Start of funding 01.01.2010

Cal IT Sophia, Interactive Telepresence System for social, personal and health interaction

Dr. med. Dipl.-Ing. Herbert Plischke
Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich
Humanwissenschaftliches Zentrum - GRP

Prof. Dr. Mark Bachman
University of California, Irvine
The Henri Samueli School of Engineering



The “Demographic Change” is a big challenge for society and the Implications to Technology is a big research topic in Europe (AAL Europe) and now also a upcoming topic in the United States. The cooperation aims to boost the development of a new, innovative Telepresence System with Web 2.0 Architecture. While SOPHIA is already in field tests and available on the market, but lacks on innovative and open programming, TELIOS is under development, not in field tests but has innovative, wider capabilities. We want to exchange the knowledge, to co-develop an ambient assistive system that can be tested in both countries, with different healthcare and social security systems.
1. We want to create a roadmap for co-development and testing this kind of technology for the elderly, using the example of a telepresence system, regarding to different cultural und social-security backgrounds.
2. We want to exchange experience from well-recognised universities, by technology and knowledge transfer and by jointly planning field tests of a prototype in California and Bavaria.

Final report:
Demographic Change and associated implications for technological developments is a big research topic in Europe (so called Ambient(ly) Assisted Living) and now also an upcoming topic in the United States of America. In this BaCaTec supported project we created a roadmap for co-development and testing socially embedded technologies for the elderly, using the example of a telepresence system that can be specifically tailored to different cultural and social-security backgrounds. Two meetings where organized, one in Bad Tolz in 2010 and one in Irvine 2011. Symposium proceedings are currently in print.

The first idea of a system to test in both countries was presented in 2010 Meeting in Bad Tolz (Telepresence system TELIOS and - working title - buttercup, a measurement system for health related parameters). A revised prototype of buttercup was presented in the 2011 meeting at the Campus Irvine. We have decided to utilize the buttercup measurement system, which is already in an advanced stage of development so that first field tests can be planned in 2012 in Bavaria. We have identified specific fields of applications and we have adopted the original buttercup system to a measuring system for biologic effects mediated over the human eye of assistive lighting systems. After the first meeting 2010, the both California and Virginia based prestigious Samueli Institute was won as a supporter of our project. An additional travelling grant from Samueli Institute over 5000 US$ for the BaCaTec meetings for additional scientists and doctoral students could be secured. We have also successfully applied for a Whitaker Fellow Grant for 10 Month for one of our Californian students to work at LMU starting in June 2012. Bavarian based Generation Research GmbH provided 2.500 € for seminar costs. Besides BaCaTeC we gratefully acknowledge financial and logistical support by Whitaker Foundation, LMU, UCI, Generation Research GmbH and the Samueli Institute, which helped us to multiply BaCaTeC funding and to start a mutual project for assistive technologies. UCI and LMU were also invited by the organisational committee of the 15th International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction to organize a shared session in the 2013 Conference in Las Vegas.