
T: The main goal with PERSONA, in the long run, is to put the whole use of Welfare Technology into action. And in the short run, create a kind of platform, an IT structure which enables the various tools in the “Intelligent Homes” to communicate with one another.
I: And what could the various types of tools be, if you were to give a few examples?
T: It is naturally connected to the specific needs of the elderly citizen, however, it could for example be the case that one citizen felt the need for extra security in the sense that if that person were to fall in his/her home then there would be special built in sensors which would detect this and be able to communicate with you and the public sector. Here it could be the case that this person may have broken something due to the fall and was in need of a specific type of assistance. However, it could also be in other areas for example help in reminding you to take your medication or food consumption or even cleaning etc. This platform should be able to incorporate all aspects of technology needed in order to assist the elderly in every way possible.
I: When you look at the project in an overall view and move away from the direct details of the various technology types, what is the overall goal for a project like this?
T: Well, the long run goal with this Welfare Technology is optimization of the public sectors resources, through aid of technology. For example in an old peoples home, a personal helper would be able to go for a walk or have a talk with the elderly person while the robot vacuum cleaner is doing the cleaning, furthermore the quality of service given to the elderly will be enhanced through this. Another example would be in the comfort of their own homes, the elderly would have the opportunity to look after themselves in a much higher standard and thereby maintain their personal dignity and a higher quality of life. This could be due to them being able to have a bath everyday with help from a robot, instead of them having to wait for a personal assistant from the council, who may come only once a week. All in all the main goals are to create a higher service quality and a better resource allocation in the public sector.
I: Now if we move away from the main overall goals of the PERSONA project, where you are the project manager for Odense council’s participation, what is going to take place with this during the next 2 years?
T: Well, during the next couple of months we will be doing some user evaluations. It will be user evaluations on the various prototypes, which will primary be based on pictures or animations of what kind of product is offered. With the results of this we will go back to the project division, where there will be some technicians who will follow up on the results and develop the technology. So in the following year, 2009, there should be a technology shaped in a form, which will be installed in a few houses in Odense, so that we will have the first experiences with “Intelligent Homes” or “Intelligent Elderly Centres” already by this time next year.
I: Well, this is a project which in a way is similar to your “Be Safe” project, but on a much larger scale with financial aid from EU and in corporation with “Vodafone” from Italy but Lone Grete, your project “Be safe” is at the moment, as I understand, in an evaluation phase but what would you like to happen in the future?
L: The PERSONA project is an extremely exciting project and it is in this direction we must look. It is no use to close our eyes to the fact that the technology is here and it is evolving with the speed of lightning. There is a massive gain not only for the individual citizens but also their relatives and family members. Especially with regards to people who suffer from dementia and also for the municipal and public systems as a whole. So there is a grand amount of knowledge right now and there are individuals figuring out as we speak how the technology works in these different projects. Then there is the need for some politicians and other influential management persons in order to prioritise the Welfare Technology and the actual development of this area. The Government has to prioritise this so that we are able to start the installation of this technology and wake up to the reality of today’s world.
